Match Stats
- #2 Florida Gators def. Auburn Tigers 3-1 (25-22, 10-25, 16-25, 25-22)
- Florida moves to 24-1 (16-1 SEC); Auburn falls to 15-11 (8-9 SEC)
- O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
- Attendance: 3,225
- Box Score
The Florida Gators moved one game closer to locking down at least a share of the 2017 SEC title on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over the Auburn Tigers at home in Gainesville. With one more win in their season finale against Columbia (on the road) on Saturday, the Gators will finish 16-1 in SEC play, which means at a minimum a shared title with Kentucky. If Kentucky were to stumble against 20-10 Georgia on Saturday, the Gators would be outright champions.
The Gators were led by their 3 superstars against Auburn – a trio that is really rounding into form as the NCAA tournament approaches.
Stat-Lines of the Stars:
- Rhamat Alhassan – 13 kills, .370 hitting percentage, 3 solo blocks, 3 block assists
- Carli Snyder – 21 kills, .432 hitting percentage, 1 block assist, 10 digs
- Rachael Kramer – 12 kills, 0 errors, .522 hitting percentage
The Gators hit .356 in the game, which is their best hitting percentage in nearly a month, and second-highest output of the season. All that against an Auburn team that’s allowing its opponents to hit just .207 this season.
Meanwhile, with a 7-4 blocking advantage they kept Auburn to a .199 hitting percentage. The standout for the Tigers was Macy Reece, who had 13 kills on .400 hitting percentage with just 1 hitting error. After falling out of favor through the middle of the season, Reece has become an offensive focal-point for the tigers over the team’s last 5 games, and has hit .500 and .400 in the team’s last two games, respectively.
Full Video Replay/Post-Match Interviews
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6i3u9MSKL0
Press Releases
Courtesy Florida Athletics:
FOUR #Gators hit .370 with at least 10 kills, and @carli_snyder led the way with 21!
She talked about it with the @ESPNU crew ?? pic.twitter.com/TJPPYJV4cL
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) November 23, 2017
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 3 Gators (24-1, 16-1 SEC) posted their second-highest hitting percentage of the season (.356) in a 3-1 win over Auburn, setting up a chance to win a share of their 23rd Southeastern Conference title Saturday at Missouri.
Florida tied its season high for kills in a four-set match (63), and its 10 errors were a season low for a four-set match. Two-time All-SEC outside hitter Carli Snyder led the way with 21 kills, tying her career high. The Gators also got double-digit kills from three-time All-American middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan (13), as well as 2017 All-SEC selections Rachael Kramer (12) and Shainah Joseph (10). All four hit at least .370, with Kramer’s .522 clip pacing the quartet.
Alhassan posted a match-high six blocks to go along with her .370 hitting percentage.
Led by two-time All-SEC libero Caroline Knop for the final three sets, the Gators’ back row saw four individuals finish with double-digit digs for the fourth time this season. Knop and sophomore defensive specialist Allie Gregory tallied 14 apiece, freshman outside hitter Paige Hammons notched 13, and Snyder added 10 for her fifth consecutive double-double.
Florida struggled to find its footing in the first set, falling into a 19-14 hole it eventually narrowed to a 25-22 setback. Set two saw a rejuvenated squad rip off 19 kills and zero errors for a .613 hitting percentage and a 25-10 win. The Gators’ defense stymied the Tigers in the third, holding them to a .043 clip. In the fourth, Florida broke an 18-18 tie by winning seven of the final 11 points and clinching the match.
NOTABLES
- Florida lost the first set for only the fourth time this season, but it improved to 3-1 in such matches
- The Gators allowed their opponent to hit above a .185 clip (.199) for just the third time in 25 matches this season
- Carli Snyder recorded the seventh 20-plus-point match of her career and her fifth of the season
- Snyder’s 21-kill performance marked the second 20-kill match of her career, with the only other coming against Marshall last season (Sept. 17, 2016)
- Snyder’s .432 hitting percentage was her second-highest efficiency rate of the season, only trailing her .517 clip in a sweep of Kentucky (Nov. 1)
- Snyder has 22 double-doubles in her last two seasons, including 11 this year, after recording seven altogether as an underclassman
- Rachael Kramer hit above .500 (minimum of 15 attempts) in a match for the sixth time this season and eighth time in her career
- Kramer has 13 matches with 10-plus kills this season after only having six a year ago
- Allie Gregory, who made her first collegiate start at libero in the first set, tied her career high with 14 digs
- Shainah Joseph tied her career high with seven digs
- Joseph finished with 10-plus kills for the eighth time this season and ninth time in her career
- Florida improved its all-time record against Auburn to 47-2, including a 43-1 mark under head coach Mary Wise
- Wise now boasts 899 career victories, leaving her one shy of becoming the third female coach in NCAA history (all divisions) to reach the 900-win plateau
UP NEXT
Florida faces Missouri Saturday afternoon, needing a win or Kentucky loss to guarantee at least a share of the SEC title. First serve in Columbia, Mo., is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET, with SEC Network + providing live streaming. Tom Collett will have the call for GatorVision’s audio stream.
Courtesy Auburn Athletics:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Auburn volleyball team faced No. 3 Florida in Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Wednesday night and fell to the Gators, 3-1 (22-25, 25-10, 25-16, 25-22). The loss moves Auburn to 15-11 overall and 8-9 in the Southeastern Conference.
“Coming in, we knew that Florida was a good team and it would be a battle to keep them out of system, especially at home,” head coach Rick Nold said. “We were able to do that a lot today and put together nice runs of our own. However, Florida took advantage of our miscues at the right time and that was the difference tonight.”
Senior Macy Reece led the Tigers with 13 kills, while Brenna McIlroy chipped in 10. Sophomore Shaina White and freshman Anna Stevenson had eight kills apiece and sophomore Gwyn Jones finished with seven.
Senior Alexa Filley notched with her 19th double-double of the season, totaling 36 assists and 16 digs. McIlroy picked up her eighth double-double with 14 digs in the match. Senior libero Jesse Earl added 13 digs and sophomore Karis Beasley finished with 11.
The Gators (24-1, 16-1) were led by Carli Snyder with 21 kills and 10 digs, while Rhamat Alhassan finished with 13 kills and six blocks. Libero Caroline Knop had 14 digs and setter Allie Monserez finished with 31 assists.
The two squads battled back and forth for a substantial lead to start the match. Down 12-10, a kill from Reece kicked off an Auburn run that pushed the visitors to a 17-12 advantage. A smart play from Filley made it 19-14 and back-to-back kills by McIlroy lifted the Tigers to a 22-18 lead. A kill from S. White gave AU set point and another kill from the middle blocker put Auburn up early in the match, 25-22.
A pair of kills from Stevenson tied set two early before the Gators pushed a long run to take a 14-4 lead. The home squad pushed another rally, 19-8, and went on to take the set, 25-10.
Two kills for Reece and a Reece/S. White block cut into an early Florida lead in the third, 4-3, but the Gators capitalized on big blocks to forge ahead at 9-4. UF forced an Auburn timeout with an 18-11 advantage and took set point, 24-14. A kill from Jones held off the Gators before the home squad took the stanza, 25-16.
A solo block from Stevenson and a strike by Reece made it 6-2 Auburn in the fourth, but the Gators battled back to lock up the set at 10-all. A pair of two-point pushes lifted the Tigers to a 13-11 lead and kills from Jones and McIlroy made it 17-16. Florida, however, used strong play from the outside and forced an Auburn timeout with a 21-19 lead and after another Reece kill held off match point, the Gators came away with a 25-22 victory.
The Tigers close out the 2017 regular season Saturday, Nov. 25, at Arkansas. Auburn and the Razorbacks will square off at 1 p.m. CT in Fayetteville and the match will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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