Match Stats
- #1 Florida def. Arkansas 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-13)
- Florida moves to 9-0 (1-0 SEC), Arkansas falls to 11-3 (1-1 SEC)
- Fayetteville, Arkansas
- Attendance: 1,343
- Box Score
The top-ranked Florida Gators opened SEC play on Sunday in Fayetteville, and ran into an unexpected challenge from the hot-starting Arkansas Razorbacks, whose 11 losses this season have all come against teams ranked in the top 20.
The Razorbacks had the Gators teetering in the tie-breaking 5th set. They took a 4-1 lead before Florida pushed the frame to a 7-7 tie. After another Razorback point, Florida went up 14-11. Facing three-straight match points, Arkansas very nearly forced a deuce, but a back-row Carli Snyder kill finished the Gators off.
The Razorbacks were spurred on by an incredible 30 kills from Pilar Victoria on 73 attacks, and in spite of her heavy load still managed to hit .288. Arkansas in total had 170 swings – 23 more than Florida.
“I felt like we did a lot of things we were capable of and Pilar (Victoria) still had 30 kills,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “It was high-level volleyball that could have easily gone either way. But this is what it’s like to go on the road. This is exactly how it is in the SEC.”
“The first set we didn’t do much defensively. We had no answer for (Pilar Victoria). There were some defensive plays we had to make in the fifth set, especially when we got down early, to hold them (off). There was only one set I felt we were on track defensively.”
The Gators had three players in double digits, including a season-high 20 kills on just 31 swings for a .516 hitting percentage.
“There were a lot of pieces to that, one being the first contact,” Wise said. “Our passing was so good. Both setters did a really good job of getting her good looks. She just didn’t make any mistakes. Those are pretty impressive numbers for a middle.”
This is the first time in the 2017 season where Florida has allowed an opponent to hit over .180, and it came in spite of 12 Gator blocks (the 2nd time this season they’ve had that many).
The Gators are 40-3 all time against Arkansas.
Press Releases
Courtesy Florida Athletics:
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the second time this season the Gators went five sets and, like the first time around, they made a late run to earn a gritty victory. Florida held off Arkansas, 3-2, in Fayetteville to improve to 9-0 overall Sunday (Sep. 24).
The No. 3 Gators hit .400 in the final set and scored six of the match’s last nine points to win their 27th consecutive Southeastern Conference opener. Florida hit .299 on the match and was led offensively by three-time All-American Rhamat Alhassan, who doubled her season high with 20 kills, hit .516, and notched six blocks.
Alhassan’s six blocks tied her with Jenni Patterson (1986-89) for the second-most career total blocks in school history (540).
Senior outside hitter Carli Snyder tallied 17 kills and 15 digs for her third consecutive double-double. The Macomb, Mich. native has 16 double-doubles in her last 40 matches after only logging seven in her first two seasons. Alhassan and Snyder combined for five of Florida’s 10 kills in the fifth set.
Senior libero Caroline Knop led the defensive effort with a season-high 23 digs.
Aside from the third set, which saw the Gators take a 25-16 win, the match was a thrilling back-and-forth affair. In the deciding set, Florida trailed 4-1 before rattling off a 4-1 run of its own to tie the match. Three ties later, the Gators won three straight points. Arkansas later staved off two match points before Snyder crushed a set from Allie Monserez to close it.
(COACH) WISE’s WORDS
Head coach Mary Wise on the match and where the team stands after this match..
“I felt like we did a lot of things we were capable of and Pilar (Victoria) still had 30 kills. It was high-level volleyball that could have easily gone either way. But this is what it’s like to go on the road. This is exactly how it is in the SEC.”
Wise on winning another five-set match…
“We’ve only played two, and we’ve made the plays in the abbreviated (set) both times.”
Wise on Rhamat’s season-high 20 kills…
“There were a lot of pieces to that, one being the first contact. Our passing was so good. Both setters did a really good job of getting her good looks. She just didn’t make any mistakes. Those are pretty impressive numbers for a middle.”
Wise on the defense in the sets Florida won…
“The first set we didn’t do much defensively. We had no answer for (Pilar Victoria). There were some defensive plays we had to make in the fifth set, especially when we got down early, to hold them (off). There was only one set I felt we were on track defensively.”
Wise on how the match came down to a play or two…
“That’s volleyball in the fifth set. Now you’re playing an abbreviated version, and it’s just one play here … (Carli) Snyder took a great swing out of the back row that Arkansas brought back. It was just such a high level of effort.”
NOTABLES
Florida is 2-0 in five-set matches this year, with its other victory coming over No. 5 Nebraska (Aug. 26)
The Gators’ 65 kills were a season high, eclipsing their previous season best of 56 in the five-set win over Nebraska
Five different Gators had a service ace, and they combined for six aces, the second-highest total of the season
This is the first match of the year in which Florida’s opponent hit over .180
The Gators recorded 10-plus blocks for the seventh time this season, and it’s the second time this year they had at least 12
Florida’s 65 digs were its third-highest total in a match this year
Rhamat Alhassan has 40 kills in the Gators’ last three matches
Paige Hammons set career highs in kills (11) and points (12), topping the career highs of eight and 10 she set in Tuesday’s win over No. 19 Florida State
Hammons also logged nine digs, leaving her one short her first collegiate double-double
Florida improved its all-time record against Arkansas to 40-3, along with a 17-2 mark in Fayetteville
NEXT UP
Florida continues SEC play with a pair of matches in the O’Dome this coming weekend. The Gators face Tennessee Friday (Sep. 29) at 7 p.m. and LSU Sunday (Oct. 1) at 3 p.m.
Courtesy Arkansas Athletics:
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Behind a match-high 30 kills from redshirt senior and team co-captain Pilar Victoria and a raucous 1,343 fans at Barnhill Arena, the University of Arkansas volleyball team pushed No. 3 Florida to five sets Sunday afternoon but dropped a 3-2 decision to the visiting Gators. With the loss, the Razorbacks drop to 11-3 overall—all three losses coming to ranked opponents—and 1-1 in SEC play.
FINAL
#3 Florida 3, Arkansas 2 | Box Score
Attendance: 1,343 | Time: 2:17
Barnhill Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
#RazorStats
- Leaders vs #3 Florida
- Kills: Pilar Victoria – 30 (fourth match of the season with 30+ kills; seventh career)
- Digs: Okiana Valle – 13
- Blocks: Kelly O’Brien – 7.0 (2-5)
- Double-Doubles
- Rachel Rippee – 54 assists, 11 digs (sixth of the season)
In the decisive fifth set, Florida (9-0, 1-0 SEC) scored the first point but the Razorbacks reeled off the next four and took the 4-1 lead on a kill by Kelly O’Brien. With the score tied at 7-all, O’Brien teamed up with freshman Hailey Dirrigl for a block to give Arkansas an 8-7 edge as the teams switched sides. The Gators used a 4-1 surge to go ahead 13-10 on the scoreboard. Facing three match points, Victoria and O’Brien posted back-to-back kills to extend the match but Florida sealed the victory with a kill out of the backrow.
Dating back to the 2010 season, seven of the last eight Arkansas-Florida matches played in Fayetteville have gone at least four sets including four five setters. The Razorbacks are now 3-2 in five-set matches this season.
Sunday’s effort marked the fourth 30-kill performance of the season for Victoria, pushing her program-record career total to seven. She registered a .288 hitting percentage, adding seven digs and two service aces against the Gators. Victoria was joined in double figures by Reagan Robinson who equaled her career high with 12 kills. Sophomore setter Rachel Rippee posted her sixth double-double of the season with 54 assists and 11 digs to go along with a career-high five kills.
Defensively, junior libero Okiana Valle picked up a team-high 13 digs as she continued to climb Arkansas’ career digs list. With her fifth dig of the match, she moved into sole possession of seventh place. At the net, O’Brien tallied a match-leading seven total blocks including a solo stuff that sent the match to a fifth set. The junior middle blocker added four kills.
Facing a 2-1 match deficit, the Razorbacks scored three of the first four points of the fourth set but Florida responded and used a four-point surge to turn an 11-all score into a 15-11 lead after an ace. The Gators maintained the lead at 19-15 when the home team began to rally back, pulling even at 20-all after back-to-back kills from Victoria and O’Brien. Once again, the visitors pushed ahead at 22-20 but Arkansas scored five of the final six points of the set including two kills from Victoria and the set-winning block by O’Brien.
For more information about Arkansas Volleyball, follow @RazorbackVB on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
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