Florida Gators Volleyball wins SEC Championship

Special to GC
OXFORD, Miss. -- The 2014 SEC volleyball title belongs to the No. 6 Gators, with a 3-1 victory at Ole Miss and Florida's 17th consecutive victory as the exclamation point Friday evening. After clinching at least a share of the title last week at No. 15 Kentucky, the Orange and Blue battled it out with the Rebels in Oxford to earn the program's 21st SEC Championship outright (25-22, 25-23, 24-26, 25-11).

Behind a double-double from junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino -- 49 assists, 11 digs -- and a career-best 16 kills from junior middle Simone Antwi, Florida elevated to 22-3 overall this season and an undefeated 16-0 in SEC play to ensure the SEC title, UF's third in the last five years, returned to Gainesville.

Antwi hit .560 for the Gators, while sophomore right side Alex Holston led the Orange and Blue with 18 kills offensively. Senior libero Holly Pole rallied for a team-high 14 digs to join Dagostino in double-digit scoops. Florida hit .331, limited Ole Miss to a .149 clip and posted 11 blocks to the Rebels' seven. Three Gators scored double-digit points for UF, including Antwi (18.0), Holston (19.0) and freshman Rhamat Alhassan (13.5), who has now led UF in blocks in 23 of 25 matches this season.

With her first dig against the Rebels Friday, senior Taylor Unroe became just the second player in Florida history to eclipse 1,500 career digs. Unroe, who ranks No. 2 all-time in the Gator record books for career digs, now has 1,505 scoops while donning the Orange and Blue.

The Gators will be back in action Sunday at Arkansas, with first serve slated for noon from Barnhill Arena on the SEC Network.

GETTING WISE

"When we're on the road and the home team is playing as well as Ole Miss was, these are the matches that it takes such a combined effort to come out with a win; Ole Miss earned that win in the third set. I'm proud of the team for what we've accomplished, but we understand the key is: can we be a better Gator team Sunday than we were today."

BY THE NUMBERS

1,505: career digs for senior Taylor Unroe, who Friday became just the second player in UF history to eclipse the 1,500-dig milestone

49: assists for junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino, her most in SEC play. Dagostino added 11 digs for her third double-double as a Gator

21: SEC titles for the Gators, as Florida won the league outright with Friday's victory. All 21 have come under Florida head coach Mary Wise, including 18 straight conference titles from 1991-2008. Florida last won the league in 2012

18: matches the Gators have forced their opponents to operate below a .197 hitting efficiency, including 14 of 16 SEC matches. Florida held Ole Miss to a .149 clip Friday evening

18: kills for sophomore right side Alex Holston to lead UF's efforts

17: straight wins for the Gators, the sixth-longest in the country entering the week. Florida's last streak of 17 or longer was four years ago in 2010 (24 consecutive wins from 9/11/10-12/4/10)

16: kills for junior Simone Antwi, a new career high. Antwi posted a .560 hitting efficiency Friday and has now hit .500 or above in three consecutive matches. Antwi also turned in a career-high 18.0 points after posting four blocks

16: straight SEC wins. Florida is the only undefeated team in SEC play and owns 12 undefeated SEC seasons all-time in program history, with the last coming in 2010

11: team blocks for the Orange and Blue, its second most in SEC play. The Rebels had seven blocks Friday

10: players with at least one dig for the Gators Friday evening

6: blocks for freshman middle Rhamat Alhassan, who has now led Florida in roofs 23 of 25 matches this season. Alhassan also chipped in nine kills and a service ace for 13.5 points

4:Florida has dropped just four sets in SEC play, all on the road -- one at LSU, South Carolina, Kentucky, and the third set Friday to Ole Miss

1: home regular-season match remaining for the Gators. Florida takes on South Carolina at home November 26, where UF's three seniors will be honored in a pre-match ceremony



UP NEXT

No. 6 Florida continues its final SEC road weekend at Arkansas Sunday at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville. First serve between the Gators and Razorbacks is noon ET, live on the SEC Network with Trey Bender and Dain Blanton. UF is 36-2 all-time against Arkansas, and owns a 14-1 record all-time in Fayetteville.

 

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.