Florida Gators
9-3
Missouri
13-1
No. 9 Gators Fall in Five-Set Affair at Missouri
Thursday, October 1, 2015 | Volleyball
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After taking the first two sets against the Tigers in a mid-week clash, the No. 9 Gators couldn't avert a Missouri threat through the final three frames in front of a loud home crowd at the Hearnes Center as the Orange and Blue fell in five (25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 19-25, 10-15) to Missouri Wednesday evening in Columbia.
While the Tigers notched the win in their SEC opener to improve to 13-1 on the season and 1-0 in league play, the Gators moved to 9-3 overall, 1-2 in the league. Junior right side Alex Holston led UF with a team-best 13 kills and 15.0 points, while senior Simone Antwi hit .438 and posted four blocks.
Sophomore Carli Snyder and senior éiva Recek joined Holston in double-digit kills with 10 each. Sophomore middle Rhamat Alhassan posted five blocks to lead UF's efforts as Florida put up 13 roofs in the match. Senior Nikki O'Rourke scooped 22 digs, her third match this season with 20 or more digs.
In an opening set that featured 16 ties and seven lead changes in a back-and-forth battle from start to finish, Recek, back from representing Slovenia at the European Championships, served out the first set as Antwi and Snyder struck with back-to-back kills before a Mizzou attack error for the 25-22 set-one victory.
Florida used a 25-20 second-set win to head into the locker room with a 2-0 advantage, but Missouri would regroup to challenge the Orange and Blue down the stretch.
Recek served the first seven Gator points to start the third stanza as Florida led 7-0 before a service error put Mizzou on the board. The Tigers were relentless, though, and slowly chipped away at UF's lead to tie the match at 17-all. Missouri pulled away for the 25-21 set-three victory to extend the match.
The Tigers then forced a fifth with a 25-19 fourth-frame win and rallied to with the match with a 15-10 fifth-set finale. Missouri hit .230 to the Gators' .208 and served up nine aces. Missouri's Carly Kan led all players on the court with 20 points and 17 kills to lift Missouri to its first SEC victory in 2015.
Next up, the No. 9 Gators will take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville Sunday in the Hogs' SEC home opener. First serve is 4 p.m. ET on the SEC Network with Melissa Lee and Jennifer Hoffman. As always, Florida play-by-play Tom Collett will bring Gator Nation the call on the ESPN Gainesville airwaves (95.3 FM, 850 AM).
BY THE NUMBERS
· 22 | Digs for senior libero Nikki O'Rourke, who has notched 20+ digs on three different occasions so far this season
· 15 | Points for junior right side Alex Holston, who led the Gators with 13 kills, a service ace seven digs and two blocks
· 13 | Blocks for Florida, led by five from sophomore middle Rhamat Alhassan. The Gators have posted double-digit blocks as a team in nine straight matches and in 11 of 12 matches this year with a season high 16.5 against Texas at the VERT Challenge in Austin
· 5 | Aces for Florida Wednesday evening. While Mizzou had nine service aces, the Gators have served up four or more aces in all but two matches this season and dropped a season-high seven against Sunshine State rival FSU Sept. 20
UP NEXT
The Gators will head back to the Midwest Sunday for a tilt with the Arkansas Razorbacks, who are receiving votes in the latest AVCA top-25 poll. The Razorbacks are on a four-match win streak and enter their SEC home opener against the Gators at 12-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Florida has won 14 straight in the history of the series since Arkansas won a five-setter in 2007 in Fayetteville -- one of two matches the Hogs have won against UF. The Gators lead the series, 37-2, all under head coach Mary Wise.
FLORIDA VS ARKANSAS BROADCAST INFORMATION
Arkansas Razorbacks (Oct. 4) at Barnhill Arena
Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
TV: SEC Network (Melissa Lee & Jennifer Hoffman)
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: ESPN Gainesville
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
No. 9 UF | ARKANSAS SERIES HISTORY
· 2015 Record: 12-2, 2-0 SEC
· Series Record: Florida leads, 37-2 (all under Mary Wise)
o 3-set: 21-1; 4-set: 12-0; 5-set: 4-1
o Home: 16-0 | Away: 15-1 | Neutral: 6-1
· Last Time Out: Nov. 23, 2014 at Fayetteville | W, 3-1 (25-27, 25-12, 25-20, 25-19)
FOLLOW THE GATORS | Preseason SEC Favorites
Coach Mary Wise on Twitter | On Instagram
