STARKVILLE, Miss. – The No. 4 Gators turned in one of their best all-around performances of the year Sunday, sweeping Mississippi State with their highest offensive efficiency output and yet another sub-.100 opponent hitting percentage.
Sophomore middle blocker
Rachael Kramer led the offense with 11 kills and zero errors for a .733 clip. It is fifth time this season and seventh time in her career Kramer hit above .500 on at least 15 attempts. It also marked her ninth outing this year with 10-plus kills. A year ago, she only had five such performances.
Senior outside hitter
Carli Snyder finished with eight kills and 17 digs—which were a career high for a three-set match.
The Gators also logged seven service aces, four of which came from freshman outside hitter
Paige Hammons. It was the 10th time this year Florida tallied five-plus service aces, a figure they reached in 12 matches a year ago.
The win was No. 893 for head coach
Mary Wise, who
passed Mike Hebert (35 seasons) for the sixth-most wins in Division I history and 12th-most wins in NCAA history (all three divisions). Wise is in her 27th season with the Gators and 31st overall season as a head coach.
NOTABLES
- Florida has held eight opponents below a .100 hitting percentage this season, with five of those defensive efforts coming in the last seven matches
- The Gators recorded double-digit blocks for a eighth consecutive match and for the 16th time in 19 matches this year
- Florida hit above .300 for the eighth time this season, and eclipsed the .400 mark for the first time since its sweep of Alabama State in last year's NCAA Tournament First Round matchup
- Rhamat Alhassan finished with five-plus blocks for the 15th time this year
- Mia Sokolowski tied her career high for hitting percentage (.667)
- Florida improved its all-time record against Mississippi State to 47-0, and to 40-0 under head coach Mary Wise
(COACH) WISE'S WORDS
Coach Wise on the Gators' serving this afternoon…
"Paige (Hammons) had a really good serving run, as did CK (
Caroline Knop). It was a day we served very aggressively as the match went on, in response to how well Mississippi State was passing."
Coach Wise on the performances of Rachael Kramer today, and Shainah Joseph this weekend…
"They've been very consistent with the point scoring …whether it's Rachael's hitting efficiency or her blocking. Equally impressive is Rhamat (Alhassan), who didn't get as many trips through the front row, finishes second in points. It's pretty special."
Coach Wise on Carli Snyder's 17 digs this afternoon…
"She's just seeing the game so well, taking advantage of the experience as a senior starter."
Coach Wise on looking ahead to the Kentucky match…
"We identified some areas we thought were deficiencies the first time we played Kentucky; we worked really hard the past two weeks. Now we get a chance to see how much progress we've made."
UP NEXT
Florida travels to No. 6 Kentucky for what is likely to be the fourth top-10 matchup in SEC history—as well as the second such matchup between the two teams this season. With a win, the Gators would move into a tie for first place in the league standings. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET, with ESPNU providing television coverage. There will also be radio coverage via ESPN Gainesville 98.1 FM / 850 AM.
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