Correspondent
Published: Friday, September 3, 2010 at 9:55 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 3, 2010 at 9:55 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 3, 2010 at 9:55 p.m.
The No. 6 Florida volleyball team enjoyed its home opener so much Friday, the team did it twice.
The opening day of the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational saw a pair of Gator victories, starting with a lunch time 25-8, 25-21, 25-14 sweep of Albany and ending with a nightcap 25-12, 25-11, 25-16 romp over Bowling Green.
The Gators conclude play today against No. 15 Colorado State, which also logged a pair of sweeps over Albany and Bowling Green, at 4 p.m..
Florida (4-0) came out with a bang, scoring seven straight points to open the match and finishing on a 17-4 run to put away the first set. Eastside High School grad Chloe Mann saw her first O'Connell Center action late in the set. The redshirt freshman came in with UF up 19-7 and recorded a pair of kills and a block in the team's final six points of the frame.
The Gators came out sluggish in the second set, falling behind 4-1 at the start before compiling a 6-1 surge to regain the lead. The Great Danes (2-3) forced five ties and never let Florida take more than a four-point lead.
"The score in the second game was indicative of us not playing as good defense as I think we're capable of playing," UF coach Mary Wise said. "(Albany) had more kills in set two (14) than they had in the first and third games combined."
Senior Callie Rivers single-handedly killed the Albany momentum early in the third set by serving eight straight points that extended the team's lead to 11-2. Rivers' run included five-straight serves that the visitors couldn't return; three by ace and two by Albany hitting error.
