After falling 25-19 in the opening set, Florida won the next three sets to move 2-0 on the season.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/8/31/Northern_Colorado_Box_Score.pdf>
GREELEY, Colo. – The No. 11 Florida volleyball team secured their second win of the season on Saturday night after making a three-set run to comeback and defeat Northern Colorado 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-23) inside Colorado Bank Arena.
Redshirt senior Isabel Martin tallied a team-high 13 kills, while tying her career-high four aces. Overall, six Gators recorded at least four kills to register a .295 attacking percentage. Besides Martin’s 13, career-high kills from freshman Alec Rothe (11), freshman Jaela Auguste (6), junior Amaya Thomas (6) and freshman Taylor Parks (4) were posted, while fifth-year veteran AC Fitzpatrick had seven of her own on Saturday.
Leading the offensive charge, Parks dished out 36 assists in the fourth setter, while tallying five digs and three aces.
The Gators finished with six team blocks, with Auguste having three block assists. Additionally, Rothe and Thomas each had one solo block apiece.
Elli McKissock tallied nine of Florida’s 31 digs. The trio of Trinity Adams, Emily Canaan and Parks all followed behind the captain with five.
Florida showed out in its serving, posting 11 aces. It marks the first time the team had 10+ aces in one match since Oct. 13, 2023 against Mississippi State. Five Gators recorded at least one ace: Martin (4), Parks (3), McKissock (2), Adams (1) and Canaan (1).
Records
No. 11 Florida (2-0, 0-0 SEC)
Northern Colorado (1-1, 0-0 Big Sky)
How It Happened
Set 1
* UNC grabbed an early 6-3 lead, but an open net gave Jaela Auguste the opportunity to put one down in front of the 10-foot line to end the Bears’ run. Scrappy defense made it difficult for the Gators to score – the Bears totaled 14 digs in the opening set – and Florida headed into the media timeout trailing, 11-15. The Gators continued to fall behind by three and Coach Wise called a timeout after Northern Colorado took a 20-17 lead. Florida was unable to make the comeback and fell, 25-19 in set one.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .219 Hitting % | 11 Kills | 10 Assists | 8 Digs | 1 Ace | 1 Team Block
Set 2
* The Gators came out more relaxed at the start of set two, going on a 5-0 scoring run behind McKissock’s serve. A block from freshman duo – Parks and Auguste – followed by an ace from Emily Canaan extended the lead to 12-6. Florida was the first to the halfway mark (15-8) after Martin and Thomas each recorded kills. The Bears called a timeout after trailing 19-11 in hopes to regain momentum, but the Gators carried theirs all the way to a 25-18 victory.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .435 Hitting % | 13 Kills | 11 Assists | 8 Digs | 3 Aces | 2 Team Blocks
Set 3
* Trailing by two, Florida put back-to-back points to tie it at seven. The two teams exchanged sideouts, but the Gators grabbed a one-point lead after an ace from Parks and a block from Rothe for a 15-14 lead going into the media timeout. Out of the break, UF outscored the Bears 4-1 to force a UNC timeout heading into the final points of set three. Out of the break, Colorado State got within one, but another 4-0 serving run behind McKissock made it Florida match point, 24-22. A kill from Rothe made it 25-23 to clinch set three.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .304 Hitting % | 11 Kills | 9 Assists | 7 Digs | 3 Aces | 1 Team Block
Set 4
* The Gators grabbed an early 11-6 lead and made Northern Colorado call an early timeout. After settling in, the Bears went on 5-0 run to tie it up and force a Florida timeout. Following a sideout, two aces from Martin and an AC block gave the Gators a 15-11 lead. UNC scored two points, but UF responded with a 3-0 run themselves to pull ahead, 18-14. The Bears inched within one after back-to-back aces from Alayna Tessena and Florida called a timeout to resettle. Tied up at 21, a big block from Thomas gave the Gators a two-point advantage and a clutch ace from Parks made it match point, 24-22. Northern Colorado tried to make the comeback, but a service error sealed the comeback win for Florida with a 25-23 win.
* Set 4 Team Stats | .259 Hitting % | 12 Kills | 11 Assists | 8 Digs | 4 Aces | 2 Team Blocks
Notables
* Jaela Auguste made her first-collegiate start in the Orange and Blue jersey
* Florida’s 11 aces are the most registered since Oct. 13, 2023, when the Gators registered 11 aces against Mississippi State.
* Five Gators recorded or tied career-highs
* Alec Rothe: 11 Kills | .479 Hitting % | 1 Dig
* Amaya Thomas: 6 Kills | 2 Blocks | 1 Block Solo
* Jaela Auguste: 6 Kills | .308 Hitting % | 1 Dig
* Taylor Parks: 6 Kills | 5 Digs | 3 Aces (tied) | 1 Block (Tied 2x)
* Isabel Martin: 4 Aces (Tied 4x)
* Elli McKissock’s two aces in Saturday’s match ties Lauren Moscovic’s 110 career aces, which ranks 17th in program history
* Two Gators recorded double-digit kills: Isabel Martin (13) and Alec Rothe (11)
* UF improves to 1-0 (1-0 under Wise) in all-time series against Northern Colorado
* The Gators are now 1-0 in four-set matches against the Bears
* Florida now holds a 1-0 record against Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo.
* UF is now 2-0 in four-set matches during the 2024 season
Hear from Coach Wise
* “As proud of a performance as I have been fortunate to witness… To run a lineup that we have never practiced, and have the players respond against a very well-coached veteran team playing on their home court.”
Up Next
* The Gators head back to Fort Collins, CO to conclude their Rocky Mountain road trip on Sunday against Michigan State. The natural-site matchup will be inside Moby Arena at 5 p.m. ET. No live broadcast will be available on Sunday, but fans can follow along via Social media @GatorsVB<https://x.com/GatorsVB> and live stats<https://csurams.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary>.
No. 11 Florida vs. Michigan State
Sunday, Sept. 1 | 5 p.m. ET
#11 Florida 2-0 | Michigan State 1-1
Moby Arena – Ft. Collins, CO
Live Stats: SidearmStats<https://csurams.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary>
Series Information
Michigan State | 2024 season: 1-1, 0-0 Big Ten
* Florida leads series 2-0 (2-0 under Mary Wise)
* 3-set: 1-0 | 4-set: 1-0 | 5-set: 0-0
* Home: 1-0 | away: 1-0 | neutral: 0-0
* Last time out: 2016 | w 3-0 | away | 25-13, 25-16, 25-19
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