FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Senior Florida outside hitter Callie Rivers turned in her third double-double of the season with 11 kills and 10 digs as the No. 1 Florida volleyball team clinched the 2010 Southeastern Conference Championship outright with a 3-1 (25-17, 25-27, 25-11, 25-20) victory against Arkansas Friday evening in Barnhill Arena.
With the victory, the Gators (25-1 overall, 18-0 SEC) captured their 19th SEC title under Wise. Florida, which out-blocked the Razorbacks 7.0-1.0 over the final two sets of the match, extended the nation’s longest streak of consecutive 25-win seasons to 20 with their 20th straight victory of the season.
Florida had a balanced hitting attack with six players recording eight or more kills in the match. The Gators hit .331 for the match, their 14th time hitting .300 or better.
“Typical of SEC road matches, Arkansas played very well against us, especially in set two,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “I thought our team really responded, specifically in sets three and four, and the difference in the match was really our defense and blocking.”
The Gators have two matches remaining in the 2010 regular season, including Sunday’s 2 p.m. ET contest at No. 16 Louisiana State.
“Earning the SEC title is something that the players will take with them for a long time and is something that is part of the legacy of our senior class,” Wise said. “But we also know we have a lot of our goals still in front of us.”
In the match, the Gators out-blocked the Razorbacks 10.0-5.0. That marks the 13th time this season that Florida has reached double figures in blocks, including four of the last five matches.
Rivers scored a team-high 14.0 points with her 11 kills and 10 digs to complement a team-high two service aces. Junior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel added 11 kills and eight digs to go along with three blocks.
Junior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy charted her 13th consecutive double-double and her 21st double-dip of the year, just missing a triple-double with nine kills on .333 hitting with 21 assists and 11 digs to complement four blocks.
Senior middle blocker Lauren Bledsoe registered nine kills on .467 hitting with a match-high five blocks, while junior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson had eight kills on .353 hitting with four digs and three blocks for 9.5 total points. Sophomore right-side Tangerine Wiggs also added eight
kills on .438 hitting.
Freshman setter Chanel Brown had a team-high 29 assists to go with seven digs, while senior libero Erin Fleming headed the squad’s back-row effort with a match-high 14 digs.
SEC FRIDAY
(1) Florida 3, Arkansas 1 (25-17, 25-27, 25-11, 25-20). Records: Florida 25-1/18-0 SEC; Arkansas 13-16/7-11 SEC.
Georgia 3, Mississippi State 1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 29-27). Records: Georgia 14-16/5-13 SEC; Mississippi State 11-18/3-15 SEC.
Kentucky 3, Mississippi 1 (15-25, 25-9, 25-18, 25-21). Records: Kentucky 17-12/11-8 SEC; Mississippi 19-9/13-6 SEC.
(16) Louisiana State 3, South Carolina 0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-19). Records: LSU 24-3/15-3 SEC; South Carolina 7-21/4-14 SEC.
Auburn 3, Alabama 2 (21-25, 26-28, 25-19, 25-19, 16-14). Records: Auburn 18-12/9-9 SEC; Alabama 10-18/2-16 SEC.
Idle: Tennessee 22-6/13-5 SEC.