Florida middle
blockers Chloe Mann (Gainesville, Fla.) and Betsy Smith (Atlanta,
Ga.) put together some of the best volleyball of their careers on Sunday
afternoon, as the No. 11 Gator volleyball team swept Auburn, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19,
25-15), to remain unbeaten in SEC action (9-0).
The
Gators move to 15-2 on the year, as the Orange and Blue haven’t dropped a match
since a four-set defeat to then-No. 9 Stanford at the Nike Big Four Classic on
September 1.
“I
thought early on, Auburn made so few unforced errors and they served the ball
very aggressively,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “As we controlled
the first contact better, the game plan became pretty evident and that was get
the ball to the middle. 31 kills out of our middles in three sets is pretty
impressive. It’s impressive by our hitters, by our setter and by our passers.”
Mann
crushed 20 kills, tying her career high from just a few weeks ago when the
Gators defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks in four sets. Mann’s 20 kills
marks just the second time a Gator has tallied 20+ kills in a 3-set match since
the move to 25-point sets in 2008 (22, Živa Recek vs. Texas – 8/31/12). Mann
also roofed seven blocks, tying her career high and setting a new season high.
Her .679 hitting percentage is a new season high.
Smith
was virtually unstoppable against the Tigers, hitting a career-high .917 with
11 errorless kills on 12 swings. Smith has hit above .500 five times in 2012
and has been errorless nine times since taking a starting role in 2011 (min.
nine attacks).
“The
thing that makes Betsy so special, besides the fact I see her as the face of
Florida Volleyball, is she really exemplifies what this team is about in terms
of working hard, grinding, getting better, as she has throughout her five years,”
Wise said. “The other day, she had more digs than she did kills, and she took
great pride in her digs. She works hard every day in all aspects of the game.
“She’s
not the fastest and she’s not the biggest jumper that we’ve had come through
here, but we’ve had few that worked harder,” Wise continued. “Those numbers are
a reflection of her work ethic.”
Junior
setter Taylor Brauneis (Crystal Lake, Ill.) dished out 41 assists to set
the Gators to their 12th match of 2012 with a hitting percentage of .300 or
better. Sophomore libero Taylor Unroe (Muncie, Ind.) scooped a match-high
11 digs and served up a match-high two aces, while sophomore defensive
specialist Madison Monserez (Orlando, Fla.) and SEC Offensive Player of
the Week Živa
Recek (Kočevje,
Slovenia) turned
in nine digs apiece on the afternoon. Senior right-side hitter Tangerine
Wiggs (Seattle, Wash.) stuffed a season-high-tying five blocks against the
Tigers.
The
teams battled to open the match with a Mann-Wiggs stuff block tying the set at
4-4. A Smith kill gave Florida the advantage at 8-7 and the Gators continued to
lead throughout much of the opening stanza. An Auburn hitting error gave the
Gators their largest lead of the set thus far at 14-11. Unroe served up an ace
out of the TV timeout to put Florida ahead, 16-13. A Recek-Smith stuff block
continued the three-point Gator lead and a triple block by Gabby Mallette (Orange
Park, Fla.), Mann and Wiggs put Florida within two of the set victory, 23-18.
Back-to-back Mann kills tilted the opening frame in Florida’s favor, 25-19.
Florida
came out strong out of the gate in set two, as Mallette slammed three straight
kills to put the Gators ahead, 4-1. Back-to-back Gator blocks continued the
momentum on Florida’s side, 6-4. Monserez served up an ace out of the Auburn
timeout to go ahead, 19-15. Smith began to get into a rhythm towards the middle
of the set, putting away three kills in four attempts to get the Gators ahead,
22-15. The Orange and Blue continued to go to their bread and butter, as Mann
put away her 12th kill of the afternoon to give the Gators the second set,
25-19.
Out of
intermission, the Gators went on a tear, leading 6-1 behind the serves of Smith
and Brauneis to force a Tiger timeout. Mann and Smith continued to dominate at
the net, as six of Florida’s 12 points were won off kills by Gator middles with
the Orange and Blue leading 14-7. Out of Auburn’s second timeout of the set, the
Gators continued to surge, as a triple block by Mallette, Mann and Wiggs put
Florida ahead 16-9. Sophomore defensive specialist Holly Pole (Ocala,
Fla.) stepped behind the line to serve up four points for Florida to extend its
lead to double-digits at 21-10. Unroe served up her second ace of the night to
get the Gators within two of the match, 23-11. Recek tooled the block to end
the match, 25-15.
Florida
hits the road to face SEC West foes Alabama and Texas A&M next weekend. The
Gators face the Crimson Tide at 8 p.m. ET on Friday evening in Tuscaloosa
before traveling to College Station to take on the Aggies on Sunday afternoon.
First serve between the SEC East leader and the SEC West leader is set for 2
p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Florida is
undefeated against both squads all-time, as the Gators own a 36-0 all-time
record against Alabama, including 34-0 during the Wise era, and a 6-0 record
against Texas A&M (4-0 under Wise). Gator fans can listen to both matches
on Country 103.7 The Gator with longtime play-by-play announcer Tom Collett on
the call.
