The No. 8 seeded Florida Gators Women’s Volleyball team defeated the No. 9 seeded Ohio State Buckeyes 3-1 on Sunday night. This win advances the Gators to the Regional Final on Monday night.
With this win, the Gators move forward to take on the No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers. The Gators also improved their overall record to 21-3.
How it Happened
Set 1: 25-20 Florida
The first set began with both teams presenting an equal fight. It was not until a tie at 11-11, that Florida began to take off. A major 9-3 run was able to give Florida a 20-14 lead over Ohio State, but the Buckeyes attempted to answer this run by pulling the score to 21-18. To no avail by Ohio State, Florida regained their traction to complete a 4-2 run to cinch the first set win of the night.
Set 2: 26-24 Florida
The second set began similar to the first. Both of the teams were trading points back-and-forth, and they were able to hit another tie at the 11-11 mark. However, this time, it was Ohio State that was able to spurt ahead with a 8-2 run to go up 19-13 over Florida. Florida did not let this go unanswered as they worked to tick away Ohio State’s lead, and they were able to come within one point with a score of 20-19 in the frame. In response, the Buckeyes pulled ahead to reach match point at 24-20. Despite this fact, the trailing Florida team returned with an incredible 6-0 run to claim their second win of the match.
Set 3: 25-23 Ohio State
The third set began with both teams keeping pace with each other. However, Ohio State was able to take advantage of the media break by returning to action with a 4-0 run to put them up over Florida. Florida was able to diminish Ohio State’s lead by coming within one point at the 24-23 mark. However, unlike the previous set, the Buckeyes were able to hold Florida off to seal their first set win of the night.
Set 4: 25-16 Florida
Florida returned to play ready to go. The Gators were able to take an early advantage over Ohio State. Florida just continued to widen the gap between themselves and the Buckeyes as they hit a 12 point lead at the 18-6 mark. Ohio State was able to half the lead that Florida held over them, but it was not enough. Florida hit the 21-15 mark and proceeded forward with a 4-1 run to claim their set win and advance to the Regional Final.
Leaderboard
Aces
Monserez, 3
Ceasar, 2
Digs
McKissock, 19
Monserez, 15
Ceasar, 11
Blocks
Dooley, 8
Forte, 7
Monserez, 5
Carlton, 5
Ceasar, 3
Hall, 3
Kills
Ceasar, 17
Hall, 11
Monserez, 8
What’s Next?
Florida will take on the No. 1 seeded Wisconsin Badgers on April 19 for the Regional Final in Omaha, Nebraska. The match is slated to take place at 6:30 p.m.