|
Total Team Effort Aids No. 8 Gators in Sweep of UTSA
The No. 8 Florida
volleyball team stayed perfect on the season, sweeping host University
of Texas-San Antonio in three sets (25-18, 25-17, 25-20) Thursday
afternoon to continue their undefeated start to 2013.
Sophomore
outside hitter Živa Recek (Koc(evje, Slovenia) led the Gators with a
team-high 12 kills against the Roadrunners. Senior setter Taylor
Brauneis (Crystal Lake, Ill.) directed the Gator offense to a .292
hitting percentage, dishing out 36 assists and 11 digs for her fourth
career double-double.
QUICK HITS
Freshman Alex Holston, a
right-side hitter from Olney, Md., and sophomore Gabby Mallette, an
outside hitter from Orange Park, Fla., each contributed nine kills. For
Holston, it was a new career high in her young Florida career.
Mallette’s tally was her highest in a three-set match and just off her
career high of 10 kills, a mark she put forth in two five-set matches
on the road at Arkansas and Texas A&M last season.
Junior libero Taylor Unroe scooped 17 digs Thursday, two under her career best for a three-set match.
The Gators opened their season 4-0, the 12th time in program history and first time since 2011.
Thursday’s match was the third of the season where Florida did not allow a service ace.
Junior
defensive specialist Madison Monserez tallied her first career kill
thanks to a diving dig that caught the Roadrunners on their heels.
NOT
ON OUR WATCH: UF held preseason C-USA Player of the Year McKenzie Adams
to a .098 hitting percentage, her lowest of the season. Florida has
held every opponent in 2013 to under .200 hitting efficiency. The
Gators kept the Roadrunners to a .143 offensive clip.
UP NEXT:
Florida heads up I-35 to Austin to participate in the final installment
of the Nike Big Four Classic. The Gators take on the No. 2 Stanford
Cardinal at 4 p.m. ET Saturday. Florida faces 2012 Final Four
participant and newly-minted No. 1 Penn State on Sunday, September 8 at
11 a.m. ET. Both of the Nike Big Four matches will air tape-delayed on
the Longhorn Network with Chris Marlowe and Nell Fortner on the call
Saturday at 11 p.m. ET and Paul Sunderland and Fortner calling the
action together Sunday airing at 6 p.m. ET.
IT’S BEEN A WHILE:
Thursday night was UTSA’s first home match against a ranked opponent in
nearly 20 years. The Roadrunners last hosted a team ranked in the AVCA
Top 25 on Sept. 1, 1994 when UTSA was swept by then-No. 12 Texas. The
highest-ranked opponent the Roadrunners faced was then-No. 5 Texas in a
loss in three sets on Sept. 1, 1993.
MARY’S MINUTE: “I was so
impressed with UTSA. They’re going to have a great year. Alex had
another great outing and as our lefty gets better, we’ll get better
too. I was so happy with Gabby. She had a great match and almost had a
new career high. Defensively, I was proud of Taylor Unroe. 17 digs in
just three sets is fantastic. She had a great serving night and her
serve is high risk, high reward. What we need is for the others around
her to step up behind the service line. Taylor was a little quiet to
start off the match but once she got behind the service line and got
comfortable, I think her leadership in the back row improved.”
RECORDS: Florida: 4-0; UTSA: 2-3
|
