STARKVILLE, Miss. – Kelly Murphy and Lauren Bledsoe made sure the No. 2 Florida volleyball team completed a successful weekend Southeastern Conference sweep of Alabama and Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon.
Murphy, a junior right-side/setter, had a match-high 13 kills on .476 hitting, while Bledsoe, a senior middle blocker, had nine kills on .692 hitting and contributed a career-high four aces to lead the Gators to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-16) victory over Mississippi State at the Newell-Grissom Building.
Florida (14-1 overall, 7-0 SEC East) hit .327 with nine service aces. The Gators also won the battle of the blocks, 7.0-3.0, while not committing a reception error. Meanwhile, Florida held the Bulldogs to just .161 hitting, the 13th opponent which the Gators have held to less than .200 hitting this season.
Bledsoe and fellow middle blocker Cassandra Anderson each hit better than .600 and also did not make an error. Bedsoe’s .692 efficiency came on 9-of-13 hitting. Anderson had eight kills on 12 chances, a .667 efficiency.
“Lauren and Cassandra both played really well,” Florida coach Mary Wise said. “They anchored our defense. We rely heavily on our middle blockers and they were very good today.”
Murphy totaled a match-high 14.5 points, charting a double-double with 21 assists to go along with her 13 kills. She also recorded seven digs in the match. Three Gators – Kristy Jaeckel, Callie Rivers and Tangerine Wiggs – posted five kills each. Jaeckel added three blocks and six digs for 7.5 total points.
Senior libero Erin Fleming led Florida’s back-liners with a match-high 14 digs and had two service aces. Freshman setter Chanel Brown had 16 assists.
Caitlin Rance had 10 kills on .241 hitting to lead Mississippi State (10-8, 2-4 SEC West). Ashley Newsome, who had eight kills, entered the match as the SEC’s second-leading blocker with 1.29 rejections per set but was limited to just one block assist in the match.
Florida returns to the O-Dome Friday for a Homecoming afternoon match against Auburn at 4 p.m.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS
EASTERN DIVISION SEC/Overall
(2) Florida 7-0/14-1
(22) Tennessee 5-3/13-4
Kentucky 3-5/9-9
Georgia 2-6/10-9
South Carolina 1-6/4-13
WESTERN DIVISION SEC/Overall
(15) Louisiana State 7-1/16-1
Mississippi 6-2/12-5
Auburn 5-3/14-6
Arkansas 3-5/9-10
Mississippi State 2-4/10-8
Alabama 1-6/9-8
RESULTS
Sunday / Oct. 10
Florida 3, Mississippi State 0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-16)
Kentucky 3, Arkansas 1 (25-21, 25-15, 21-25, 25-17)
Louisiana State 3, Tennessee 1 (25-23, 30-28, 23-25, 25-20)
Mississippi 3, Georgia 0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-19)
Alabama 3, South Carolina 0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-16)
Friday / Oct. 8
Florida 3, Alabama 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-20)
Mississippi 3, Auburn 0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19)
Louisiana State 3, Kentucky 0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-22)
Tennessee 3, Arkansas 2 (22-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 17-15)
South Carolina 3, Mississippi State 2 (25-20, 30-28, 19-25, 11-25, 15-9)
SCHEDULE
Wednesday / Oct. 13
Arkansas at Louisiana State, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
Friday / Oct. 15
Auburn at Florida, 4 p.m.
Alabama at Kentucky, 7 p.m.
Georgia at South Carolina, 7 p.m.
Mississippi State at Tennessee, 7 p.m.
Louisiana State at Mississippi, 7:30 p.m. (FSN)
Sunday / Oct. 17
Georgia at Florida, 1:30 p.m.
Mississippi State at Kentucky, 1:30 p.m.
Alabama at Tennessee, 1:30 p.m.
Auburn at South Carolina, 1:30 p.m.
Arkansas at Mississippi, 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday / Oct. 20
Tennessee at Florida, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
Alabama at Mississippi State, 8 p.m.
For the latest Bison/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I coaches poll, click below:
http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-volley/division_i1.html
For the latest 2010 NCAA Women’s Volleyball RPI rankings, click below:
http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/weeklyrpi/2010WVBrpi1.html