It wasn't so much the loss to a young and talented Tennessee team Sunday that did not sit well with Florida head coach Mary Wise as it was the way the sixth-ranked Gators lost their early-season showdown with the Volunteers in front of an O'Connell Center crowd of 2,031 and a national (ESPNU) television audience.
After more than two hours of going toe-to-toe and exchanging blows with the upset-minded visitors, the Gators finally seemed to have the upper hand with an 11-8 lead in the fifth and deciding set.
But UF, an experienced and senior-laden team, could not seal the deal. Instead it was the Vols, a team with 10 freshmen and sophomores on their 15-player roster, who came through in the clutch to take a 3-2 upset win over Florida.
With their 25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 18-16 victory, the Vols, winners of seven straight matches, improved to 11-2 overall and are now the only unbeaten team in the SEC East at 4-0. The Gators, meanwhile, slipped to 9-3, 2-1.
“I think what is the most disappointing thing for us is that in the fifth set we were right there, up 11-8,” Wise said. “Then we just had so many unforced errors, especially for a senior-laden team. That's what is very disappointing.
“So now we're all chasing Tennessee. That's a huge win for them. It's hard to win this league if you don't win at home, but there are a lot of matches left.”
The Vols, on the other hand, were understandably excited with their big win, and when sophomore Carly Sahagian's block on UF's last attack of the night hit the floor on the Gator side, the Tennessee players on the bench rushed the floor for a big celebration with their teammates.
“This was a great win for us, especially considering how young we are,” said Tennessee head coach Rob Patrick. “We had three freshmen on the floor at times tonight. Our players were amazingly calm and focused.”
Sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Robinson, who came into the match leading the SEC with an average of 4.91 kills per set, was impressive in recording her ninth double-double of the season with 17 kills and 15 digs. But the Vols also got a double-double from Sahagian, who had a match-high 19 kills to go with 13 digs, as well as double-digit kills from 6-4 junior outside hitter Leslie Cikra (17) and 6-3 junior middle blocker DeeDee Harrison (12). In addition, freshman setter Mary Pollmiller tied her career-high with 59 assists to lead the Vols to a 64-55 edge in that category.
Senior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel led the Gators with 16 kills and added 14 digs for her 21st career double-double, while fellow senior Kelly Murphy added to her school-record with her 26th career triple double (10 kills, 21 assists, 14 digs). Senior Stephanie Ferrell had 14 kills and a .400 hitting percentage while senior middle blocker Betsy Smith added a career-high nine kills, a team-high .438 hitting mark and tied her career-best with eight block assists, but it wasn't enough.
UF outhit the Vols, .295 to .239, but Tennessee came away with a 71-61 advantage in kills, a stat that caught their coach's attention.
“I've probably played Florida 35 times, and I think I can count the times we've had more kills than they have on one hand,” said Patrick, who has coached the Vols since 1997. “They (Florida) are always so athletic and well-coached, it seems they always end up with the advantage when we play.”
Wise felt the difference was fundamentals.
“I think the difference was the serving and passing of Tennessee,” she said. “It came down to the fundamentals of volleyball, and give Tennessee credit for doing them well.”
The Gators will try to rebound this weekend in road matches at Auburn and Georgia.
“We're an older team, but we're playing with a young team mentality,” Jaeckel said. “That's something we've talked about and something we need to change.”
