Gators Volleyball Maintains Streak In Victory Against FSU

Keeping the momentum from last week’s domination against Alabama State, the No. 16 Florida Gators defeated the No. 18 Florida State Seminoles in their annual volleyball match Tuesday night at the O’Connell Center.

The Gators (7-2) and the Seminoles (7-2) went back-and-forth during all five sets. UF came back from being down 2-1 after the third set by regaining control to take the fourth and fifth sets to win 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-6).

Last year, the Gators also walked away with a 3-2 comeback win over FSU inside Tully Gym in Tallahassee.

Offense & More Offense

The Gators kept their foot on the gas pedal determined to pull off their first win against a ranked opponent this season.  

Florida’s back row played aggressively and picked up the curveballs sent by FSU. Senior libero Elli McKissock led Florida defensively with 18 digs and four assists. Freshman setter Taylor Parks also did her part in the back row, totaling 10 digs. Besides those two, eight other Gators recorded at least one dig: Kennedy Martin (7), AC Fitzpatrick (6), Isabel Martin (5), Emily Canaan (5), Gabrielle Essix (1), Erin Engel (1), Bella Lee (1) and Alec Rothe (1). 

An area of more struggle for the Gators was blocking. While Florida didn’t do a bad blocking, it did struggle to put up a wall similar to FSU’s. The Gators had 5.0 team blocks, while the Seminoles totaled 11.0. Rothe led the way with three block assists for the Gators and Fitzpatrick recorded Florida’s only solo block. 

https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/1836190855755108418

Building Momentum 

The two teams played tug-of-war for points for most of the five sets. 

Parks seems to have had few struggles adjusting to college-level play. Parks served first for the Gators, and she delivered an ace — the only ace of the set for Florida.

It became a race to 25 after Fitzpatrick scored back-to-back points to tie the teams at 20. Some missed swings, a net violation by FSU and a kill by Rothe secured the set-one victory for the Gators. 

Set 1 WON ‼️#GoGators pic.twitter.com/4Ro8p4sewp

— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) September 17, 2024

In set two, the Gators stepped out a little rocky, making four hitting errors early on. The Gators struggled to keep up with the Seminoles, and at 13-13, Florida already had five service errors. From 16-16 on, the Seminoles and Gators took turns scoring points.

The Gators climbed back to tie it at 20, but serving and attacking errors helped the Seminoles take a 22-20 lead, which they maintained to allow them a 22-25 set win. Set two had the Gators’ lowest hitting statistics of all five sets (.179%).

Seminoles take the second #GoGators pic.twitter.com/G3TGVDojgg

— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) September 18, 2024

In Set 3, Parks pushed the ball to Isabel and Kennedy Martin (on the right side), as well as Essix, the middle blocker. The three of them gave Florida its first lead since 6-5 and forced Florida State to take a timeout as the Gators led 20-18. 

Unfortunately for Florida, it couldn’t maintain the lead and missed three points in a row. Even after the final timeout of the set, it never bounced back. FSU’s block remained solid through the end of the set, racking up three more blocks in the final five points to secure a 25-21 win. In turn, the Gators had no team blocks.

The Gators looked like they regained their rhythm and started the fourth set strong with a 4-0 serving run by Parks for a 10-6 lead. They kept the momentum thanks to three consecutive kills by Essix and a stuff block by Rothe and Fitzpatrick. UF continued to extend its lead and FSU finally called its second timeout at 18-11. 

Parks was once again dominant at the backline. She dropped her third ace of the set, securing the win (25-16) and the opportunity for a final set against the Seminoles. The Gators were able to turn things around, putting a lot of pressure on the Seminoles with solid stats: .375 hitting percentage, 15 kills, 15 assists, 13 digs, three aces and 2.0 team blocks in one set.

Final Set

Set five, a race to 15 points and a close-out for the Gators. McKissock delivered the only ace of the final set, forcing FSU to take a timeout after the Gators steamed ahead to a 6-3 lead. Though FSU successfully cut the gap by two points after the break, a block from K. Martin and Rothe kept UF’s three-point lead. The Gators then scored four points, took the match (15-6).

https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/1836235969483161853

The final set remained strong statistically, with a .700% hitting percentage, 2.0 team blocks and an ace.

Standout Stars

Though this group is filled with young and talented stars, a few made significant waves Tuesday. The team finished with two new 2024 team highs: 66 kills and 63 assists.

• Three Gators set or tied their career highs:
  • Gabrielle Essix: 16 Kills |
  • Taylor Parks: 56 Assists | 4 Aces
  • Alec Rothe: .600 Hitting Percent (Tied) | 1 Assist (Tied)
• Four players set or tied season highs:
  • Kennedy Martin: 7 Digs
  • Emily Canaan: 1 Assist (Tied)
  • Erin Engel: 1 Dig (Tied)
  • Alec Rothe: 1 Assist (Tied)
• Four Gators finished with double-digit kills:
  • Gabrielle Essix: 16
  • Kennedy Martin: 15
  • Isabel Martin: 15
  • Alec Rothe

Kennedy Martin, an All-American, recorded 15 kills in her welcome-back match. Her return showcased how essential of a player she is to the team and its dynamic.  

Parks recorded a career-high 56 assists to command Florida’s .346 hitting percentage while picking up 10 digs in her second double-double career match.

Essix made her season debut as Florida’s starting middle blocker and hit a career-high. Her hitting percentage was a whopping .714%, which is more than double that of Kennedy Martin, who was in second. Somehow, out of 16 kills, she only made one error.

https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/1836209632043503639

Some more notables: Isabel Martin finished with a .367 hitting percentage to add 15 kills to the statistics sheet. Rothe registered 10 kills. Fitzpatrick added eight to Florida’s season-high 66 kills.

Up Next

Florida will stay home to face North Texas (2-7) at 7 p.m. Friday. It will be Florida’s last match of non-conference play. The match will be streamed on SEC+.