No. 6 Florida Takes Down Alabama In Sweep On Senior Day

  0 volleymob | November 14th, 2016 | College - Women's Indoor, News, SEC

Match Stats

Press Release

Courtesy of Florida Athletics

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 6 Gators added a half-game to their lead atop the SEC standings and picked up their 12th consecutive victory, defeating Alabama in straight sets after a senior day ceremony honoring three-time All-American right side Alex Holston.

Florida has now swept its last eight matches, its longest run since a streak of nine consecutive straight-set victories from Sep. 17-Oct. 13, 2013. The Gators last dropped a set at Texas A&M (Oct. 16) and have won each of the 26 sets they played since losing the second set in College Station.

UF’s defense was spectacular all afternoon. The Gators held Alabama to a .000 hitting percentage, marking their best efficiency defense since holding New Hampshire to a -.067 clip in last year’s NCAA Tournament First Round match. They also held Alabama’s Krystal Rivers, the SEC’s leader in kills per set (5.85), to seven kills and a .000 clip.

Offensively, Florida’s dynamic trio of Rhamat Alhassan (11), Carli Snyder (12), and Holston (10) combined for 33 of its 42 kills. Alhassan also totaled six blocks for a match-high 14 points.

Redshirt sophomore setter Allie Monserez kept the offense flowing, posting 35 assists and 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.

The opening set saw both teams remain within two points of one another, until a three-point service run by freshman Chanelle Hargreaves allowed the Gators to pull away for a 25-18 win. After winning six of the final eight points for a 25-16 victory in set two, UF dominated the clinching set, holding Alabama to a -.103 clip in a 25-12 rout.

THE RECORDS
No. 6 Florida: 24-2, 14-1 SEC
Alabama: 17-11, 6-9 SEC

NOTABLES AND TRENDS

  • Florida improves its all-time record against Alabama to 43-0, and to 41-0 under head coach Mary Wise.
    • It was also UF’s 39th all-time sweep and 14th consecutive sweep in the series.
  • The Gators hit .368, logging a clip of .350 or higher for the eighth straight match, which is the longest streak since the 2003 Gators, who reached the national title match, also hit above .350 in eight consecutive matches.
  • UF has held 11 opponents under a .100 clip this season, marking the most times it has done that in a season since 2006, when the Gators held 12 opponents below that mark.
  • Florida has held six opponents below an .050 hitting percentage this year, matching its total from all of 2015.
  • Today marked the seventh time this season and first time since Oct. 16 (at Texas A&M) Rhamat Alhassan, Alex Holston, and Carli Snyder all finished with double-digit kills.
    • Today was the only one of those seven matches that did not go four sets.
  • Alhassan hit above .700 for the third time this season.

UP NEXT
The Gators face No. 21 Missouri (21-5, 12-2 SEC) on Sunday (Nov. 20) in a match that will have a significant impact on the SEC title race, as Florida enters the match with a one-game lead over No. 24 Kentucky (20-6, 13-2), a 1.5-game lead over the Tigers and Texas A&M (18-7, 12-2).

SEC Network will provide live television coverage from Columbia. Fans can also listen to the match on ESPN Gainesville 95.3 FM / 850 AM, with Tom Collett on the call. First serve is slated for 4 p.m. ET.

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Press Release

Courtesy of Alabama Athletics

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Alabama volleyball fell in three sets in its Sunday road match against Florida by set scores of 18-25, 16-25 and 12-25.

Alabama (17-11, 6-9 SEC) was held to just 21 kills and a .000 hitting percentage, both season lows in SEC play for the Crimson Tide, while Florida (24-2, 14-1 SEC) hit .368 as a team with 42 kills. Krystal Riversfinished with seven kills, putting her just 26 away from the school record, along with a season-high four aces from the service line.

The two teams were evenly matched to open set one, with eight tie scores in the first half before Florida took a 13-12 lead at the halfway point. The Gators led by two at the media timeout, 15-13, and extended it to a three-point lead at 19-16 as the Tide took its first team timeout. Florida used a 4-1 run after the break to extend its lead to 23-17 and Alabama took its final timeout of the set but the Gators held on to win set one, 25-18.

Leading 7-6 in set two, Florida scored three in a row to extend the lead to 10-6 and led by the same margin at the halfway mark, 13-9. The Gators led 15-10 at the media timeout and the Tide took its first team timeout trailing 20-14 closely followed by its second down 22-15. Florida closed out the set with a 3-1 run to win the set, 25-16, and take a 2-0 match lead.

Alabama took its first timeout early in set three after Florida built an early 5-1 lead and the Gators soon doubled its lead to eight points as the Tide burned its final timeout trailing 10-2. Florida continued to power ahead, building a double-digit lead at 19-9 and eventually winning the set, 25-12, to complete the sweep.

Next up, Alabama travels to Columbia, S.C., to face the South Carolina Gamecocks (17-8, 5-8 SEC) on Friday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. CT.

For the latest information on Alabama volleyball, follow the team on Twitter (@AlabamaVball), Instagram (AlabamaVball) and Facebook.

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