MATCH STATS
- Florida (7) defeats Florida State (13) (27-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-19)
- Florida (7-1), Florida State (6-2)
No. 7-ranked Florida Gators volleyball team defeated arch rivals Florida State Seminoles (13) in their annual meeting last night. The Gators finished 3-1 (27-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-19) over their competitors in Tallahassee last night in the Sunshine Showdown.
The Gators have a lot to celebrate after their first win on Florida State’s turf since 2010, and Florida finishes their 8-win tour on the road before the conference play begins.
Four Florida players earned double-digits points, including Rhamat Alhassan (18 points) and Alex Holston (18.5 points).
In the first set, the Gators took a 14-10 lead, but the Seminoles produced a 9-0 run to lead 19-14. With the score tied 25-25, the Seminoles were forced to turn over a set point, and Holston and Alhassan’s kills gave the Gators the first set 27-25.
Florida State took an early 5-0 lead in the second, but Florida answered with an 8-1 run. Allie Gregory earned six points for the Gators on serve to add to their lead. The Seminoles were able to tie the score 14-14 again, but this time they were able to close out the set with a strong 11-5 run to break Florida.
The Gators’ momentum kept the energy up both on offense and on defense. Although the score of the third set was close, Florida still controlled the game. The Seminoles had one last spark in the fourth set to make a run for the set but unforced FSU errors let Florida finish with a 6-point lead to take the win.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Florida Athletics
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Another classic Florida, Florida State clash lived up to the billing Wednesday in Tallahassee in a top-15 Fresh from Florida Sunshine Showdown at Tully Gym. The No. 7 Gators defeated No. 13 Florida State 3-1 (27-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-19) for the first time in Seminole territory since 2010 to wrap up an eight-match road streak to open the 2016 campaign.
Four Gators posted double-digit points, including season-best outputs from Rhamat Alhassan(18.0), Alex Holston (18.5) and a standout performance from freshman middle Rachael Kramer(13.0). Kramer’s career night provided a spark for the Gators and included an error-free eight kills, a .615 clip and a team high eight blocks, including two solo stuffs. Florida posted a season high 16.0 blocks, compared to Florida State’s 8.5.
After a solid start for the Gators in the first with a 14-10 advantage, the home team put together a monstrous 9-0 run to erase the UF lead and put the Orange and Blue at a five-point deficit, 19-14. The two squads traded points until a deadlock at 23-all, then a tie at 24-all. FSU had set point at 25-24 on a Gators’ error, but Holston put down one of her 14 kills for a 25-all tie. The Orange and Blue added the next two points on an Alhassan kill and a FSU attack error for the 27-25 first-set win.
A 5-0 run got FSU out to a hot start in the second, but the Gators stormed back with an 8-1 run of their own, thanks in part to a six-point service run from freshman Allie Gregory. Following a 14-all tie, the Noles closed with an 11-5 run for the 1-1 tie heading to the break.
Florida only seemed to improve as the match went on and Kramer kept bringing the heat both offensively and defensively for UF. While the third was a close back-and-forth battle, the Gators controlled most of the frame on the way to a 25-22 set win. The fourth was painted Orange and Blue. UF led 14-7 at one point, then made it an eight-point lead at 20-12. FSU made it interesting with a run down the stretch, but the Gators closed it out for the 25-19.
WORDS FROM WISE
“It was actually a classic Florida, Florida State match in early season. I won’t say it was the cleanest volleyball; it was an incredibly slow match. Tonight, where our offense just had a hard time getting on track, it was our defense. Our defense won this match for us. To out-block a great blocking team; it was really the emergence of Rachael Kramer. She’s got a chance to be very special.”
THE RECORDS
No. 13 FSU: 6-2
No. 7 Florida: 7-1
NOTABLES & TRENDS
- The Gators added to their edge in the history of the series with the Seminoles, 39-19 overall, and now own a 13-9 record all-time in Tully Gym
- UF’s 16 blocks were its best this season. The Gators now have three double-digit block matches on the season: 12.0 at Oregon, 10.0 versus Denver and 16.0 at FSU
- The Orange and Blue made it seven straight wins with the 3-1 victory in Tallahassee to improve to 7-1 on the season
- With the Gators’ first win in Tallahassee since 2010, UF is now 1-1 this season against ranked opponents
- Florida has four or more service aces in six of eight matches this season. Freshman Allie Gregoryserved over a team best two service aces against the Noles. Gregory has at least one service ace in six straight matches and two aces in two of UF’s last three contests
- UF had just one reception error against FSU, its second-lowest of the season next to zero at Michigan State
UP NEXT | Active Ankle Challenge Parking & Ticket Manager Information
Following eight straight matches on the road, Florida will finally return home for its home opener when the Gators host the Active Ankle Challenge at the Lemerand Center Sept. 16-17. For more information on parking, tickets and match-ups, visit the Gators’ Active Ankle information page. The Gators will first play FAMU at noon Friday before hosting Jacksonville at 7:30 p.m. UF will wrap up with Marshall at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Gator Stats
Alex Holston (15 kills, 6 blocks)
Rhamat Alhassan (14 kills, 7 blocks)
Carli Snyder (9 kills, 2 blocks)
Rachael Kramer (8 kills, 8 blocks)
Follow the Gators on Facebook, Instagram @gatorsvb and Coach Mary Wise on Twitter @GatorMary
Courtesy of Florida State Athletics
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Milica Kubura tallied 19 kills and Natasha Calkins contributed 13 kills for 13th-ranked Florida State, who suffered a four-set loss to seventh-ranked Florida by scores of 27-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-19 as the two squared off in a Sunshine Showdown, presented by Fresh From Florida in Tully Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.
Kubura attacked the Florida (7-1) defense on 34 occasions, converting 19 strikes and committing five miscues as she finished with a .418 attack percentage. Her counterpart Calkins, who established her new career-high in kills (13), was flawless in 19 attacks as she posted a .684 attack percentage.
Florida State’s (6-2) offense regained its rhythm behind the setting combination of Brianne Burkert (28 assists) and Hailey Luke (22), who made her return to the court after missing three games with a concussion. The duo combined to lead the Seminoles to 56 assists, second-most this season, and a .207 attack percentage.
Defensively the Noles were led by the combination of Katie Horton (17 digs), Cecilie Woie (11) and Burkert, who capped off her sixth career double-double with 11 digs. Florida State’s front line of Melanie Keil andMara Green led the Seminoles to 13 assisted blocks with three apiece.
Florida, with a 2-1 advantage in the set, established itself early on in the fourth set as it jumped out to a 9-5 lead following a series of kills by Carli Snyder, Alex Holston and Rachael Kramer. The four point advantage was doubled to eight, 17-9, during an 8-4 run that included two Snyder kills and three unforced errors by the Noles.
Three kills by Calkins and one from Kubura kept Florida State within striking distance as the Gators established 23-15 lead deep in the set. The Seminoles made one final run, with Burkert in serve, capitalizing on two attack errors and a service ace, before Florida completed the six-point win.
Three kills from Kubura and two by Keil, early in the third set, were instrumental in Florida State battling to a 13-all tie with the Gators. Florida regained the lead by two on the back of Kramer who came through with a block and a kill, forcing a Seminole timeout.
A series of offensive strikes the duo of Keil and Kubura kept Florida State within striking distance as the Gators spent their first timeout leading 20-18 deep in the third frame. However, Florida managed to hold off a late charge by the Noles, which included kills from the barrage of Kubura, Green, Horton and Calkins, to assume the 2-1 advantage.
Florida State quickly rebounded from the first set setback by running out to a 5-0 lead in the second set behind kills from Keil and Horton with Burkert in serve. Florida answered with an 8-1 run, which included four straight unforced errors by Seminoles, forcing the first FSU timeout of the frame.
Trailing by four on three occasions over the next 14 points of the set, Florida State chipped away at the lead behind kills from Horton, Kubura and Calkins to pull even at 14-all. It was there, with Horton in serve, that the Noles converted two kills by Kubura and added a strike by Keil to assume a 17-14 lead.
Two kills each by Calkins and Christina Ambrose, along with four unforced errors by Florida, helped Florida State secure the six-point win.
Trailing 11-8 in the early stages of the first set the Seminoles used a pair of kills by Horton to ignite a 6-3 run that drew the game even at 14-all on a Green kill. A Gator timeout was not enough to derail the Florida State offense and server Keil, who forced Florida into committing two errors along with capitalizing on kills by Green and Kubura en route to establishing an 18-14 advantage.
The Seminoles maintained their lead until a kill by Florida’s Shainah Joseph coupled with an attack error on offense knotted the game at 23. The two teams would battle to a 25-25 tie before a kill by Rhamat Alhassan and a Florida State unforced error provided the Gators a two-point victory.
Up Next: Florida State will face the LSU Tigers Sunday in Louisiana at 1 p.m.
Seminole Stats
Milica Kubara (19 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks
Natasha Calkins (13 kills, 3 digs, 2 blocks)
Katie Horton (8 kills, 17 digs)
Melanie Keil (8 kills, 4 digs, 3 blocks)
How to Follow
For more information on Seminole volleyball be sure to visit Facebook at Florida State Seminoles Volleyball, Twitter @FSU_Volleyball and Instagram @FSUvolleyball
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