LEXINGTON, Ky. – Junior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy had a match-high 17 kills on .520 hitting with 23 assists to rally No. 3 Florida to its 20th consecutive victory in a Southeastern Conference opener, defeating No. 22 Kentucky, 3-1 (18-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-20) on Friday evening in Memorial Coliseum.
Florida (7-1, 1-0 SEC) is now 20-0 in league openers under head coach Mary Wise and improved to 23-4 all-time in SEC openers. With the win, the Gators defeated their fifth Top 25 opponent of the 2010 season and improved to 5-1 this year against ranked foes.
The Gators’ hitters combined for 45 of the team’s 54 kills in the match to lead Florida’s offensive attack, which hit .229 for the match and an impressive .500 in the third set. Kentucky was held to a .116 hitting efficiency, while Florida recorded double-figure blocks (10) for the sixth time this season.
“The difference was the play of our right side,” Wise said. “On a night when our offense was struggling a bit, our defense was good enough to lead us to the win, especially the 10 blocks and holding Kentucky to .116 hitting.”
Murphy also added five digs and four blocks to complement her 17 kills and 23 assists for a match-high 20.0 points.
Junior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel had 10 kills and just missed a double-double with nine digs, also serving three aces. Senior outside hitter Callie Rivers added nine kills and 13 digs. Sophomore right-side Tangerine Wiggs tied her career high with nine kills on .421 hitting, matching her offensive output against Iowa State on Aug. 28.
Junior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson tied a season high with six blocks to go along with her four kills. Senior defensive specialist Erin Fleming had nine digs and freshman setter Chanel Brown had 19 assists.
A 7-1 finish by the Wildcats closed out their 25-18 first-set win. Florida hit just .070 while Kentucky hit at a .303 clip. But the Gators were back on their game in the second set, holding Kentucky to a .097 attack percentage and won 25-19.
A 7-0 run in the third set gave Florida a 20-10 lead on way to a 25-13 victory. The Gators hit an impressive .500 while Kentucky was limited to -.065 hitting efficiency. Florida broke a 13-13 tie with three straight points and the Gators won 25-20 on a Kentucky service error.
Florida continues its road trip Sunday with a visit to No. 18 Tennessee at 2 p.m.