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For the second straight game, Kennedy Martin tallied 31 kills for the Florida Gators volleyball team. This time it was against Arkansas on Thursday night. Aury Cruz, the four-time AVCA All-American, set the career high with 31 kills on Dec. 8, 2001. Almost 23 years later, Cruz now shares that title with Kennedy Martin. The sophomore recorded the most kills in a four-set match and broke her career-high of 28 kills against Tennessee last Friday.
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As AVCA Player of the Week, Martin’s kills led the Gators to their 3-1 comeback win against Arkansas (11-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-23). After a tough loss in set one, Florida was able to come back and win the next three sets, giving the Gators their fourth-straight conference win. Florida is now 15-5 overall and 6-3 in the SEC.
The Comeback Road
Florida reverted back to its old ways in set one. After Arkansas started the set with a 13–8 advantage, Florida lost all momentum. The Gators barely grabbed three points in the whole rest of the set, with Arkansas shutting them down 25–11. Despite six kills and six assists, the Razorbacks could have easily kept the Gators under 10, as UF finished with a negative hitting percentage (-0.034%)
However, head coach Mary Wise was not about to let her team suffer another shut down loss. So, in set two, the Gators grabbed a 7-6 lead with the help of kills from Isabel Martin and an ace from Kennedy Martin.
Florida was able to expand its lead, which was 15–12 at the media timeout, through a seven-point serving run and three kills out of the back row from Kennedy Martin. In their second set, the Gators’ hitting percentage increased to .357, allowing them to secure the match win 25-19.
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Taking their momentum from set two, the Gators were able to take an 8-4 lead. Back-to-back kills from Kennedy Martin and another from Auguste took the teams into their media timeout, with Florida ahead 15-13. Unfortunately, back-to-back errors by UF forced them to take a timeout.
The teams then went point-for-point until Florida took a 19-18 lead, and the Razorbacks took a huddle break of their own. The Gators maintained control thanks to contributions from Kennedy Martin and Jaela Auguste. Then, Taylor Parks’ calculated dump ended the set, giving Florida a 25–21 victory.
The Final Set
In the final set, the Gators and Razorbacks got caught in a point-for-point battle, until Florida was able to come up on top 10-7. However, the lead was followed by Arkansas’ 5-point serving run, which forced the Gators to take a timeout. Out of the break Martin and Fitzpatrick racked up points, pushing Arkansas into a timeout of its own.
Arkansas pushed back outside of the timeout and regained control. The Gators, trailing 23–22, came back for consecutive points, winning the set 25–23 on an Arkansas hitting error to come back and win the game 3–1.
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Other Big Time Players
- Kennedy Martin continued her run of double-digit kills in every Florida game with her record-tying 31 kills, which also marked her eighth-career double-double.
- Three Gators recorded double-digit digs, headed by Elli McKissock (20), who was followed by Isabel Martin (19) and Kennedy Martin (10).
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- Two players either set or tied career highs: Martin tied her career high of 31 kills and set a high of 33.5 points scored, while Lauren Harden set a career high of 1 block.
With Florida’s success in October, the Gators are on the right track. However, they need to use this momentum to prepare for the rest of their upcoming SEC battles. As well as potential playoff games. Florida went 5-2 in the month of October, with the only losses to Texas and South Carolina.
Up Next
The Gators will return home for their next match against Ole Miss. First serve is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3. The game will also be live streamed on SEC Network+.
