The Gators swept South Carolina in consecutive matches this past weekend at the O’Connell Center to wrap up their home schedule. Florida improves to 14-2 in conference play and finishes 11-3 at home this season.
Match One
Florida cruised to a series-opening victory on Saturday. The Gators hit .454 — marking their most efficient attacking match since their season-opener against San Francisco. In the opening set, Florida landed 17 kills on 23 attempts with only a pair of errors (.652). In the final set, the Gators recorded 22 kills on 32 attempts and committed two errors (.625). Florida’s formidable net presence blocked eight spikes, while South Carolina denied only four Florida attacks. Freshmen Bre Kelley and Merritt Beason led the Gators with five block assists each.
Box Score
South Carolina: 14-22-16
No. 20 Florida: 25-25-25
Individual Stat Leaders
Aces
- McKissock: 2
- Beason/Adams: 1
Kills
- Ceasar: 13
- Hall: 11
- Kelley: 8
Assists
- Monserez: 40
- McKissock: 5
- Hall: 4
Digs
- Hall/McKissock: 12
- Monserez: 8
Blocks
- Kelley/Beason: 5
- Forte: 3
Match Two
Florida won comfortable in honor of its five seniors. Outside hitters Thayer Hall and T’ara Ceasar shined on senior day as they both recorded double-doubles. Hall landed 11 kills and tallied a season-highs in digs (17) and aces (3). Ceasar tallied 14 kills on 37 attempts (.297) and 17 digs. Setter Marlie Monserez notched 42 assists, nine digs and led the Gators with a .667 hitting percentage.
Box Score
South Carolina: 12-19-20
No. 20 Florida: 25-25-25
Individual Stat Leaders
Aces
- Hall: 3
- Monserez/Adams: 1
Kills
- Ceasar: 14
- Hall: 11
- Beason: 10
Assists
- Monserez: 42
- Ceasar: 3
- Hall: 2
Digs
- McKissock: 18
- Ceasar: 17
- Hall: 14
Blocks
- Kelley/Beason: 4
- Monserez: 3
Next Up
The Gators will wrap up their regular season schedule this weekend in Lexington, Kentucky, where they’ll take on the No. 8 Wildcats in a two-game series. Kentucky leads the SEC with a 15-1 conference record and it boasts a 10-1 home record. Florida leads the all-time series 52-16, but Kentucky has won seven of the last 10 meetings dating back to 2015. Friday’s match will begin at 1 p.m. and air on the SEC Network.