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The No. 16 Florida Gators swept the North Texas Eagles 3-0 on Friday in their first of two Sunshine Invitational matches at the O’Connell Center this weekend.
The Gators (8-2) stayed strong against the Eagles all match, 25-22, 25-13, 25-18.
Florida scored 43 kills with only 11 errors and an efficient .352 hitting percentage. North Texas only put down 25 kills, a little over half of what UF would do.
Road To Victory
The Mean Green (2-8) scored the first three points of the set until a two-handed kill by Kennedy Martin made way for Florida to take its first lead at 21-20.
Though Florida missed 11 serves and the Eagles only five, Florida totaled three service aces in the first set. Two of the aces were from Kennedy Martin and one from Elli McKissock, whose ace took the Gators to set point. Jaela Auguste secured her third kill of the set to ice it.
GATORS TAKE THE FIRST#GoGators pic.twitter.com/e8BlYpp1mW
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) September 20, 2024
Thanks to a block by Alec Rothe, who put the first point of Set 2 on the board for the Gators, and freshman Taylor Parks’ five-point serving run gave UF a solid lead. Ten points into set two, Florida kept North Texas at one, giving the Gators the space they needed to take control of the set.
A service error by the Eagles at 23-13 brought Florida to set point. Another block by Rothe gave the Gators the second set.
Like in Set 2, the Gators kept the Mean Green trailing far behind. Florida went on a 7-0 scoring run to take an 8-2 lead.
After a year-long ACL/MCL recovery, setter Alexis Stucky clocked in for the final set against North Texas, making her 2024 season debut. She bounced back with 14 assists, one kill and one dig.
https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/1837282900615606520
Rothe On The Rise
The block was turned ON for the final set. Rothe totaled four separate blocks in the set — one a solo block, another one a block kill and the final on match point.
Fans eagerly stood awaiting the Gators’ close on the match, and they were not disappointed. On the second attempt of match point, Rothe secured her final kill of the night, swinging the ball straight through the Eagles’ block.
She totaled five blocks and six kills. The Gators checked out at 6.0 team blocks.
https://twitter.com/GatorsVB/status/1837287214885081150
Continuing To Shine Bright
The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced Florida’s Kennedy Martin and Isabel Martin were named to the 2024 Division I Player of the Year Award Watch List presented by Nike Volleyball.
Last week against Florida State, sophomore All-American Kennedy Martin tallied 15 kills in her welcome-back match. This week, she led the Gators with 14 kills.
S3 | SHE’S ON FIRE
Kill by Kennedy from our very own, Alexis Stucky ‼️
Gators 2 | Mean Green 1#GoGators | @NCAAVolleyball
📺 https://t.co/T1lGAgM0vO (SECN +) pic.twitter.com/OIds2M7XEL
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) September 21, 2024
She made her first kill of the set after placing the ball into the back right corner of the opposing side. Martin’s ability to put the ball in tricky spots is unmatched and it was essential to the Gators’ win.
Martin was the only Gator to finish with double-digit kills, continuing her streak of recording 10 or more in every match she has played. She also finished with six digs, one away from dig leaders Elli McKissock and Isabel Martin, who had seven.
More Highlights
Seven other Gators contributed at least one kill to Florida’s 43 total: Isabel Martin (8), AC Fitzpatrick (7), Alec Rothe (6), Jaela Auguste (3), Lauren Harden (2), Amaya Thomas (2) and Stucky (1).
Nine Gators chipped in digs to the stat sheet. Elli McKissock and Isabel Martin and Kennedy Martin had seven and six, respectively. Emily Canaan recorded four, Fitzpatrick and Parks three, and Auguste, Stucky, and Rothe one each. Together, Florida made 33 digs.
Up Next
Florida will take on the University of Buffalo (4-7) at 3 p.m. Sunday. The match will be streamed on SECN+ and live coverage on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF radio.
