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No. 11 Florida volleyball team beat Northern Colorado, 3-1, Saturday night in Greeley, Colo., to move to 2-0 on the young season.
The Gators were led in the scoring column by fifth-year senior outside hitter Isabel Martin, who recorded 13 kills.
Inauspicious Beginning
After a first set that saw Florida get behind early and never really have the strength to claw back, losing 25-19, the Gators likely felt things needed to start differently in the second. Luckily for them, Elli McKissock got up to serve early.
McKissock, the senior libero, went to the service line for the Gators with a 3-1 second-set deficit. Moments later, she was serving in her second ace to give the Gators a 6-0 run.
She had quite the performance Saturday night, digging nine balls for the Gators while only committing one reception error vs. Northern Colorado (1-1).
S4 | DIGGGG 😤
Gators 17 | Bears 13#GoGators pic.twitter.com/oxBdRYP86H
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) September 1, 2024
More importantly than her statistical performance was the leadership she provided the Gators throughout their four-set win. McKissock, stepping up for other notable Gators Kennedy Martin and Alexis Stucky who weren’t playing Saturday night, filled the role of keeping Florida collected after a dazed start.
Notable Gators Out
Martin, the sophomore opposite hitter, went down with an injury at the end of Florida’s win against Colorado State on Friday night. No update has been provided about her status, but she did not grace coach Mary Wise’s lineup card Saturday evening.
Stucky, the redshirt sophomore setter, has a well-documented knee injury that she has been rehabbing since last fall. The preseason All-SEC selection is expected back later this month.
In place of Stucky was starter freshman Taylor Parks, who had another impressive evening that saw her record 36 assists, bringing her to 80 through two games. She also recorded only one ball-handling error in the win.
S3 | Fitzpatrick delivers a powerful kill 💨
Gators 10 | Bears 12#GoGators | @NCAAVolleyball
📺 https://t.co/JnEa0CNTSf (ESPN +) pic.twitter.com/mEKoaG46Ek
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) September 1, 2024
In lieu of Martin, freshman Alec Rothe started at the opposite hitter position. Rothe had started as a middle blocker Friday night, so freshman Jaela Auguste rolled to her starting spot in the middle. Rothe shined in her opposite hitter position, recording 11 kills and a block.
S2 | Right out the gate!
Gators 1 | Bears 1#GoGators | @NCAAVolleyball
📺 https://t.co/JnEa0CNTSf (ESPN +) pic.twitter.com/PvTydhQqUS
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) September 1, 2024
The Set-by-Set and Looking Forward
After Florida’s first-set loss, the Gators held on through the final three. UF was up 22-13 in the second set and held on to win 25-18. Sets three and four were similar, with each team experiencing at least a four-point run in both sets. In both instances, the Gators were able to draw out the victories 25-23 and 25-23.
Florida (2-0) will face Michigan State (1-1) in Fort Collins, Colo., on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET.
