No. 10 Gators Fall Short to No. 1 Nebraska, 3-1, to Open 2016

Friday, August 26

Eugene, OR

7 PM

Florida Gators

0-1

Nebraska

1-0

Florida

Nebraska

Junior Carli Snyder posted a double-double for the Gators against No. 1 Nebraska in UF's first match of 2016.

No. 10 Gators Fall Short to No. 1 Nebraska, 3-1, to Open 2016

Friday, August 26, 2016 | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery by Gary Breedlove

Florida gutted out a 27-25 first-set win before Nebraska won the final three sets Friday in Eugene.

By: Kelly Sobers

EUGENE, Ore. -- A top-10 VERT Challenge showdown between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 10 Florida Friday in Eugene did not disappoint. The Huskers took home the season-opening 3-1 win at Matthew Knight Arena, but a young Gators team rallied to win the first set 27-25 and, despite the loss, will take plenty of lessons and notes as it moves forward.

"There is a reason they are the preseason No. 1-ranked team," Florida head coach Mary Wise said. "They're very efficient and low error. It was the first time Shainah Joseph has played the O2, first time Caroline Knop has worn the libero jersey, first start for Taelor Kellum, the first time Allie Gregory, Darrielle King, Morgyn Greer, Rachael Kramer and Chanelle Hargreaves have played in a college match. That's a lot of 'firsts' against the defending national champions. We're an awfully young team to go toe-to-toe with such an experienced team this early in the season."

Gator veteran pin hitters Alex Holston and Carli Snyder combined for 34 kills and 25 digs, Snyder posting a double-double (16k, 16d), while Holston slammed down a team-leading 18 kills and was one scoop shy (9) of a double-double. Team captain Rhamat Alhassan, who enters her junior season at the University of Florida as the active career leader in the NCAA in hitting efficiency (.437) and is tied for second in career blocks per set (1.47), chipped in 10 kills against Nebraska.

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Florida redshirt sophomore setter Allie Monserez dished out a career high 49 assists and Knop joined Snyder with double-digit digs (11). King (3) and Greer (1) had their first career kills while Gregory (6) and Hargreaves (1) contributed digs in their first UF matches.

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It took extra points in the first for a 27-25 Gators' set win, highlighted by seven kills from Holston, plus seven digs and four kills for Snyder, and was sealed with a block from Alhassan and Joseph. The Huskers went on to close out the match with three consecutive set wins: 25-15, 25-16 and 25-21. Florida battled in the fourth, narrowing the Nebraska lead, 22-20, but the defending champion Huskers prevailed.

Nebraska was efficient, hitting .385 to UF's .260 in the match, and posted 9.5 blocks to Florida's 4.0.

Next up, UF will face the home-team Ducks Saturday at 9 p.m. (ET) live on Pac-12 Network.

NOTABLES

First starts: sophomores Taelor Kellum, Allie Monserez and junior transfer Caroline Knop all made their first career starts as Gators
Freshmen defensive specialists Allie Gregory and Chanelle Hargreaves, first-year middle blockers Darrielle King and Rachael Kramer and freshman outside Morgyn Greer all made their Orange and Blue debuts Friday against the Huskers
Friday marked the fourth time UF has opened a season against the No. 1 team in the country: 1996 (Hawai'i), 1999 (Penn State) and 2003 (Southern California). Florida is 2-14 against No. 1 teams all-time in program history
With their home venue, the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, undergoing a $64.5 million renovation this year, the Orange and Blue will play three weeks on the road -- a total of eight matches -- to start the campaign before opening at home Sept. 16. That stretch features not only three road tournaments, but two top-25 clashes, first with the Huskers, then with Sunshine State foe and preseason No. 17 FSU on Sept. 14 in Seminole territory
The VERT Challenge is in its second year of a four-year rotation between four power programs: Florida, Nebraska, Oregon and Texas. The Longhorns hosted last season, while Gators will host the 2017 VERT Challenge with Nebraska on tap in 2018
READ: Scott Carter: Gators Have Challenge Review System Handy As Season Opens. Of note, both challenges in the Nebraska, Florida match resulted in overturned calls

UF AT OREGON BROADCAST INFORMATION | Florida Match Notes
Saturday, Aug. 27 at Oregon
TV: Pac 12 Network | Radio Stream (Tom Collett) + live on ESPN Gainesville (95.3 FM, 850 AM) | Live Stream

SCOUTING OREGON
Oregon | 16-14, 10-10 Pac 12 in 2015
Florida and Oregon will meet for the third time in program history and in back-to-back years Saturday
• Florida leads: 2-0 (2-0 under Mary Wise)
• 3-set: 2-0 | 4-set: 0-0 | 5-set: 0-0
• Home: 1-0 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 1-0
• Last Time Out: Sept. 4, 2015 at Austin in VERT Challenge W, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-20)

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