FINAL: FLORIDA 3, MIAMI 1
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | FINAL | |
| MIAMI | 14 | 25 | 11 | 23 | X | 1 |
| FLORIDA | 25 | 19 | 25 | 25 | X | 3 |
GAINESVILLE, FL- The Florida Gators are on to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. Florida defeated the Miami Hurricanes in second round action, 3-1 on Friday night to advance to the program’s twenty-fourth regional semifinal.
Florida finished set one with the advantage thanks to a .393 hitting percentage and only one attack error. Miami hit at a .111 efficiency and committed seven errors on their 36 attack attempts.
Set two saw Miami hit at a .485 clip while committing only three errors. The Gators also committed three errors, but only attacked at a .269 rate. The Hurricanes had 19 kills while Florida only managed 10.
The Gators dominated set three both offensively and defensively. Florida’s attack percentage was .414, while forcing Miami into a negative efficiency (-.028). Florida committed two errors while the Hurricanes made eight.
Set four was a gritty game between the two squads. Florida finished with a .375 hitting efficiency while Miami hit .282. Florida had 19 kills to Miami’s 14. The Gators committed four errors while Miami committed only three.
Florida finished the match with 68 points, 55 kills, five aces, and 57 digs en route to victory over the Hurricanes. Redshirt senior Shainah Joseph led Florida with 19 kills, followed by fellow senior Carli Snyder with 13. Allie Monserez and Paige Hammons each served two aces. Senior Rhamat Alhassan and Joseph each recorded five blocks. Monserez also had 28 assists to lead the Gators. Hammons had 18 digs, while Caroline Knop recorded an additional 11.
There will be one more weekend of NCAA Tournament volleyball action at Exactech Arena as Florida will move on to the Sweet Sixteen. The Gators will face UCLA on Friday at 4:00 PM. The #15 seeded Bruins defeated Cal-Poly 3-1 to advance.
The winner of Florida-UCLA will face the winner of the Friday night matchup of Southern Cal and Minnesota.
(Photo courtesy of ESPN)