Written by: Shauni Lynch
The No. 8 Florida Gators struck again – this time in Knoxville against the Lady Vols (8-17, 1-10 SEC) at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Gators earned their 13th consecutive victory after sweeping the Lady Vols 3-0 on Sunday. Remaining the only undefeated team in conference play, the Orange and Blue improved to 18-3, 12-0 SEC.
The Gators earned their fifth straight sweep behind senior libero Holly Pole’s 17 digs and sophomore right side Alex Holston’s 14 kills and 17 points. Starting off strong, Florida kept the Lady Vols in the single digits in the first set, coming out victorious 25-9. In this set, the Gators had a total of five serving aces. Consistency with the offense and defense continued throughout the match with UF taking the second set (25-13) and the third set (25-17), giving Florida another victory in its season-long winning streak.
“Today we got better at staying focused throughout an entire match, no matter what the score was. The players did a really good job following the game plan late in the match, as well as they did early on — starting with Holly’s play in the back row this afternoon.”
For the 15th time this season, the Gators limited yet another opponent to operate under a .197 hitting efficiency with help from freshman middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan’s five blocks out of the team’s seven. Holston, Alhassan and junior outside hitter Živa Recek each hit over .500 at .520, .538, and .545, respectively.
Since Oct. 15, the Gators have won 18 straight sets. This week, Florida heads back home to the O’Dome for two more SEC match-ups, Alabama Nov. 7 and Auburn Nov. 12