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The No. 15-ranked Florida Gators opened SEC play with a five set victory over conference newcomer Oklahoma. The Sooners claimed sets two and three but Florida proved resilient and won the final two sets to head back to Gainesville with the win.

Florida won the first set 25-21. It was a back and forth first set of play that the Gators actually trailed 19-18 before an Alexis Stucky service ace. Stucky’s service run would last six points and included consecutive aces and left the Gators ahead 23-20. Kennedy Martin completed the set with a kill. The Gators finished with 17 kills and hit at a .414 clip.

Oklahoma won the second set 25-19 and maintained an early lead throughout. The Sooners quickly grabbed a 6-2 lead and never led by less than three points (15-12) while leading by as many as nine (22-13). Florida’s hitting percentage was just .077 for the set as the Gators made six errors on 26 swings.

The third set started evenly with the score tied at 10 nearly midway through. However, the Sooners took over from there. An 8-2 run put the Sooners well ahead, but the Gators weren’t done yet. Florida scored four straight with Kennedy Martin serving to close the gap to 18-16. Oklahoma proved to be too much though, finishing the third set on a 7-2 run. The Sooners hit a whopping .480 and made just two errors in the set.

The Gators opened a two point lead early in the fourth set and saw it grow until Florida clinched the set on an attack error from Oklahoma. For the set, the Gators hit at a .367 clip and recorded 15 kills.

With the match even at two sets, the race to fifteen fifth set saw Florida once again prove their resilience. Oklahoma raced out to a 5-1 lead followed quickly by a 7-2 advantage. A Kennedy Martin kill made it a 10-6. A six serve run by Alexis Stucky put the Gators ahead 11-10 before an service error evened things at eleven. Emily Canaan’s service ace made it 13-12 Florida. The Gators completed the comeback with a kill from freshman middle blocker Alec Rothe.

For the night, Kennedy Martin finished with 18 kills while AC Fitzpatrick added 17 and recorded a .448 hitting percentage. Canaan led the Gators with eight digs while Stucky assisted on 44 kills.

Florida improved to 10-2 overall with the win and 1-0 in SEC play. Florida also hands the Sooners the loss in their first conference match as an SEC program.

Florida will face No. 12 Kentucky Sunday at the O’Dome. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 PM.