VB Downs Florida State, 2-0, in Spring Opener
Saturday, March 1, 2008 | Volleyball
The University of Florida volleyball team got 24 total kills from rising redshirt freshman Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) and chalked up 16 team blocks on Saturday to open its spring season with a pair of wins over Florida State at the Lemerand Center.
UF opened the action with a 2-1 (25-15, 25-21, 21-25) victory in the morning session, and capped the day with another 2-1 win (21-25, 25-13, 25-17) in the afternoon. The action was contested using newly adopted NCAA scoring rules, which dictate that games now be called sets and that the first four sets of each match be played to 25 points (the fifth game will remain at 15 points). It was determined prior to the start of competition that three games would be played in both sessions, regardless of whether or not the match was clinched after two sets.
"If the play today of libero Elyse Cusack, the offense of Kristy Jaeckel, Callie Rivers and Lauren Bledsoe and the blocking of Kelsey Bowers are any indication, we're going to be just fine by the end of spring season,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “With only one week of practice behind us, we still have plenty of areas in which to improve, but today was a good starting place."
Rising sophomore Callie Rivers (Winter Park, Fla.) recorded 11 kills to serve as the Gators' offensive catalyst in the first match, and she was joined in double figures by Jaeckel, who had 10. Rising senior Kelsey Bowers (Gainesville, Fla.) and rising sophomore Lauren Bledsoe (Long Beach, Calif.) each had eight to bolster the UF attack. Florida was also active on the defensive side of the net in the opener, riding six team blocks to the victory.
Jaeckel notched 14 kills in the afternoon session to lead the Gators, who bounced back after dropping the first set to take the next two and the match. UF played another solid defensive match in its second contest of the day, finishing with 10 team blocks to run its total to 16 on the day. The Orange and Blue also displayed a prowess from the service line in the afternoon, as rising junior Alli Cecchini (Brentwood, Calif.) posted three aces to lead Florida to a total of nine in the match.
UF will return to action for its second spring play date on Saturday, March 29, when it travels south to take on Miami in the second of its two in-state spring matchups.
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