Florida Gators Volleyball defeats Arkansas 3-1

By Shauni Lynch

No. 6 Florida Gators took the court in Fayetteville and defeated Arkansas 3-1 to record their 18th straight victory. Freshman middle back Rhamat Alhassan and junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino each hit over a .600 clip at .636 and .833, respectively, to aid Florida’s efforts and improved to 23-3 overall and 17-0 in the SEC.

It was a slippery start for Florida as it came down to the wire in the first set. It was back-to-back points with the eventual win by Arkansas 27-25. The loss put a spark and some fire in the Gators as they took the second set 25-12. That power continued as the Orange and Blue ended the match, taking the final two sets (25-20, 25-19).

Junior outside hitter Gabby Mallette hit a season-high 13 kills for the Gators as well as racking up 16 points. Four other Gators also had over eight kills and put more than 10 points on the board. Freshman outside hitter Carli Snyder had 11 kills and sophomore right side Alex Holston had nine slams. The duo each racked up 11.5 points for the Gators while junior middle back Simone Antwi and Alhassan each had eight kills and 10 points.

Senior Maddy Monserez contributed to the Gators victory with 10 digs as well as senior libero Holly Pole racking in nine and senior Taylor Unroe pulling in eight digs for Florida.

Florida forced Arkansas to operate at a .083, compared to Florida’s .300, and marked the 19th match this season that Florida has limited an opponent to below a .197 hitting efficiency.

The last SEC match is scheduled for Wednesday Nov. 26 and will be in the O’Dome against South Carolina where Florida will honor its three seniors, Monserez, Pole and Unroe. The match will broadcasted on the SEC Network and is at 7 p.m.

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.