Florida Gators volleyball sweeps the Oregon Ducks

Special report on the Florida Gators volleyball team

AUSTIN, Texas. -- Senior middle Simone Antwi hit .867 with a team-best 13 kills and sophomore Alex Holston turned in her third career double-double with 10 kills and a career-tying 11 digs as the No. 4 Florida volleyball squad swept No. 11 Oregon (25-18, 25-19, 25-20) at Gregory Gym Friday for its first top-25 victory this season.

While the Gators' offense was hitting on all cylinders, senior libero Nikki O'Rourke led Florida's back-row efforts with a career-tying 19 digs as the Gators improved to 3-0 with their VERT Challenge opener. It won't get easier for the Orange and Blue this weekend as UF squares off with host team No. 3 Texas in a 3 p.m. (ET) clash Saturday afternoon.

Florida hit a season-best .440 against Oregon, including a staggering .607 in the third and final set, to serve the Ducks (5-1) their first loss this season. Senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino (46 assists) quarterbacked a UF offense that had four players with double-digit kills, including sophomore middle Rhamat Alhassan (11) and senior outside hitter Živa Recek (11) in addition to Antwi and Holston.

Alhassan had a team-best 13.5 points, chipping in a service ace and three blocks to complement her 11 kills and .500 hitting efficiency.

Paul Sunderland and Nell Fortner will have the Gators-Longhorns call on Longhorn Network Saturday, while Tom Collett will have all the action on ESPN Gainesville (FM 95.3, AM 850).

The weekend set in Austin counts as the Gators' second road trip of the season and is the middle stretch of a seven-match road strand to open the 2015 campaign before the Gators debut in the O'Dome Sept. 17. Florida and Oregon met Friday for the first time since 1996, while the Gators and Longhorns have a rich rivalry. Last season UF and UT went 1-1, as Texas took the match in Gainesville in September (3-0), while Florida claimed a thrilling five-setter in Austin in November (3-2). While the focus is on Austin this weekend, a dazzling trip to Honolulu, Hawaii, awaits the Orange and Blue next week.

MARY'S MINUTE

"It was a match where our offense was right on track from the first contact. It was as well a setting performance for Mackenzie Dagostino as we've seen in her and our hitters made some great choices. Defensively it's such a challenge to play that elite of an offense. Today our offense really did its job."

2015 RECORDS
No. 4 Florida: 3-0
No. 11 Oregon: 5-1

*              Friday's match marked the second overall meeting between the Gators and Ducks, the first since 1996
KEY NUMBERS

*            .867 | Senior middle Simone Antwi's hitting efficiency Friday evening, just shy of her career-best .875 against Mississippi State last season

*            11 | Career-tying digs for sophomore right side Alex Holston, who notched her third career double-double in the win against the No. 11 Ducks

*            5 | Gator players that hit over .300 in UF's sweep of Oregon, including Antwi (.867), sophomores Rhamat Alhassan (.500) and Carli Snyder (.412), senior Živa Recek (.348) and Holston (.318)

*            1 | After going 7-3 against ranked opponents in 2014, Florida wasted no time downing its first top-25 match-up this season with the sweep against Oregon. UF will have the chance to go 2-0 against ranked foes Saturday against No. 3 Texas

UP NEXT
In its second match of the VERT Challenge, the Gators will take on host No. 3 Texas in a 3 p.m. (ET) Saturday showdown.

Last time out at Texas (Nov. 29, 2014):

The 2014 SEC Player of the Year Alex Holston slammed down a staggering 29 kills and junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino posted her fourth double-double of the season with 57 assists and 16 digs, as No. 6 Florida used an all-around team effort to upset No. 3 Texas in a five-set thriller to cap off the regular-season slate at Gregory Gym in Austin (26-28, 25- 20, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12). Holston (29) and freshman outside hitter Carli Snyder (17) each notched double-digit kills -- Holston with the third-most in a single match in school history in the rally scoring era. Holston's 32 points were also the third-most in Gator history in the rally-scoring era as the right-side hitter added four blocks and a service ace to her line Snyder's 18 kills against Texas in Gainesville last season mark a career high. Her 17 against the Longhorns in Austin are her second-most as a Gator thus far.

FLORIDA AT TEXAS BROADCAST INFORMATION
University of Texas (Sept. 5)
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET

Live Stream: Longhorn Network<http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/2635094/College-Volleyball-Florida-vs-Texas-(W-Volleyball)>

Radio: GatorVision<http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&catid=0&DB_OEM_ID=6500>

Live Stats: Sidearm Stats<http://www.sidearmstats.com/texas/wvball/>

UF | TEXAS SERIES HISTORY

*         2015 Record: 3-0
*         Series Record: Florida leads, 13-8 (13-7 under Mary Wise)
*         3-set: 3-4; 4-set: 2-3; 5-set: 8-1
*         Home: 6-4 | Away: 5-3 | Neutral: 2-1
*         Last Time Out at Austin: Nov. 29, 2015 | W, 3-0 (26-28, 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12)
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.