UF outside hitter and right-side hitter Kennedy Martin serves a ball during a game against the University of Buffalo at the Stephen C. OÕConnell Center in Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (Diego Perdomo/WRUF)

Gators Volleyball Grabs Ninth Consecutive Win

Jada Ross November 21, 2024 Feature Sports News, Gators Volleyball, SEC, Volleyball 25 Views

Gators eat Tigers. Or at least that’s what the No. 20 Florida’s volleyball team did Wednesday night against the host Auburn Tigers for its ninth consecutive win 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21).

Florida swept the season series after also defeating Auburn 3-1 in Gainesville on Nov. 8 and it’s the first time it has won nine in a row since 2021. 

UF (20-5, 11-3 SEC) has not lost a match since Oct. 13 against South Carolina. 

 

Gators Offense Making Big Moves 

Florida’s offense was hot inside Neville Arena in Auburn with three Gators finishing the match with double-digits kills: Kennedy Martin (31), Isabel Martin (11) and Jaela Auguste (10). 

It’s Kennedy Martin’s fourth match this season where she recorded 30 or more kills, with 11 of them in the third set. She also continued her streak of double-digit kills in every match she’s played in at UF (47 matches).

 

In addition to 62 kills on the night, the Gators also made big moves at the net. Auguste and Kennedy Martin registered four blocks each. Alexis Stucky, Alec Rothe, Isabel Martin and Amaya Thomas also contributed blocks to leave Florida with 7.5. 

The offense really built momentum off of each other throughout the night. This was especially seen in the fourth set when Kennedy secured back-to-back kills to tie the game at 12. Shortly after, her massive block and Auguste allowed the Gators to take their first lead since the opening three points of the set.

Making Their Mark

Libero Elli McKissock ran the back court, allowing the offense to do what it needed to in order to stack points. McKissock finished Set 1 with 13 digs and finished with a career-high.31.  Only two sets in, she had recorded 21 digs.

 

McKissock ranks 2nd for digs (2,049) and 21st for career assists (522) in program history. Both the Martins also finished with double-digit digs: Isabel Martin with 11 and Kennedy Martin having 10. Florida recorded 77 digs with additional help from Stucky (8), Emily Canaan (7), Taylor Parks (6), Lauren Harden (2), Rothe (1) and Emerson Hoyle (1). 

Stucky and Parks finished tied at 28 assists each. Stucky began the match by grabbing 28 assists in two sets. Then, Parks joined the squad on the court in Set 2 and remained in until Florida claimed the victory.

Stucky ranks 14th for career assists in program history with 1,908. Parks is not far behind, ranking at 19th for career assists with 655.

The Gators dominated the Tigers behind the service line. Florida racked up six aces to the Tigers’ five. Hoyle, Stucky, Canaan, Isi Martin, K. Martin and Parks each posted one ace to the stat sheet. 

 

Even with Florida tallying six aces and finding some rhythm at the back line, it is still struggling to stay consistent with eight service errors. However, it’s not as high as the Tigers, who had 13 errors. 

Up Next

Florida hosts the UCF Knights (8-15, 1-13 Big12) for Senior Day starting at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

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