Florida’s Carli Snyder Cracks 1,000 Career Kills In Win Over Alabama

Match Results

• #4 Florida def. Alabama 3-0, (25-17, 25-18, 25-17)
• Florida improves to 15-1, 7-1 SEC, Alabama falls to 14-8, 2-6 SEC
• Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Attendance: 1,703
• Match Stats

The Florida Gators were able to bounce back from their loss to Kentucky to take down Alabama in straight sets.

In the match, Florida’s senior Carli Snyder broke the 1,000 career kill plateau. Snyder entered the match with 991 kills needing just nine to crack into the elite club and ended the match with 15 kills. In addition, Snyder finished the night with 11 digs to record her sixth double-double of the season.

That's 1⃣0⃣0⃣0⃣ for @carli_snyder! pic.twitter.com/gkoLIXqni9

— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) October 21, 2017

Florida wasted no time getting off to a good start against Alabama as they took a quick 10-3 lead. Alabama fought back with a 5-1 run to make it 11-8 before a service error left the ball back in the Gators hands. Florida continued to build their lead to 17-10 and again at 20-12. Alabama kicked their game into gear here and used Florida hitting errors and kills from Christine Jarman and Leah Lawrence to go on a 5-0 run to bring the score to 20-17. Those would be the last of Alabama’s points for the first-set as Florida ended things with kills from Rachael Kramer, Paige Hammons, Alhassan Rhamat, an attacking error from Jarman and a Shainah Joseph/Rhamat block to end the first 25-17.

Alabama started with the lead in the second set but Florida easily caught back up and took the lead at 9-5. Small runs throughout the set helped build their lead until they were ahead 24-16. Alabama fought off two match points with kills from Hayley McSparin and Mahalia Swink but the set was stopped with a Kramer kill at 25-18.

The beginning of the third set was a tight battle between the two squads with Alabama starting with a small lead and Florida stepping in to take charge. Both teams chipped away at small runs to fight back into the match but the Gators held on strong, finishing the match on a 4-0 run including a block from Rhamat/Snyder and kills from Kramer and Snyder.

Snyder led the Gators with a double-double of 15 kills and 11 digs while Kramer added another 13 kills on a .591 hitting clip. Caroline Knopp picked up a match-best 18 digs in the match while Alhassan posted six blocks.

For Alabama, Ginger Perinar led the team with 12 kills while Swink added another 10. Setter Meghan Neelon dished out 25 assists and 15 digs for a double-double while Quincey Gary picked up another 13 digs.

Press Release

Courtesy of Florida Athletics

Senior outside hitter Carli Snyder notched the 1,000th kill of her career and Rachael Kramer dominated with efficiency to lead the No. 4 Gators to a sweep of Alabama. Florida bounced back from its only loss of the season and improved to 15-1 overall and 7-1 in Southeastern Conference play.

Kramer tallied a match-high 13 kills, without an error, on 22 attacks for a .591 hitting percentage. The sophomore middle blocker added three blocks to total 14.5 points, a career high for a three-set match. Kramer’s 13 kills tied her three-set career high, which she set against Northern Kentucky (Sept. 15) earlier this season.

Snyder entered the match with 991 career kills, and she reached the century mark when she put the Gators up, 16-9, in the second set. The Macomb, Mich., native finished with team highs in kills (15) and points (16). Snyder also posted 11 digs, recording her sixth double-double of the season.

Senior libero Caroline Knop and three-time All-American Rhamat Alhassan spearheaded the strong defensive effort, leading the team in digs (18) and blocks (six), respectively.

Florida’s defense limited Alabama to an .053 hitting percentage. It is the sixth time this season the Gators held their opponent under a .100 hitting percentage. Four of those occurrences have been in SEC matches.

Next up for Florida is a Sunday match at Auburn. First serve is slated for 2:30 p.m. ET, and broadcast information is below.

NOTABLES

• Rachael Kramer hit better than .500 (with at least 15 attempts) for the sixth time in her career and for the fourth time this season
• Kramer has double-digit kills in eight matches this year, already well ahead of the five she had as a freshman last season
• Rhamat Alhassan finished with five-plus blocks for the 12th time this year
• Cheyenne Huskey led the team in assists (19) for only the second time this season
• Carli Snyder‘s 15 kills were the second-highest total of her career in a three-set match
• Snyder has 17 double-doubles in her last 47 matches after only posting seven in her first two seasons as a Gator
• The Gators recorded double-digit blocks for a fifth consecutive match and for the 13th time in 16 matches this year
• Florida improved its overall record against Alabama to 44-0, and to 42-0 under head coach Mary Wise

(COACH) WISE’S WORDS
Head coach Mary Wise‘s overall thoughts on the match…
“It’s the best ball-control Alabama team we’ve seen in a while. Their backcourt defense was stellar tonight and required us to stay patient offensively. Our offensive production, a lot of it came from Carli (Snyder) and Rachael (Kramer), who were really efficient tonight.

Wise on Kramer’s performance…
“Rachael affected the match in all sorts of ways, both offensively and defensively. She was a huge presence.”

BROADCAST INFORMATION | Match Notes
Sunday, Oct. 22 at Auburn | 2:30 p.m. ET
Streaming: SEC Network + (via Watch ESPN) | Radio: Audio Stream [Tom Collett] (also available via ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM) | Live Stats

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Auburn (11-7, 4-5 SEC) | 2016 synopsis: 15-16 overall, 9-9 SEC

• Series History: Florida leads, 45-2 (41-1 under Mary Wise)
• 3-set: 34-0 | 4-set: 9-1 | 5-set: 2-1
• Home: 22-0 | Away: 20-2 | Neutral: 3-0
• Last Time Out: Nov. 23, 2016 in Gainesville à W, 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-14)

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Press Release

Courtesy of Alabama Athletics

Alabama volleyball fell in three sets to fourth-ranked Florida Friday night in Foster Auditorium by set scores of 17-25, 18-25 and 17-25.

Alabama (14-8, 2-6 SEC) struggled offensively against No. 4 Florida (15-1, 7-1 SEC), hitting just .058 as a team with sophomores Ginger Perinar and Mahalia Swink as the only players with double-digit kills, earning 12 and 10 respectively. The pair accounted for 22 of the team’s 32 kills, with no other player earning more than six kills. Freshman Meghan Neelon earned her team-leading seventh double-double, finishing with 25 assists and 15 digs.

Tied at 2-2 in set one, Florida started to build some distance with a 6-1 run before Alabama called a timeout trailing 8-3. Alabama would draw within three points after scoring four-straight to make it 11-8 but Florida would extend its lead again to 16-9 before the Tide burned its second timeout. A Gator attack error followed by kills from freshman Christine Jarman and senior Leah Lawrence made it a five-point game and Florida took a timeout leading 20-15. Alabama scored two more points following the break to draw within three but Florida closed out the set with five-straight points to win, 25-17.

Alabama took its first lead of the match early in set two after a kill from Jarman made it 3-2. Florida quickly regrouped and pulled back ahead 9-5 before the Tide called its first timeout. Later up 11-8, the Gators added some cushion with a 7-2 run to lead 18-10 at Alabama’s second timeout. Florida maintained the eight-point lead at set point, 24-16, and the Tide staved off a set loss with back-to-back points before the Gators ended it with a kill to win, 25-18.

The Tide found itself in front again early in set three, leading 5-3 before momentum swung back the Gators’ way with Florida up 13-9 before Alabama took a timeout. The Tide fought back within two points as the Gators took a timeout with the score 14-12 but the visiting team soon surged back ahead by five, 18-13, forcing Alabama to take its final timeout. Leading by five later, 22-17, back-to-back kills gave the Gators set point and, on a no-touch call, Florida challenged the play and it was overturned in their favor as the kill ended the set, 25-17, and completed the three-set sweep.

Next up, Alabama hosts the South Carolina Gamecocks (10-9, 3-4 SEC) on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. CT live on the SEC Network.

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaVBall on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.