UF VB | Gators Top Tigers in Four-Set Battle

Ceasar and Monserez notch double-doubles in the victory

Box Score<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__s3.amazonaws.com_sidearm.sites_gatorzone.com_documents_2021_10_9_104960.PDF&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=HRlvmyyLyQ-h9xnyRfDBz5v_fQtK_96exrrMNrpceDo&s=PsxS7JG91gfzDEl7Jds4zgk9wbCtjR1o-M4mBQ1icKA&e= >

BATON ROUGE, La. – The 20th-ranked Florida volleyball team (11-5, 5-1 SEC) defeated the LSU Tigers (6-9, 2-4 SEC) in four sets on Saturday evening in the Maravich Center.

With the victory, the Gators have now won four-straight matches.

LSU took the first set 25-22, but Florida answered with a 25-17 victory in the second frame. The Gators took the third set 25-18 and closed out the match with a 25-19 win in the fourth.

The Gators were led offensively by Lauren Forte, who notched a 15-kill performance on the night. Merritt Beason added 13 kills of her own, while T’ara Ceasar pitched in 12 in the match.

Marlie Monserez registered 39 assists in the four-setter, while Elli McKissock tallied seven assists of her own.

As a team, the Gators recorded 11.0 blocks, led by five apiece from Lauren Dooley and Beason. Forte posted four blocks, while Thayer Hall recorded three in the match.

Florida’s backcourt defense was led by a 22-dig performance by Elli McKissock, while Ceasar added a career-high 20 digs in the match. Hall and Monserez each posted 12 digs of their own in the victory.

Ceasar recorded a team-high three service aces on the night, while Hall pitched in two.

The Gators are right back in action on Sunday to close out the series with the Tigers. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. on the SEC Network and the match can also be heard on the airways of ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM.

Records
No. 20 Florida (11-5, 5-1 SEC)
LSU (6-9, 2-4 SEC)

How it Happened

* The Gators took the early advantage in the first set, pulling ahead three at 10-7, but LSU answered with a 5-0 scoring run to take the 12-10 lead and force a Florida timeout. Out of the break, the Gators battled back to once again go ahead three at the 16-13 mark. UF held at least the two-point advantage until LSU dug itself out of the hole and tied the frame at 21-21. The Tigers closed out the set on a 4-1 run to take the 1-0 lead in the match.
* Forte led the way offensively with four kills on an .800 clip, while Beason, Dooley and Hall each added two kills apiece.
* Florida jumped out to the 4-1 lead in the second set and continued to keep the Tigers at a distance, going up six to force an LSU timeout at the 11-5 mark. The Tigers pulled to within three at 13-10, but the Gators pushed ahead on a 5-2 run to force the final LSU timeout at the 18-12 mark. Florida held the control and tempo for the rest of the frame, taking it 25-17 to even the match at 1-1.
* The Gators hit .211 in the second set, while holding the Tigers to a .059 hitting percentage. Ceasar led the way with five kills in the frame, while Forte added four.
* After trailing 2-1 early, the Gators went on a 9-0 run behind the serves of McKissock to take the 10-2 lead in the third. The Tigers battled back to within six at 14-8, forcing Florida’s first timeout of the frame. Out of that break, the Gators went on a 4-2 run to take the 18-10 advantage. The Tigers did not back down, pulling within three at 21-18, but Florida closed out the set on a 4-0 run to secure the 2-1 lead in the match.
* UF once again hit .211 in the frame, led by four kills from Beason. Forte and Hall each notched three apiece in the set.
* The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle the whole way through, with neither team holding more than a two-point advantage until the Gators pulled ahead 19-16. From that point on, Florida closed out the set and the match with a 6-3 run to move to 5-1 in the SEC.
* The Gators hit .353 in the final frame, led by six kills from Beason. Ceasar added four kills in the frame, while Forte pitched in three.
Notables

* T’ara Ceasar recorded her eighth double-double of the season, finishing with 12 kills and 20 digs
* Those 20 digs were a career-high for Ceasar, surpassing her previous high of 19 (2x, last vs. Wisconsin – 4/19/21)
* Marlie Monserez registered her sixth double-double on the year, finishing with 39 assists and 12 digs
* The Gators are now 49-13 against LSU in the all-time series, including a 46-5 record under Mary Wise
* Florida improves to 16-6 in four-set matches against the Tigers
* UF moves to 21-6 against LSU in Baton Rouge, La.
* The Gators are now 2-3 in four-set matches during the 2021 campaign
* Mary Wise is now just 10 wins away from claiming the 1,000th of her career. She would be the first Division I female head coach to reach the mark and just the fourth DI coach overall
Thoughts from Coach Wise

* “It was a match that wasn’t as clean as we would have hoped, but we were able to generate enough points to come out with a win on the road.”
Up Next

* The Gators are right back in action on Sunday to close out the series with the Tigers
* First serve is slated for 1 p.m. on the SEC Network
* The match can also be heard on the airways of ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM
No. 20 Florida at LSU Broadcast Information – Oct. 10
Date & Time: Oct. 10 | 1 p.m. ET
TV Network: SEC Network
Live Stream: SEC Network<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.espn.com_watch_player-3Fid-3D089d6ce5-2D77f7-2D43d3-2Da50d-2D4f86319696b4&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=HRlvmyyLyQ-h9xnyRfDBz5v_fQtK_96exrrMNrpceDo&s=fTuq9qQtZd1BnvDRyNjKudfMe6kMNndHpDP-4Ijwi3o&e= >
Live Stats: Statbroadcast<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__stats.statbroadcast.com_statmonitr_-3Fid-3D359303&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=HRlvmyyLyQ-h9xnyRfDBz5v_fQtK_96exrrMNrpceDo&s=gGrJfZqFnbcy2dv85il5wvU1eWBr1b4k2fIDdx_peTI&e= >
Radio: ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM<https://www.wruf.com/listen-live/>

Series Information – No. 20 Florida at LSU
Tigers | 2021 season synopsis: 6-9, 2-4 SEC

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