Florida Volleyball Defeats Arkansas 3-0 Series Opener

Florida Gator volleyball pulled out all of its offensive tricks against Arkansas in their Friday match up. They beat the traveling Razorbacks in a quick, 1-2-3 match on the first day of a back to back match up at home.

Offensive Attacks

The Florida team was not shy about its offensive power, height and skill during the game. Of the starters, all but the libero clocked in at over 6sixfeet tall.

Florida had a total of 44 kills in the game compared to Arkansas’ 32.  Leading the pack with kills is none other than the projected MVP, Thayer Hall, with 16 kills. The 6 foot 3 outside hitter also raked in two blocks and two aces in the opening game.

Coming in next was 6 foot 7 right-side, Holly Carlton, with nine kills and five blocks.

On opposite ends of the lineup, outside T’Ara Ceasar and setter Marlie Monserez, also ended the night with impressive stats. Ceasar had eight kills, one ace and three blocks. Monserez had five kills and four blocks.

Defensive Backing

In the back row, the Florida defense also held its own.  Defensive specialist and libero, Elli McKissock, led the way with 16 digs in the game. Monserez followed her with 12, then Hall with eight and Ceasar with five.

Team Stats

Overall, UF had 12 errors while Arkansas had 18.  The Gators also had more than four times the number of blocks than the Razorbacks. They also had five aces compared to Arkansas’ zero.

Scores

Set one: 25-16 Florida

Set two: 25- 19 Florida

Set three: 25- 21 Florida

What’s Next?

The Gators and Razorbacks reconvene for their second game Saturday at 6 p.m.  Heading into the series, Florida was ranked number eight with a 12-2 record, and Arkansas was unranked with an 11-5 record.

Heading into Saturday’s match, the Gators are on an eight-game win-streak, with only three regularly-scheduled teams left to play, not including the series against Missouri and Mississippi State that were postponed early in the spring.