UF volleyball coach Mary Wise talks to the players after they won a game against the University of Buffalo at the O'Connell Center on Sept. 22. [Diego Perdomo/WRUF]

Texas Volleyball Levels Florida In SEC Showdown

Noah White October 6, 2024 Feature Sports News, Gators Sports, Gators Volleyball, NCAA, Volleyball 201 Views

With the second largest crowd in O’Connell Center volleyball history roaring for a Sunday afternoon powerhouse matchup against two-time national champion Texas, Florida jumped out to an aggressive early lead.

Looking confident and energized, the No. 18 Gators appeared to have fixed the issues that had nagged them through their first two games of conference play.

Until they didn’t.

Rolling back from a seven-point deficit, No. 7 Texas proved that sometimes there’s a reason you’ve won back-to-back national championships. The Longhorns outclassed Florida, remaining collected while UF didn’t, and pulled out the opening set 25-23. From there, the Longhorns never let Florida touch another lead.

Texas bested Florida 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-14) in a contest that never truly felt in doubt for the Lone Star State natives.

A Gators Ruse

In Florida’s first month of the season, errors and mental slip-ups have come in the dozens. With 93 errors through their first two SEC matchups accounting for 46% of the points they’ve lost in those contests, the Gators (10-4, 1-2 SEC) can’t get out of their way.

That was much of the same Sunday.

Coming off of a six-day break, the Gators looked to have finally reset their error-prone ways. Florida faithful were treated to a delightful first few points, rolling in blocks and seemingly having corrected its previous serve-receive issues.

Florida jumped out to a startling 21-14 lead, leaving Texas (9-3, 4-0) to collect the pieces of what went wrong so quickly. It didn’t take long, though, for the Longhorns to find their groove and the Gators to revert to their old ways.

UF finished the contest with 41 errors, many of which came on the defensive end and in the serve. The Gators often looked like they had no answer for Texas’s serve, with redshirt senior outside hitter Isabel Martin struggling and freshman defensive specialist Bella Lee getting aced three times.

Dominant At The Net

Beyond their start to the game, the Longhorns were dominant in the front row.

After allowing Florida to get off to an impressive lead, the Longhorns showed their composure, finding consistency in hitting.

Led by two-time All-American outside hitter Madisen Skinner, Texas began to find an offensive rhythm and kept the Florida defense guessing. Skinner finished the contest with kills, scattering five across each of the first two sets and in the third.

While Texas’ was impressive on the offensive end, its presence on the net defensively was the story of the match.

Finishing the match with 13 blocks, the Longhorns forced Florida to cover. The Gators struggled with that. Skinner logged four blocks as part of her well-rounded performance. The defensive star was redshirt sophomore middle blocker Marianna Singletary, who logged 10 (!) blocks in the three-set contest and single-handedly forced Florida to change its offensive approach.

Up Next

Florida will stay in Gainesville to face Mississippi State (7-4) on Wednesday at 7 p.m., depending on weather issues. In much need of adjustments, the Gators will look to resolve their inconsistencies against a lesser SEC opponent. The match will be on SEC Network+ with radio coverage on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.

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About Noah White

I'm a sophomore at the University of Florida, majoring in journalism and public relations. I enjoy playing soccer and volleyball with friends, watching movies with my girlfriend and, of course, writing. I also know more about Liberty League women's soccer than you do.

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