OMAHA, Neb. – The No. 13 Florida volleyball team showed its depth, with a number of individuals making key contributions, and defense, posting 11 team blocks, to knock off No. 9 Iowa State, 3-1 (25-22, 25-21,10-25, 25-20) Saturday in the season-opening Runza/AVCA Showcase at the Qwest Center.
It was the seventh straight season that coach Mary Wise’s Gators have opened with a victory, improving Florida to 19-8 all-time in season openers and 3-0 all-time against Iowa State. Florida meets second-ranked Nebraska (1-0) Sunday at 5 p.m. ET in a match that will be carried live on CBS College Sports and WRUF-AM 850 with Tom Collett. The Cornhuskers opened their season with a 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-20) victory over 14th-ranked Kentucky.
“I don’t know too many first matches where the play is very pretty, and we showed that at times,” Wise said. “We are such a team in progress and I think a lot of the rallies we won were indicative of that. There were times where Iowa State really got on a roll. We just have to grind it out – that’s who we are and that’s what we were able to do today.”
Senior outside hitter Callie Rivers of Winter Park led Florida’s offensive attack with 10 kills on .364 hitting, just missing a double-double with nine digs. Rivers was one of five Gators to record seven or more kills. Sophomore right-side Tangerine Wiggs of Seattle, Wash., turned in a career-high nine kills with five block assists, while junior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel of Littleton, Colo., added eight kills and five digs. Senior middle blocker Lauren Bledsoe of Long Beach, Calif., had seven kills and five blocks, while junior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy of Wilmington, Ill., had seven kills, 26 assists, eight digs and two solo blocks. Senior libero Erin Fleming of Orlando contributed 18 digs, a career high. Freshman setter Chanel Brown of Tempe, Ariz., had 13 assists, while junior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson of Bakersfield, Calif., had three blocks.
“Lauren having five blocks today was huge and our pin hitters really came through for us,” Wise added.
Florida out-hit Iowa State .195-.180, with Florida hitting better than .300 in both the first and fourth sets of the match. Florida out-blocked Iowa State, 11-9.5, marking the Gators’ most blocks since they posted 12 against Florida International in the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
In the opening set, Iowa State raced to a 7-3 lead and then extended its edge to 9-5 before Florida rallied to an 11-8 deficit after a kill by Bledsoe and back-to-back blocks by Bledsoe and Wiggs. The Cyclones opened a 13-8 lead after consecutive errors by the Gators. Florida then rallied again to within two points, 14-12, on a Wiggs put-down and a back-row attack violation against Iowa State. Murphy then had two kills, including a dominant put-down off an overpass, and Florida and Iowa State were suddenly tied 15-15.
A kill by the Cyclones’ Victoria Henson and two consecutive aces by Iowa State pushed its lead out to 18-15. With the Gators trailing 20-17, Bledsoe registered a kill and a back-row block was called on Iowa State to bring Florida within one, 20-19. After the two teams traded points, Jaeckel and Anderson posted back-to-back kills to tie the score at 21-21. Two consecutive kills by Jaeckel gave Florida its first lead of the set at 23-22. An attack error by the Cyclones and a Murphy kill on the right finally gave the Gators the first set, 25-22. Florida hit .324 in the frame.
The Cyclones scored the first five points of the second set before an attack error by Iowa State stopped the scoring steak. The Gators then ran off five consecutive points, capped off by a Rivers ace to knot the score at 5-5 heading into an Iowa State timeout. The Gators kept rolling out of the break to jump ahead 8-6 after a put-down by Anderson. Florida built on its lead but Iowa State cut the lead to one, 18-17. But a block by Murphy kept the Gators in the lead and Rivers posted back-to-back kills to put Florida back up 21-18. After an Iowa State timeout, Florida got back-to-back blocks to open up a 24-20 lead and Wiggs’ kill on the right side eventually gave Florida the second set, 25-21. Iowa State had a .000 hitting efficiency in the second set.
In the third set, Iowa State jumped to a 7-2 advantage. The Cyclones opened a 12-5 lead before kills by Murphy and Rivers pulled Florida to within five, 12-7. But the Cyclones went on an 8-2 run as Florida struggled offensively, taking a 20-9 lead to force Wise to call a timeout. It didn’t help as Iowa State won the set, 25-10, with a 6.5 to 0 edge in blocks.
Iowa State ran out to a 12-9 lead in the fourth set before Florida rallied to within one, 12-11, after a Rivers kill. The Cyclones rebounded to take a 15-11 lead. Rivers then sparked a 3-0 run with a pair of kills with Murphy serving, cutting Florida’s deficit to 15-14. The Gators eventually tied the match at 16-16 thanks to a Bledsoe kill and a Cyclone attack error. Bledsoe and Wiggs combined for a block and Rivers registered a put-down to put Florida into the lead 18-16. Iowa State closed to within one but Florida junior outside hitter Stephanie Ferrell of Los Angeles and Anderson had kills to put Florida up 21-18. A Wiggs kill and a Fleming ace made the Florida lead five, 23-18, and the teams alternated points the rest of the way, with Murphy ending the fourth set—and the match—with a kill for a 25-20 victory.
Iowa State (0-1) was led by 11 kills from senior outside hitter Victoria Henson and 10 from sophomore middle blocker Jamie Straube.