Florida Volleyball Clinches SEC Title

The Florida volleyball team defeated Ole Miss in an exciting five-set match Saturday to clinch the SEC regular season crown. The Gators share the title with Kentucky, but have secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament due to the SEC tie break rules.

The Gators were led by senior Marina Markova who tallied 18 kills. Junior Sofia Victoria and sophomore Merritt Beason contributed 13 kills each as well. Freshman setter Alexis Stucky dished out 53 assists to keep Florida’s offense running.

Gators Jump Ahead Early

Florida wasted no time leaving its mark on the Rebels’ home court, jumping to a 11-5 lead in the first set. Ole Miss inched within one point to make the score 18-17 before the Gators finished the set with a kill from Victoria. Florida took set one 25-23.

Check out Marina's 1,000th ⤵️

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— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) November 26, 2022

The Gators kept rolling in the second set, taking a 14-9 lead to start the set. A kill from Beason extended the Gators’ lead 17-11 before the Gators took over. Florida ran away with a 25-16 win in the second set, and Markova tallied her 1000th career kill.

Rebels Rage Back

The Gators two-set lead clearly did not sit well with the Rebels, as they responded with back to back set wins. Ole Miss jumped to a 9-4 lead in the third set, but Florida responded by closing in within one point of the Rebels down 16-15. However, it wouldn’t last long. Ole Miss ran away with a 25-19 set two win.

https://twitter.com/OleMissVB/status/1596653956926578688

The Gators looked like they had a chance in set four taking a 7-2 lead to start. But, the Rebels went on a run to tie the set at 13 apiece. From then on, the set went back and forth, neither team able to take a significant lead. Ole Miss’ Anna Bair helped the Rebels take the set 25-21 with two clutch kills.

Gators Prevail

With an SEC championship on the line, the Gators pulled out a tough fifth set to win their final game of the regular season. Beason and Markova tallied three kills each in the final set, while Gabbi Essix contributed two kills to lead the Gators to victory 15-11.

https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/1596664797092790273

The NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday will inform the Gators of their next match up in NCAA Tournament play.