The 16th-ranked Florida Gators defeated the North Texas Eagles 3-0 on Friday in the first of two games at the Sunshine Invitational this weekend at O’Connell Center.
The Gators (8-2) were strong all game against the Eagles, winning 25-22, 25-13 and 25-18.
Florida recorded 43 kills with just 11 errors and an efficient hitting percentage of .352, while North Texas recorded just 25 kills, just over half as many as UF.
Path to Victory
The Mean Green (2-8) scored the first three points of the set, but a two-handed kill by Kennedy Martin gave Florida its first lead at 21-20.
Florida had 11 service errors to the Eagles’ five, but Florida had a total of three aces in the first set, two from Kennedy Martin and one from Eli McKissock, whose ace put the Gators at set point. Jerra Auguste sealed the win with her third kill of the set.
The Gators score first #GoGators pic.twitter.com/e8BlYpp1mW
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) September 20, 2024
A block by Alec Rothe scored the Gators’ first point of the second set, and freshman Taylor Parks’ serve for five points gave Florida a solid lead. Ten points into the second set, Florida held North Texas to one, giving the Gators the space they needed to take control of the set.
A service error by the Eagles gave Florida a set point at 23-13, and another block by Rote gave the Gators the second set.
As in the second set, the Gators were far ahead of the Mean Green, as Florida went on a 7-0 run to take an 8-2 lead.
After a year of ACL/MCL recovery, setter Alexis Stuckey made her 2024 season debut by playing in the final set against North Texas, where she returned with 14 assists, one kill and one dig.
S3 | Guess who’s back and tell your friends 😌
Alexis Stuckey gets her first kill since her return!
Gators 14 | Mean Green 5 #GoGators | @NCAAVolleyball
📺 https://t.co/T1lGAgM0vO (SECN +) pic.twitter.com/HKoELRzjAk
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) September 21, 2024
Rotation on the Rise
Blocks came into play in the final set, with Rote scoring a total of four blocks in the set: one solo block, one block kill, and finally a block on match point.
Fans were waiting for the Gators to finish the game off, and they weren’t disappointed. On their second match point, Rote swung the ball through the Eagles’ block and scored the final point of the night.
She totaled five blocks and six kills, and the Gators recorded 6.0 blocks as a team.
Sweep at the Odome 🧹 #GoGators pic.twitter.com/KkkRgXNnUm
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) September 21, 2024
Continue to shine
The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced that Florida players Kennedy Martin and Isabel Martin have been selected to the Nike Volleyball 2024 Division I Player of the Year Award Watch List.
Sophomore All-American Kennedy Martin scored 15 points in her return last week against Florida State and led the Gators with 14 points this week.
S3 | She’s on fire
A Kennedy kill by our very own Alexis Stuckey!
Gators 2 | Mean Green 1#GoGators | @NCAAVolleyball
📺 https://t.co/T1lGAgM0vO (SECN +) pic.twitter.com/OIds2M7XEL
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) September 21, 2024
She put the ball in the back right corner of the opposing team to score the first point of the set. Martin’s ability to put the ball in tough spots is unmatched and was crucial to the Gators’ win.
Martin was the only Gators player to record double-digit kills, continuing her streak of recording 10 or more kills in every match she played in. She also finished with six digs, one behind dig leaders Eli McKissock and Isabel Martin, who both had seven.
Other highlights
Seven Gators contributed at least one kill to Florida’s 43 total kills: Isabel Martin (8), A.C. Fitzpatrick (7), Alec Rothe (6), Jaela Auguste (3), Lauren Harden (2), Amaya Thomas (2) and Stuckey (1).
Nine players recorded digs for the Gators: Ellie McKissock, Isabel Martin and Kennedy Martin had seven and six, respectively. Emily Canaan had four, Fitzpatrick and Parks had three each and August, Stuckey and Rote had one each. Florida totaled 33 digs.
Next
Florida will face the University at Buffalo (4-7) on Sunday at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed on SECN+ and broadcast live on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF Radio.
