
Clean Sweep! No. 6 Gators Celebrate Seniors, SEC Title with Undefeated SEC Campaign
Thursday, November 27, 2014 | Volleyball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It was a picture-perfect night in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Thanksgiving Eve as the 2014 SEC volleyball champions capped off the program's 13th undefeated SEC season with a sweep of South Carolina (25-19, 25-9, 25-20). The No. 6 Gators (24-3, 18-0 SEC) celebrated their three seniors, Maddy Monserez, Holly Pole and Taylor Unroe, in a pre-match ceremony, and were presented with the program's 21st SEC trophy in a post-match celebration.
Four Gators -- including Player and Freshman of the Year Alex Holston (12) and Rhamat Alhassan (13), All-SEC middle Simone Antwi (10) and standout outside hitter Carli Snyder (10), all put down double-digit kills thanks to All-SEC junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino's 46 assists and stellar ball distribution, leading the Orange and Blue to their 19th straight win and 13th conference sweep of the campaign. Florida dropped just five sets in SEC play and racked up its 13th undefeated conference slate in program history.
Monserez (12), Pole (12) and Unroe (6) accounted for 30 of Florida's 44 digs Wednesday evening, while Pole (3) and Monserez (2) had all five of Florida's service aces. Alhassan denied the Gamecocks six times to lead UF in blocks for the 25th time this season. The Gators hit .450, their second-best offensive hitting efficiency this season.
Florida will enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with its annual trip to the UF Health pediatric unit before heading to the Pole family home in Ocala for Thanksgiving dinner. The Gators hit the road for their regular-season finale at No. 3 Texas Friday and meet the Longhorns in Austin Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on the Longhorn Network with Paul Sunderland and Nell Fortner.
The 2014 NCAA Volleyball Selection Show is Sunday, Nov. 30, at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
GETTING WISE
“What a great crowd -- that's the Gainesville community -- and we are so thankful they spent their last hours before Thanksgiving with us tonight. What a special night to be able to celebrate a championship in front of our home crowd, in this atmosphere, after winning 3-0. This is one we'll remember for a while.”
BY THE NUMBERS
106: wins for UF's senior class, which boasts a 106-18 record the past four seasons to compliment two SEC titles and four trips to the NCAA Tournament
21: SEC titles for the Gators in head coach Mary Wise's 24 seasons at the helm, including 18 straight conference titles from 1991-2008. Wise was named the 2014 SEC Coach of the Year Wednesday for the 14th time
20: matches the Gators have forced their opponents to operate below a .197 hitting efficiency, including 16 of 18 SEC matches. Florida held South Carolina to a .144 clip Wednesday
19: straight wins for the Gators, the fourth-longest in the country entering the week. Florida's last streak of 19 or longer was four years ago in 2010 (24 consecutive wins from 9/11/10-12/4/10)
13: undefeated SEC seasons for the Gators, as UF capped off the league slate 18-0 with its sweep of USC Wednesday. The Gators are one of four teams to ever go undefeated in conference play (UF 13 times, UK three times, LSU twice, Mizzou once)
13: SEC sweeps this season for the Gators. UF won its other five conference matches 3-1, having dropped just five sets through the 2014 SEC season
10: kills for freshman Carli Snyder, who now has double-digit kills in two straight matches and six this season
9: points for South Carolina in the second set, marking the fourth set this season UF has held its opponent to a single-digit set (MSU 25-9 first set 10/26, UGA 25-8 second set 10/29, UT 25-9 first set 11/2)
6: blocks for freshman middle Rhamat Alhassan, who has now led Florida in roofs 25 of 27 matches this season. Alhassan also hit a team-best .706 with 13 kills
5: service aces, which fittingly came from seniors Holly Pole (3) and Maddy Monserez (2)
4: Gators in double-digit kills Wednesday night, paced by Alhassan's 13. SEC Player of the Year Alex Holston notched 12, All-SEC junior middle Simone Antwi had 10 kills and freshman Carli Snyder also had 10 slams
1: regular-season match remaining for the Gators at No. 3 Texas Saturday. Florida is 4-2 all-time against top-25 opponents this season, having won the last four top-25 contests
UP NEXT
No. 6 Florida will head to Austin for the second match of a home-and-home with No. 3 Texas to wrap up the regular-season slate. The Longhorns took the Sept. 6 showdown between the two squads, 3-1, in Gainesville. Following the Gators/Longhorns showdown in the Lone Star State, Florida will return home for the 2014 NCAA Volleyball Selection Show, slated for 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30, on ESPNU.
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