Florida Gators volleyball moves into second place in SEC

Special report on the Florida Gators volleyball team

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Three-time All-American senior right side Alex Holston and junior outside hitter Carli Snyder tallied 15 kills apiece to lead the Gators offense, which finished with a .438 hitting percentage, their second-highest clip of the year, in a sweep of Georgia on Sunday (Oct. 23) afternoon.

Snyder, who also tallied nine digs, hit .583 for the match, while Holston amassed eight digs, three blocks, and a .536 hitting percentage.

Behind the service line, UF posted six aces, four of which came from redshirt sophomore setter Allie Monserez. In addition to being a career high, Monserez’s four aces were the most by any Gator in a match this year.

For the 16th time this season and sixth consecutive match, junior libero Caroline Knop led the Gators in digs, posting a match-high 13 in that category.

The first two sets were, for the most part, back-and-forth battles, ending in 25-19 wins for the Gators. UF took complete control of the third right from the outset, scoring 13 of the first 14 points. Monserez was on serve for a 10-point run, during which she posted all four of her aces. The eight points allowed in the final set were the fewest UF surrendered in a set since giving up eight against Georgia back on Oct. 29, 2014.

The victory moves UF into a tie for second place in the SEC standings.

THE RECORDS

No. 10 Florida: 18-2, 8-1 SEC

Georgia: 13-9, 1-8 SEC

NOTABLES AND TRENDS

*         Florida improves to 60-9 all-time against Georgia, and logged its 44th sweep of the Bulldogs

*         The Gators have won 12 of the last 13 meetings against Georgia via sweeps

*         Florida held its opponent below a .200 clip for the fifth consecutive match and 15th time this season

*         Alex Holston’s 15 kills equaled her highest total in a three-set match this year

*         Holston’s .536 hitting percentage was her second-best clip of the year, though her season high of .545 against Morgan State came on just 11 total attacks

*         Allie Monserez’s four service aces topped her previous career high of three, which she set on two different occasions, the most recent of which came at Alabama on Sep. 25

*         Carli Snyder’s 15 kills tied her highest total in a three-set match this season

*         Today marked the season time this season Snyder hit above .575 (minimum of 10 total attacks)

UP NEXT

Florida continues its four-match homestand at the Lemerand Athletic Center, where the Gators are 6-1 this season, next Friday (Oct. 28) against Ole Miss and Sunday (Oct. 30) against LSU. Friday’s match will be streamed via SEC Network +, while Sunday’s match will be televised by SEC Network. Both matches can also be heard on ESPN Gainesville 95.3 FM / 850 AM.

First serve on Friday will be at 7 p.m. ET, and Sunday’s match will commence at 12 p.m. ET.

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.