Junior Florida right-side/setter Kelly Murphy (Wilmington, Ill.) became just the 29th player in program history to join the school’s elusive 1,000-point club, recording her nation-leading fifth triple-double of the season in the process Friday, to direct the No. 1 Gators to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-22) win against Auburn in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The Gators (15-1, 8-0 Southeastern Conference) claimed their 10th consecutive victory and their fourth sweep in a row en route to the win. Florida, which hit .250 for the match, held the Tigers to just .087 hitting, marking the third time this season that the Gators have limited an opponent to less than a .100 hitting efficiency.
Murphy recorded a match-high 15 kills on .583 hitting to complement 13 assists and 12 digs for 16.0 total points. Murphy’s triple-double was her fifth of the season, which allowed her to surpass Northern Iowa’s Bre Payton for the top spot among national leaders in triple-doubles in 2010. It marked her school-record 20th career triple-double.
“You can’t talk about this match without talking about Kelly Murphy because of how really special she was today,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “She showed great offensive patience and used all parts of the court to get her kills. She's got terrific court vision.”
Murphy recorded her 1,000th career point in the match, teaming with junior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson (Bakersfield, Calif.) for a block to give the Gators an 11-6 lead in the second set and to make her just the 29th player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau. She accomplished the feat in just 78 career matches, more impressively while operating as a key element in Florida’s 6-2 offensive scheme.
Wise picked up her 699th career victory, putting her one win away from 700 for her coaching career. Wise is 699-131 (.842) in her 25th season as a collegiate head coach.
“What we do know is that it's a 3-0 win at home, but we have to go back to Auburn and that team, they do a lot of really good things,” Wise said. “I have a feeling that this is a team that you don't want to play in the second half of the SEC season, and I fully expect them to be in the NCAA Tournament.”
The Gators improve to 13-1 all-time when playing as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team.
Junior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) charted nine kills and seven digs, while senior outside hitter Callie Rivers (Winter Park, Fla.) registered six kills and 12 digs. Senior middle blocker Lauren Bledsoe (Long Beach, Calif.) added five kills and two blocks.
Freshman setter Chanel Brown (Tempe, Ariz.) dished out a match-high 22 assists, while senior libero Erin Fleming (Orlando, Fla.) posted a match-high 13 digs.
To open the first set, the Gators jumped out to a fast 2-0 lead behind a block by Bledsoe and sophomore right-side Tangerine Wiggs (Seattle, Wash.) and a Bledsoe kill. The Tigers battled back to within one at 3-2, but a block from Murphy and Anderson stretched the Gators’ lead back to three at 5-2. The two teams traded points until, at 7-4, a Fleming ace widened the Florida lead to four at 8-4. From there, the Gators kept rolling. Ahead 14-10, Florida ran off four consecutive points highlighted by a pair of Anderson kills, to bring the score to 18-10. The Tigers responded with a 3-0 run of their own behind kills from Sarah Bullock and Kelly Fidero. The Gators then capitalized on several Auburn errors and a Murphy kill to extend the lead to eight at 21-13, and Florida easily closed out the first set at 25-16 on three consecutive Auburn errors.
The two teams battled evenly to open the second set until, tied at 4-4, a pair of Murphy kills and a Tiger error gave the Gators a three-point lead at 7-4. The Tigers fought back within one at 7-6 behind a Bullock and Alyssa Davis block. Florida then responded by firing off four consecutive points, highlighted by a Rivers ace and a block from Anderson and Murphy, to bring the score to 11-6. Auburn fought back, running off three consecutive points of their own behind kills from Bullock and Fidero to cut the Florida lead to two at 11-9, but they couldn’t overtake the Florida lead. Ahead 15-12, a Bledsoe kill and block from Anderson and Rivers to widen the gap to five at 17-12. The two teams traded points until the Gators were able to close out the second set at 25-17 on a Wiggs kill.
In the third set, the Tigers raced to a quick 3-1 lead thanks to a Johns kill and a block from Camila Jeronsky and Fidero, but Gators fought back to knot the score at 4-4 on a Jaeckel kill. With the score tied at five, Florida ran off three consecutive points behind a pair of Murphy kills and a Fleming ace to take the Gators’ first lead of the set at 8-5. Ahead 8-6, the Gators went on another 3-0 run, highlighted by two Jaeckel kills and another from Rivers, to widen the advantage to five at 11-6. Down by five, the Tigers battled back, capitalizing on three Florida errors in a row to cut the Gators’ lead to two at 12-10.
Florida ran off three consecutive points at 14-12 thanks to kills from Wiggs and Murphy and a Brown service ace, stretching the lead again to five at 17-12. The Tigers kept battling, using kills from Bullock and Jonelle Wallace, along with a block from Wallace and Lauren Mellor, to come within two at 17-15. The two teams battled evenly in the final points of the third set until the Gators pulled away on kills from Murphy and Jaeckel and an Auburn error to bring the score to 24-19, but the Tigers weren’t finished yet. Auburn fired off three straight points on the Gators’ match point to come within two at 24-22. After a Florida timeout, the Gators were able to close out the final set and the match at 25-22 on a Bledsoe kill.
Auburn (14-7, 5-4 SEC) was led by Fidero’s team-high eight kills and Chelsea Wintzinger’s team-high 11 digs.
Florida returns to action on Sunday when it plays host to border-rival Georgia. Opening serve in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center is slated for 1:30 p.m. ET and the match will be carried live on Sun Sports with Larry Vettel and Missy Whittemore and on WRUF Sports Radio 850 with Tom Collett and Cory Stephens.
For all of the latest information on Florida volleyball, please log on to www.GatorZone.com/volleyball. Follow Florida Volleyball on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorZoneVB and Coach Mary Wise on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GatorMary.
POST-MATCH QUOTES
FLORIDA HEAD COACH MARY WISE
On junior right-side setter Kelly Murphy’s 20th career triple double …
“You can’t talk about this match without talking about Kelly Murphy because of how really special she was today. Of the 24 balls where she took swings, not all of them were in rhythm, when we were in system, where she was hitting with less than two blockers. She showed great offensive patience, used all parts of the court to get her kills. She's got terrific court vision. I wish we could bottle it and get it to all of our players. Kelly had one of those matches, where we might have had a 3-0 win, but you want to remember matches like these when she's gone.
On Florida’s defensive performance vs. Auburn …
Defensively, we did do some things better. We had some terrific rallies. I thought set three was really good because of how well Auburn played. They touched a ton of balls and made some pretty elite plays. It was good stuff. What we do know is that it's a 3-0 win at home, but we have to go back to Auburn and that team, they do a lot of really good things. I have a feeling that this is a team that you don't want to play in the second half of the SEC, and I fully expect them to be in the NCAA Tournament.”
#12 Kelly Murphy, Jr., S/RS
#12 Kelly Murphy, Jr., S/RS
On winning long rallies in Friday’s match …
"We worked really hard in practice this week on staying focused throughout the rallies, especially on defense. I thought that played a huge part in our success tonight."
On Florida’s defensive performance on Friday …
"I feel like we played pretty well, that we were consistent up until the third set. I thought we did a good job, especially on defense. We had good block touches and I thought that we had some good scramble plays where we would go all over the place. I thought we played hard tonight."
