ATHENS, Ga. – Sophomore Tahnai Annis used her head, and because she did, the No. 11 Florida women’s volleyball picked up a very important 1-0 victory over No. 23 Georgia Sunday before 2,023 fans at the UGA Soccer Stadium.
The only goal of the game came in the 85th minute on Annis’ header following a cross from Lindsay Thompson. The goal lifted the No. 11 Gators to 11-4-2 overall and 5-1-2 in the SEC East. Georgia fell to 12-3-1 overall and 5-3 in the SEC East.
Florida coach Becky Burleigh was happy with the Gators’ defensive work and also the connection that has developed between Thompson and Annis.
“Our defense held strong to limit their chances and take away the ones they did have,” Florida coach Becky Burleigh said. “I thought it was a terrific ball by Lindsay and a great header by Tahnai – it was a good finish.”
The UF half of the field saw the majority of the action in the second half, but that wasn’t unexpected, Burleigh said. That end of the field showed the effects of the heavy rains the Athens area has received this fall.
Junior keeper Katie Fraine finished with a career-high 10 saves in recording the shutout. Georgia keeper Michelle Betos had only three saves. The Bulldogs outshot the Gators 21-10. UGA’s Alex Hooker took a shot in the 69th minute that hit the post. Within the minute, Mariah Krase took a shot which forced Fraine to hit the ground to make the save.
“I thought it was a really hard-fought game on both sides. Both teams wanted it really bad,” Annis said. “It wasn’t the prettiest game by any means. We could have done a lot more things to help ourselves, but it is what we needed. We needed a win on the road and we needed to win a game out of pure hard work and that’s what we did.”
The Gators return home to play host to No. 16 Louisiana State (10-3-3, 6-1-1 SEC) Thursday. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at the James G. Pressly Stadium. The Tigers shares the SEC lead with South Carolina at 19 points, while Florida is third with 17. Thursday is Florida’s first cancer awareness match and the Gators will wear pink uniforms. The first 1,000 fans receive pink t-shirts, compliments of SUN Sports.