The Florida Gators fell to the Kentucky Wildcats in five sets (25-21, 15-25, 23-25, 26-24, 15-12) for the second time this season. As a result, Kentucky (13-2) overtook Florida (12-2) in the Southeastern Conference standings.
Additionally, Florida’s winning streak has now ended at 10 matches.
Great battle by both teams today. Ready to bounce back on Wednesday! 🐊🏐 pic.twitter.com/tHYcuTbkXJ
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) November 17, 2019
How it Happened
After Kentucky took the first set, Florida came back to take the next two. In the fourth set, the Gators had a chance to close out the game. They had a 24-23 lead when Kentucky called a timeout.
Following the break, the Wildcats came out and took the final three points to even up the set count.
In the fifth and final set, Kentucky took a commanding 5-0 lead. Florida fought to bring it back within two at several stages of the frame, but the Wildcats refused to give away the lead. They closed out the set 15-12 to secure the comeback victory.
Phenomenal Hitting
Both teams hit the ball extremely well. Kentucky ended the match with a .330 clip, followed closely by Florida at .327.
UK’s Leaders
Leah Edmond led the match with 30 kills on just 48 swings. She had four errors for a final clip of .542.
Edmond’s teammate Alli Stumler had herself a match, too. She put up 27 kills on 66 swings with five errors for a .333 percentage.
BREAKING – Leah Edmond Named One of 10 Finalists for 2019 Senior CLASS Award: https://t.co/JWMCJlqwjn
VOTE FOR LEAH HERE: https://t.co/pATjhLV38h pic.twitter.com/bZDtIAQO4K
— Kentucky Volleyball (@KentuckyVB) October 28, 2019
Edmond and Stumler combined for 57 kills. The rest of UK had 21.
UF’s Leaders
Thayer Hall led the Gators with 22 kills. She had 49 attacks and four errors and ended the game on a .367 clip.
Rachael Kramer provided consistency at the middle blocker position in the attack. She picked up the second-most kills on the team with 14 on just 19 attacks.
In addition, Kramer led the team in blocks. She finished the match with seven, but after two sets, she had already picked up five.
Gator Corner
“Today, their two left sides were fantastic.” – Head coach Mary Wise
“I had so much fun playing that. Those are the matches you look for all year long.” – Rachael Kramer
What’s Next?
Florida has four more matches remaining in the regular season. The next two are on the road at Auburn and Georgia, and the final two are at home against Arkansas and Texas A&M. The match at Auburn is on Wednesday and will begin at 9 p.m.
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