
No. 9 Florida Volleyball Downs LSU 3-1, Stays Undefeated in SEC Play
Saturday, October 4, 2014 | Volleyball
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Florida sophomore right side Alex Holston and junior outside hitter Gabby Mallette shined for the Orange and Blue Friday evening offensively, while junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino was the star from behind the service line for the Gators as the No. 9 UF volleyball squad topped LSU 3-1 (25-12, 23-25, 25-11, 25-22) at the Maravich Center to chalk up its fourth straight win and improve to 9-3 overall on the season, 3-0 in league play.
With the Gators up 2-1 in the match, Florida found itself down 22-18 in the fourth set, spurring a Gators' time out. Out of the break after Dagostino won a joust, the Tampa product stepped behind the service line for six Gator points, helping UF close out the match with an impressive 7-0 run to take the frame 25-22 for a 3-1 victory in Tiger territory.
Holston led all Florida scorers with 18.5 points on a team-best 16 kills (.452) and a career-tying five blocks, while Mallette turned in a season-best performance with 12 kills, a .524 hitting efficiency and one stuff. Both Florida middles aided the Gators' efforts, freshman Rhamat Alhassan with double-digit kills (10) and six blocks, while junior Simone Antwi notched eight slams and a season-best six blocks. Senior Holly Pole scooped up a squad-best 18 digs.
The Orange and Blue held the Tigers (5-7, 0-3 SEC) to a .117 hitting percentage as LSU became the seventh opponent this season that UF has forced to operate below a .200 hitting efficiency, including all three league opponents so far.
GETTING WISE
“In a match when one of our league's very best (LSU's Briana Holman) played very well, it took a full team effort. Although we outscored LSU, this is how volleyball works on the road; how easily we could have gone to five sets. The play of Mackenzie Dagostino down the stretch behind the service line sealed the fourth-set win, but it was the significant play of Alex Holston and Gabby Mallette, along with our backcourt defense that got us to that point.”
BY THE NUMBERS
· 18: digs for senior libero Holly Pole to lead UF's defensive efforts, two shy of a career high. That makes eight straight matches for Pole with double-digit digs. Pole additionally had one of UF's seven service aces
· 16: kills for sophomore right side Alex Holston, her sixth straight match leading UF in the category. Holston also posted five block assists, tying her career high
· 12: blocks for the Gators, the most for UF in a four-set match this season. Florida additionally had 22 block assists on Friday evening against the Tigers, also a season-high for a three or four-set Florida match. UF out-blocked LSU, 12-7
· 12: kills for junior outside hitter Gabby Mallette, a season high to go along with a season-best .524 clip
· 7: straight points for the Gators under junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino's that took UF from down 22-18 to a fourth-set win, 25-22. Dagostino won a joust to narrow LSU's lead 22-19 before helping UF to six straight points with her behind the service line
· 7: service aces for Florida, UF's sixth match this year with six or more aces. The Gators were led by Dagostino's five, while Pole and fellow defensive specialist Maddy Monserez each had one
· 6: blocks for junior middle blocker Simone Antwi, a season-best figure. Antwi and freshman Rhamat Alhassan both had six to lead UF. Alhassan (10) and Antwi (8) also combined for 18 kills towards UF's efforts
· 4: straight wins for the Gators, the longest win streak for the Orange and Blue on the young season
· 3: consecutive SEC wins to start conference play
UP NEXT
Florida will continue its SEC road swing at Mississippi State Sunday in a 2 p.m. tilt with the Bulldogs. The Florida, Mississippi State match will air live on SEC Network with Pete Pranica and Jennifer Hoffman on the call. The Orange and Blue are undefeated all-time against MSU, including 34-0 under head coach Mary Wise.
UF AT MISSISSIPPI STATE BROADCAST INFORMATION
| Match Time | tv | Live Stats | Radio |
no. 9 Florida | mSU | 2:00 p.m. |
FLORIDA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE | FLORIDA MATCH NOTES
MISSISSIPPI STATE | SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5 | NEWELL-GRISSOM BUILDING | 2:00 p.m. ET
· 2014 Overall Record: 5-13, 0-3 SEC
· Series Record: Florida leads, 43-0 (34-0 under Mary Wise)
• 3-set: 40-0; 4-set: 3-0; 5-set: 0-0
• Home: 20-0 | Away: 21-0 | Neutral: 2-0
· Last Time Out: Sept. 27, 2013 at Starkville | W, 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-11)
· Last Win at Starkville: see above, the Gators visited the Bulldogs in Starkville in the only meeting last season
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