Florida Gators Volleyball defeats #3 Texas

By: Shauni Lynch
No. 6 Florida Gators ended its regular season play with an exhilarating and suspenseful win over No. 3 Texas. The Gators have now won 20 consecutive matches and cap off its season with a 25-3 record.
It wasn’t an easy clean sweep for the Orange and Blue as they took the court at Gregory Gym in Austin. It was a packed gymnasium filled with 4,276 fans and a rambunctious atmosphere for the final game of the Gators regular season. In a thrilling and close first set, the Longhorns ultimately came out on top 26-28. Down a set and wanting revenge from the two teams previous matchup where Texas was victorious, the Gators were pumped up and won the next two sets 25-20 and 25-23. With one set to go and in true suspenseful fashion, the Gators slipped to Texas in the fourth set 22-25, making it 2-2 all. In the fifth and final set, with efforts from all over the court, the Gators rallied together for a 15-12 set victory and it’s 25th win of the regular season.
Action was seen from every part of the Gators court but it was led by an incredible performance from SEC Player of the Year, Alex Holston. Holston notched an impressive 29 kills and four digs for a total of 32 points for Florida. Those 32 points from Holston are the third highest in the Gator program history.
Seniors Holly Pole and Taylor Unroe led the back row again this match with 16 and 12 digs, respectively, in addition to junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino’s 16 digs and 57 assists. With those numbers, Dagostino registered her fourth double-double of the season.
Freshman outside hitter Carli Snyder recorded 17 kills for this match, the seventh time this season she has had double digit kills and the third match in a row. For the 26th time this season Rhamat Alhassan has led the Orange and Blue with blocks as she wrapped up the stellar Gators play with five against the Longhorns.
Next up for the Gators is waiting on where they will stand in the 2014 NCAA Volleyball Championship. The Selection Show is Sunday at 8:30 p.m. onĀ ESPNU.
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.