Graphic: Scott MacCord/UAA Communications
Match Point: Gators 3, Stanford 2 -- UF to National Championship
Thursday, December 14, 2017 | Volleyball, Scott Carter
Florida knocks off Stanford in five sets and will face Nebraska on Saturday for a shot at the program's first national title.
GATORS 3, STANFORD 2
25-22, 25-21, 18-25, 18-25, 15-10
*****
WHAT HAPPENED: The Gators controlled the action early by taking the first two sets. Stanford seized control with dominant wins in the third and fourth sets. However, in the decisive fifth set, the Gators regained their balance and clinched the programs' first trip to the national title match since 2003. With the score tied 4-4 in the fifth set, Florida used a 5-0 run to finally break free.
WHAT IT MEANS: Florida can win the program's first national title with a victory on Saturday. Mary Wise, in her 27th season as UF's head coach, is making her second trip to the title game.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Senior Rhamat Alhassan delivered in a big way for the Gators with a team-high 17 kills. Alhassan's 20 points tied teammate Carli Snyder for the team lead.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Three up, three down. What's that mean? To get to the title match, the Gators had to go through Pac-12 powers UCLA, USC and Stanford. Florida beat all three. Individually, Alhassan posted a season-high hitting percentage of .517 (17 kills, 2 errors, 29 attemtps).
UP NEXT: The Gators (30-1) advance to face Nebraska (31-4) in the national championship on Saturday night at 9 ET. The Cornhuskers defeated Penn State in five sets in Thursday's first semifinal. Florida defeated Nebraska at the O'Dome on Aug. 26 in its second match of the season, winning 3-2 in the VERT Challenge.
Players Mentioned
MB
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