The No. 14 Florida Gators finished their run of three straight road games with a five-set win over Texas A&M (25-23, 25-23, 14-25, 15-25, 15-12). After narrowly winning the first two sets, the Gators lost the next two. However, they’d come back and seal the win in the fifth to improve to 4-1 in the SEC.
Whole team E F F O R T today to get the road dub!
Highlights ⬇️#GoGators pic.twitter.com/Zda9oQyk8U
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) October 13, 2019
How it Happened
The first two sets were extremely close. Both ended 25-23 in favor of the Gators, but the Aggies fought until the very end.
The home team showed character to get back into the match. They dominated the third and fourth frames to even up the score at two sets apiece.
In the third set, A&M went on an 8-0 run. Likewise, in the fourth set, the Aggies picked up six of the first seven points of the frame to establish an insurmountable lead.
Stats
Despite the loss, the Aggies earned more points over the five sets. They racked up 108 points to the Gators’ 94.
The team stats sheet was very balanced come the end of the match. Across the board, in total kills, blocks, assists and digs, the two teams were separated by a max of four points.
Hollann Hans put in a shift for the Aggies offensively. She was the only player on her team to reach double digits in kills. She led the game with 26 from 56 attacks and nine errors, giving her a clip of .304.
For the Gators, Thayer Hall led the way with 18 kills. She had 46 swings and nine errors for a hitting percentage of .196. Holly Carlton and Paige Hammons followed with 10 kills each.
Florida had another solid blocking performance. While it wasn’t 13 blocks in three sets like against Arkansas, the Gators picked up 16 in five. Rachael Kramer led her team with nine blocks.
A&M also had 16 blocks on the night. They were led by Makena Patterson, who also registered nine blocks.
Looking Forward
Next up, the Gators will return home to face 11-7 South Carolina. First serve is set for Wednesday at 8 p.m.