The No. 13
University of Florida team swept the Missouri Tigers, 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-17),
on Friday evening in front of 3,592 fans in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The
Gators move to 9-2 on the season and 3-0 in conference play, while the Tigers
fall to 10-3 overall and 2-1 in SEC action. The match marked the 22nd straight
SEC home opener victory for Florida head coach Mary Wise.
“It was
an interesting match,” Wise said. “It was like two basketball teams that are
going fast break, fast break and just not hitting some shots. I credit
Missouri’s defense and how well they played. I felt that if we could just
control the first contact and make some good hitting decisions, there were
kills to be had, and that was the difference in the third set. If Simone Antwi
hadn’t come in and blocked that ball (to end the second set), who knows if we
would have been looking at 4, maybe 5 sets.”
Florida
hit .237 in the match behind the third career double-double (15 kills, 11 digs)
for Živa Recek (Kočevje, Slovenia), while junior middle blocker Chloe
Mann (Gainesville, Fla.) hit .348 with 12 kills on the night. Senior Tangerine
Wiggs (Seattle, Wash.) tallied nine kills while junior Taylor Brauneis (Crystal
Lake, Ill.) dished out 35 assists, adding eight digs, three blocks and three
kills.
“Our
defensive players played really well and Taylor was able to give us really nice
looks, so we were able to swing (at) various shots,” Recek said. “If we have
one block, then it’s easier to score points.”
Sophomore
Taylor Unroe (Muncie, Ind.) tallied 15 digs on the night, marking the
17th straight match in which she has scooped double-digit digs (dating back to
Nov. 23, 2011. Unroe also continued her passing streak, registering her 10th
match of the season with a perfect serve-receive percentage.
The Gator
block was led by Betsy Smith (Atlanta, Ga.), who stuffed four balls on
the evening. Freshman outside hitter Gabby Mallette (Orange Park, Fla.)
was not far behind Smith, roofing three attempted attacks to tie with Brauneis.
The
Tigers were led by setter Molly Kreklow, who dished out 30 assists, and Whitney
Little, who notched 10 kills and 10 blocks against the Gators. Overall,
Missouri put up 13.5 blocks on the night, while Little had nine through the
first two sets alone.
“Their
setter is amazing,” Brauneis said. “I knew they were going to be awesome. They
run a fast-paced offense and that was hard for us at first, but we pulled it out
in the end and it was a great team win.”
Florida
jumped out to a 6-1 start to the first set, forcing a Mizzou timeout after a
Smith overpass kill. The Tigers tied the set off a Gator hitting error but
Florida gained the edge, 10-9, off a joust at the net won by Mann. Recek and
Smith teamed up for a big block to go ahead at 14-10. Mizzou put together three
straight but a Wiggs slam stopped the run to put Florida up, 15-13.
The
Gators continued to kill balls in transition and reached the double-decade mark
first at 20-16, forcing the Tigers to burn their second timeout of the set. Mann
nailed a quick set out of the middle to put the Orange and Blue ahead, 22-16.
Mizzou went on a 3-0 run to close the gap at 22-19 and force a Gator timeout.
Missouri put up a block at the end of a long rally to pull within two, 23-21,
and force the final timeout of the set for Florida. Recek killed one down the
line to set up set point, 24-21. A Mizzou attacking error tilted the first set
Florida’s way, 25-22.
The
second set was tight from the start, as Florida battled back from down two to
tie the set at 6-6 courtesy of a kill by Mann. A solo block by Mallette
continued to push the momentum the Gators’ way as Florida surged, 10-8. Mizzou
burned their first timeout on the next point after a Tiger hitting error, and a
block by Mann and Wiggs put the Gators ahead, 14-10. Wiggs slammed a heavy ball
out-of-system thanks to a great bump-set by Unroe to continue the run, 16-11. A
Smith slide kill forced Mizzou to call timeout with UF leading, 19-13.
The
Tigers put together a 4-1 run to force a Florida timeout at 20-17 but a
Mallette kill ended the surge and a Mann slam off the Brauneis quick set put UF
within three of the set, 22-19. The Gators called timeout after a quick three
points by Mizzou put the Tigers within one, 23-22. A Wiggs kill put the Gators
at set point, 24-23, but the Tigers didn’t let down and tied the set at 24. A
Mizzou service error set up another set point for Florida. Brauneis teamed up
with Simone Antwi (Fairfax Station, Va.) to stuff Mizzou and take the
set, 26-24, carrying a 2-0 set lead into the locker room.
The
third stanza started much like the one preceding, as both teams battled to take
the lead. There were six ties to open the set and Mizzou began to get out in
front, leading 10-8 courtesy of a block by the Tigers. Florida went on a 4-0
run behind the serve of Holly Pole (Ocala, Fla.) to force a Tiger timeout at 12-10. Mann
blocked the Kreklow dump attempt to pull ahead, 13-10, and a Wiggs slam from
the right continued the surge, 14-11.
An Unroe ace put UF ahead, 15-11, and a tipped kill by Smith
separated the Gators, 17-12. A Mallette kill deep to the back corner put
Florida in the double-decade mark at 20-14. An ace by senior Sundai Weston (Naples,
Fla.) forced a timeout by Mizzou at 21-14 and a backrow kill by Recek put
Florida within three of the match, 22-14. Mallette smartly tipped a kill to the
back corner to set up match point, 24-16. Mann put the match away for Florida,
slamming the quick set out of the middle to give the Gators the set and the
match, 25-17.
Florida hit .412 in the final set, as the Gators made adjustments
coming out of the locker room at intermission. Brauneis spread the offense out
among all of Florida’s hitters, leaving the Missouri block to commit one-on-one
for much of the stanza instead of anticipating the set.
“We
really wanted to stress setting from pin to pin, meaning don’t force the middle,”
Wise noted. “You have to set over the top and get the balls to the right and
left side, and then we could go back to the middle, and that’s what happened
with Chloe’s last kill. It’s difficult to defend the entire net. We felt like
we could take advantage of some matchups, and we finally did in the third set.”
The
match was also a homecoming for the 1992 Florida volleyball team, the first
Gator squad to reach the Final Four. The Gators were introduced during
intermission while a highlight reel played of their magical night against Texas
to reach the national semifinals.
The 1992
Florida volleyball team went 34-2, won the SEC regular season crown, defeated
No. 12 LSU in the SEC Tournament finals, and became UF’s first volleyball team
to reach the Final Four. In between their only two losses of the season (both
to No. 1 UCLA), the Gators swept 26 opponents.
“Some of
those players I haven’t seen since they graduated 20 years ago,” Wise said. “It’s
the first time for some of them coming back… Making the effort to be here means
the world to me.”
Florida
takes the rest of the weekend off from competition before hitting the road once
again. The Gators travel to South Carolina and Mississippi State next weekend
to continue their SEC slate.
