The No. 8 Gator volleyball team put up a fight in their
final Nike Big Four showing but came up short, falling to No. 1 Penn State, 3-0
(18-25, 17-25, 20-25) Saturday in Gregory Gymnasium. Senior CLASS Award nominee
Chloe Mann led the Gators with 10 kills on the morning, while Živa
Recek tallied seven slams.
Junior libero Taylor Unroe turned in a match-high 14
digs against the Nittany Lions, while Mackenzie Dagostino and Taylor
Brauneis shared setting duties, dishing out 15 and 14 assists respectively.
QUICK HITS
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Florida ended their four-year run in the Nike Big Four at 3-5,
defeating Texas in five sets in both 2010 and 2011 and taking down No. 2
Stanford in four sets in 2013.
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This was just the second time in program history the Gators have
played the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country in the same weekend. In 2003,
No. 3 Florida defeated No. 2 Hawaii in the NCAA Final Four before falling to
No. 1 Southern Cal in the National Championship match.
RECORDS: Florida: 5-1 (3-5 all-time in Nike Big
Four); PSU: 3-1 (4-4 all-time in Nike Big Four)
