VB Splits With Miami As Jaeckel Maintains Hot Offensive Attack
Saturday, March 29, 2008 | Volleyball
Rising redshirt freshman outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel (Littleton, Colo.) put down a team-high 23 kills and added a trio of aces on Saturday afternoon as the University of Florida split a pair of three-set matches with Miami at the Hect Athletic Center, running their record to 3-1 on the spring.
The Gators dropped the first set of the morning session by a count of 25-18 before bouncing back to claim sets two and three, 25-16 and 25-17, respectively, to take the opening match. After a break, UF was derailed in the first and third sets of the second match, but battled for a 25-21 win in the middle frame.
"The three skills needed to win are serving, passing, and blocking, and we didn't execute consistently in any of those areas,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “There are signs of improvement from the last time we played, but we still have a long way to go."
Jaeckel continued her hot offensive play in the spring, as she followed up a 24-kill performance against Florida State in the Gators' two-match sweep on April 5 with a team-high 23 on Saturday. She was joined in double figures by rising sophomores Callie Rivers (Winter Park, Fla.) and Lauren Bledsoe (Long Beach, Calif.), who had 19 and 11, respectively, the round out the UF attack.
Florida also turned in 14 team blocks on the day, led by eight from rising senior middle blocker Kelsey Bowers (Gainesville, Fla.). Rivers had three on the day, while Bledsoe had two and Jaeckel chipped in with one. UF also torched the Hurricanes for 10 aces, as Rivers recorded four and rising sophomore defensive specialist Erin Fleming (Orlando, Fla.) had three to complement the trio that came off of Jaeckel's hand.
Florida will make its second road trip of the spring season next Saturday, when it makes the drive to Atlanta for a showdown with Georgia Tech. Details of the contest have yet to be determined, but will be posted to www.GatorZone.com when made available.
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