FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Sophomore outside hitters Kristy Jaeckel and Colleen Ward combined for 26 kills and 13 digs to lead the No. 5 Gators past Arkansas 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 26-24) Sunday at Barnhill Arena.
The Gators (8-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) had six service aces in the match.
“We know that 3-0 wins on the road are going to be hard to come by in this league,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “To get one on the very first SEC weekend and a weekend that ends a three-match road swing says a lot about the toughness of this team. I’d like to think that we’re better from this experience. We won the match with our serving and passing.”
Ward had 14 kills on .448 hitting with five digs, while Jaeckel had 12 kills on .333 hitting with eight digs. Sophomore right-side setter Kelly Murphy added eight kills on .312 hitting with 17 assists and nine digs.
Junior setter Brynja Rodgers added a match-high 20 assists to complement three service aces. Sophomore middle blocker Cassandra Anderson and senior middle blocker Kristina Johnson each had three blocks.
Senior libero Elyse Cusack finished with 18 digs, the ninth straight time this season she has been in double figures. She now has 1,783 digs, third most in SEC history.
Florida raced out to a 7-2 advantage in the first set and gradually increased the lead to 21-11 thanks to great serves by Murphy and a put-down by junior right-sider Lauren Bledsoe. Florida closed out the 25-16 opening-set victory on a Kelly Rivers kill.
The Gators jumped to a 5-0 lead to open the second set, forcing Razorbacks head coach Robert Pulliza to burn an early timeout. Anderson had two kills and Ward one in succession to give UF a 15-5 lead. Another Murphy kill and a block by Anderson and junior outside hitter Callie Rivers extended Florida’s lead to 23-16 and the Gators won the set 25-19 on a Ward put-down.
In the third set, Florida trailed most of the way before cutting the score to 23-22 with a 3-1 run. A block by Jaeckel and Ward tied the score at 23-all. After Florida staved off an attempt at match point, it closed out the set with a 26-24 victory.
Arkansas (7-6, 1-1 SEC) was led by seven kills each from Jasmine Norton and Janeliss Torres. Florida returns home for the first time in nearly a month to face Mississippi State Friday at 7 p.m. ET in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.