Florida Gators
5-1
Hawaii
7-1
No. 2 Florida Edged 3-2 in Five-Set Affair at No. 16 Hawaii
Saturday, September 12, 2015 | Volleyball
HONOLULU, Hawaii -- In a battle of two top-20 volleyball teams Friday evening in Honolulu, the No. 2 Gators fell short to No. 16 Hawaii, 3-2, in front of a rowdy crowd of 7,419 at the Stan Sheriff Center. Florida moved to 5-1 following its first five-setter of the season (25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 17-25, 9-15).
While the chips didn't fall the Gators' way in Friday's epic battle, a number of performances stood out for the Orange and Blue, notably a career-high 25 digs for senior libero Nikki O'Rourke who led a defensive front that had four players in double-digit digs.
Three Gators posted double-doubles, including senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino (47A, 14D), junior right side Alex Holston (19K, 10D) and senior outside hitter éiva Recek (15K, 13D), as Florida both out-hit (.306 to .263) and out-dug (71-66) the Rainbow Wahine. Sophomore middle Rhamat Alhassan hit a team-best .476 with 10 kills on 21 errorless swings and also paced the Gators with six blocks, but Hawaii's play down the stretch in sets four and five -- and the ability to side out at 72 and 80 percent compared to the Gators' 50 percent in both sets -- helped carry Hawaii.
After the Gators convincingly took set one 25-18 it was wire-to-wire in the second, with 20 ties and 11 lead changes until Hawaii broke a 22-all tie with two kills and a block for the 25-22 second-frame win. O'Rourke scooped up 10 of her 25 digs in the second alone to lead UF's defensive efforts.
Florida controlled the third with a .419 hitting efficiency and, despite two ties, led the duration of the set to take a 2-1 advantage in the match. The fourth belonged to the Rainbow Wahine, who used a 9-2 run at the end of the set to pull away from the Gators towards the eventual 25-17 differential. A large and loud home crowd gave Hawaii the momentum in the fifth, as the Bows rode the arm of Nikki Taylor (31.5 points) to a 15-9 win.
The Gators wrap up play in Honolulu with an 8:30 p.m. (ET) match-up against the San Diego State Aztecs. With no live video stream available, fans can tune in to ESPN Gainesville with Florida play-by-play Tom Collett on FM 95.3 and AM 850 -- or the live radio stream on www.wruf.com.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
· 25 | Digs for senior libero Nikki O'Rourke, the most for a Gator in a single match since Taylor Unroe had 27 in 2012 against LSU on Nov. 16
· 10 | Blocks for the Gators as a team. Florida now has double-digit roofs in five of six matches so far in 2015
· 6 | Service aces for the Gators, their most in a single match this season. Both Rhamat Alhassan and Alex Holston had two each
· 5 | Florida played a five-set match for the first time this season and moved to 2-1 against top-25 opponents
UP NEXT
Florida will wrap up its 11-day road swing with a clash against San Diego State Saturday afternoon in Honolulu before hitting the road for the trip back to Gainesville. After playing seven matches on the road to open the 2015 season, the Orange and Blue will return to the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Thursday, Sept. 17, for their home opener against St. Johns. UF will then host top-25 opponent FSU Sept. 20 before getting conference play started at home the following week.
FLORIDA VS SAN DIEGO STATE INFORMATION
San Diego State (Sept. 12)
Time: 2:30 p.m. HAST / 8:30 p.m. ET
Radio: GatorVision
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
UF | SAN DIEGO STATE SERIES HISTORY
· 2015 Record: 1-5
· Series History: The Gators and Aztecs will be meeting for the first time in program history
FOLLOW THE GATORS | Preseason SEC Favorites
