Gators Volleyball completes 10th sweep of the season

The Gators volleyball team swept the Tennessee Lady Volunteers to finish their two-match series Friday night. The three sets ended 25-23, 29-27, 25-16.

How did it happen?

First Set

The Tennessee Lady Vols got a quick start to the first set. They jumped out to a 6-3 lead, but the Gators quickly tied it back up at 7-7. The largest lead of the set was 18-15 in favor of the Gators.

Lauren Forte led the way for the Gators in the first set with four kills. T’ara Ceasar, Thayer Hall, Holly Carlton and Lauren Dooley each had three kills.

Second Set

The Gators flipped the script of the first set in the second. The Gators went up 6-1 early and forced a Tennessee timeout. Tennessee eventually pulled back to 13-13, after which, no team managed more than a three-point lead until the Gators led 24-21. The Lady Vols pulled out two points and forced a Gators timeout. The set went into extra points and saw the Gators win it 29-27.

There was a combined 16 errors in the set by both teams. Ceasar added five kills to her total and Hall added another four.

Third Set

This set started similar to the second with the Gators pulling away to an early 6-2 lead. The Lady Vols pulled back close to a one-point deficit, but the Gators followed that up with a 10-2 run to all but seal the set. The Gators won the final set 25-16.

The Gators held the Lady Vols to a series low 0.025 hitting percentage in this set.

Total Match

Marlie Monserez and T’ara Ceasar recorded their fifth double-double of the season. Monserez had 36 assists and 12 digs while tallying on an additional seven kills. Ceasar had 12 kills and 10 digs.

Freshman libero Elli McKissock led the Gators in digs with 19.

“This was a match where we had to grind it out. Kills were hard to come by due to Tennessee’s defense,” Gators coach Mary Wise said in the post-match press conference, “Really proud of our group’s effort these two matches.”

Florida is now 53-13 all-time against Tennessee. The Gators return to action on Friday, March 5 to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks at the Exactech Arena.