No. 10 Florida Volleyball Sweeps Auburn in SEC Opener

Friday, September 26

Auburn AL

8:00 PM

Florida Gators

Auburn

No. 10 Florida Volleyball Sweeps Auburn in SEC Opener

Saturday, September 27, 2014 | Volleyball

Box Score

AUBURN, Ala. -- The No. 10 Gator volleyball program opened up the 2014 conference schedule with a sweep on the road at Auburn (25-14, 25-19, 25-19), UF's 39th straight victory against the Tigers, including 38 consecutive under head coach Mary Wise. Florida improved to 7-3 on the season with its first league victory behind an impressive total team effort.

Junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino found sophomore right side Alex Holston for 15 kills and freshman Rhamat Alhassan for 10 slams as the duo hit .464 and .600, respectively. Senior libero Holly Pole had a 16-dig outing in the back row for the Orange and Blue to go with a service ace -- one of UF's four against AU (8-6, 0-1 SEC). Florida posted 10 blocks to Auburn's three, led by Alhassan's five, and held the Tigers to a .096 hitting efficiency for the match, second-lowest for a Gator opponent this season.

UF made it 24 straight wins in SEC openers under Wise, working quickly against the Tigers in a match that took just one hour and 22 minutes. The Orange and Blue return home to the O'Connell Center Sunday for the Gators' SEC home opener against Ole Miss (1:30 pm).

GETTING WISE

“When a team hits .340 on the road, the offense will get a lot of recognition, as it should, but so much of the match tonight had to do with our back court play, starting from the very first rally of the match. Holly Pole, each night out, just gets better and better. She made 16 digs tonight, but it felt like she was involved in so many more plays than just that.”

BY THE NUMBERS

· 39: straight wins over the Tigers for the Gators, including 38 consecutive under head coach Mary Wise

· 25: kills between sophomore right side Alex Holston (15) and freshman middle Rhamat Alhassan (10), over half of UF's 43 kills. Holston and Alhassan also had eight blocks combined, while Holston served up one of UF's four service aces

· 20: wins for the Gators all-time at Auburn (20-1)

· 11: digs for senior Maddy Monserez, which ties a season high

· 10: blocks for Florida, compared to Auburn's three. Alhassan had a team-high five roofs, while junior Simone Antwi and Holston had three each. Antwi additionally hit .333 for UF (5-0-15)

· 8: kills for junior outside hitter éiva Recek, a season high. Recek finished with a .286 clip, one dig and a block

· 6: straight points served by senior Holly Pole in the middle of the third set, which took the Gators from an 11-11 tie to a 17-11 advantage. Pole scooped up 16 digs, her sixth straight match with double-digit digs. Pole additionally had one of UF's four service aces against Auburn

· 2: service aces for junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino, which led the Orange and Blue. That marks three matches with two or more aces for Dagostino, who also dished out 36 assists, had two kills, four digs and a block

· .600: Alhassan's hitting efficiency behind 10 kills and five blocks. Alhassan has hit .600 or higher in five of Florida's 10 matches this season

· .096: Auburn's hitting efficiency for the match, the second-lowest for a Gator opponent since UF's season-opener against Georgia Southern (-.128). The Gators forced the Tigers to operate below .100 in two of three sets Friday (.048 first, .088 third)

UP NEXT

The No. 10 Gators now return home to the friendly confines of the Stephen C. O'Connell Center for their conference home opener Sunday against Ole Miss. First serve between the Gators and Rebels is slated for 1:30 p.m. and the match will air live on SEC Network + with Larry Vettel and Claire Lessinger on the call.

SEC OPENING WEEKEND BROADCAST INFORMATION