Two members of the Florida Gators volleyball roster earned Southeastern Conference awards for their performances against Texas A&M Saturday.
Alexis Stucky won SEC freshman of the week and Merritt Beason won SEC offensive player of the week. Stucky and Beason led Florida to a 3-1 victory over the Aggies in College Station.
The freshman won the award for the fourth time this year. She previously also earned setter of the week twice and overall player of the week twice.
On the offensive side, Stucky led the Gators to a four-set victory in which the team had 48 kills on a .241 hitting percentage. She did this as she led the team with 40 assists in the match.
She even got involved as a scorer, not just a facilitator. She came away with 3 kills and a .250 hitting percentage.
However, her impact wasn’t contained to the offensive side of the net. Stucky was a presence on the Gators’ frontline and ended the night with 3 blocks. She also did a good job keeping the ball off the ground and tallied 5 digs.
Beason, voted the SEC offensive player of the week for the second time, contributed greatly to the team’s offensive success. The sophomore right side hitter was a handful for Texas A&M’s defense.
Her right arm was too much for the Aggies, and she finished the match with 15 kills on a .345 hitting percentage. Beason tied her career high, adding on 4 service aces in her dominant offensive onslaught.
Despite being recognized for her offensive performance, she made a strong contribution defensively. She added 4 blocks and 5 digs onto her already impressive statline.
Stucky and Beason will now turn their sights to this weekend as they, and the rest of the Gators, prepare for a two-game series against the Kentucky Wildcats. The matches will take place Saturday and Sunday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
Florida Gators running back Trevor Etienne and offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence earned SEC Player of the Week honors, the conference announced Monday. Etienned was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Week while Torrence gathered SEC Lineman of the Week honors.
Etienne has seen his role increase in recent weeks as he has surpassed senior Nay’Quan Wright on the depth chart.
The Jennings, LA native rushed for 100 yards on just eight carries as Florida defeated South Carolina 38-6. Etienne’s 11.5 yards per carry led the Gators, who ran for 374 yards overall.
On the season, Etienne has averaged 6.4 yards per attempt and scored five touchdowns.
Torrence followed head coach Billy Napier to Florida from Louisiana. He’s been an absolute stud along the offensive line for the Gators all year.
On Saturday, Torrence anchored an offensive line that showed no issue with the South Carolina defensive front seven. Florida rushed at will against the Gamecocks and it didn’t matter who was toting the ball as Florida nearly had three rushers with over 100 yards (Anthony Richardson, 96).
Florida (6-4, 3-4) travels to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt Saturday. The game is scheduled for a noon kickoff with the live broadcast on SEC Network.
The Florida Gators are off to a 2-0 start in the 2022-23 season following a defensive masterpiece Sunday afternoon. The Gators forced UNC-Asheville into 35 turnovers on the way to an 86-40 win at Exactech Arena.
Despite going almost three minutes without a made bucket to open the contest, Florida responded in a big way, finishing with a 22-11 advantage after the first quarter.
The Gators missed their first six attempts of the second quarter though the defense didn’t allow Asheville to close the gap at all. Florida actually added to their lead while holding the Bulldogs to 3-12 from the floor in the second period. At the break, Florida possessed a 37-23 lead.
While Florida struggled early on in the first half, the came out hot in the second half. The Gators went on an immediate 10-0 run that stretched the lead to 47-23. By the end of the third quarter, Florida owned a 32 point advantage and the rout was on.
In all, UNC-A managed just seventeen points in the entire second half. For the game, the Bulldogs shot just 25% from the field and made just one of eighteen from beyond the three-point arc. Additionally, Florida’s defense caused twenty steals led by five from KK Deans.
Four Gators scored in double digits led by Leilani Correa with 17. Deans finished with 13 while Jordyn Merritt and Ra Shaya Kyle each added 11. Kyle added 15 rebounds for her first double-double with the Orange and Blue.
The Gators will travel to Tallahassee to face rival Florida State Wednesday. The Seminoles are 3-0 early in the season. Tipoff is slated for 6:00 PM with ACC Network+ carrying the broadcast.
The Florida Gators are 2-0 after defeating Kennesaw State 88-78 Friday. The Gators were led by a career high thirty three points from senior center Colin Castleton. The Owls dropped to 1-1 on the season with the loss.
The game opened with action flowing back and forth. KSU jumped out to a 12-8 lead before Florida began to run away with things the remainder of the half. Castleton’s layup with 11:35 put the Gators ahead 14-12 before the lead swelled to as many as fourteen multiple times in the first half (last: 42-28, 1:20). The Gators entered the halftime break with a ten point lead at 44-34.
Florida opened the second half with back to back buckets by Kyle Lofton to again stretch the lead to 14. The Owls would cut that deficit in half with 13:56 left after Chris Youngblood knocked down a wide open three. Lofton responded with a three and the Owls would never get that close again.
Lofton fouled out following a technician foul with 12:21 to play. The senior point guard was animated after not getting a call and was teed up for his fifth foul.
Despite playing without its starting point guard, Florida managed to grow the lead from eight to as many as 17 with 2:20 in regulation.
A block by Jason Jitoboh with 4:55 left tuned into a three pointer by Kowacie Reaves on the other end in a key sequence late in the game.
The Gators shot 55% from the field including 4-11 from 3-point range. Florida also held Kennesaw State to just 43% and 6-17 from beyond the arc.
In addition to Castleton’s thirty-three, Will Richard added 15 points and Reaves chipped in 11 more. CJ Felder contributed 7 points and six boards.
The Gators will face another Owls team on Monday as Florida Atlantic comes to Gainesville for a 7:00 PM tipoff. FAU is 1-1 and averaging 81 points per game thus far this season.
After nearly five month of being committed to the University of Miami, the nation’s No. 6-ranked quarterback in the 2023 class has flipped to a rival program.
Pittsburg, CA native Jaden Rashada announced his commitment to the Florida Gators late Thursday evening.
For the thirtieth time in program history, the University of Florida is 1-0 to open a season. Backed by a big fourth quarter, the Gators defeated Florida A&M 83-55 Monday evening.
Despite a balanced effort that saw eight players record eighteen minutes of game action, Florida struggled to pull away from the Rattlers until the final period of play.
One reason was Florida’s struggles to find the bucket. In the second quarter, the Gators shot just 3-16 from the floor and entered the halftime break with a 41-30 advantage thanks largely to making 12-15 free throws in the opening two quarters.
While the shots weren’t dropping, the Gators stayed ahead largely to a tenacious defense that forced twenty-eight turnovers, off which they scored twenty-eight points.
FAMU played even with Florida in the third quarter and trailed just 59-48 entering the final frame. The Gators didn’t flinch, however, and knocked down 10-17 field goals, including a pair of threes to stretch the advantage. The smothering defense also held the Rattlers to just 3-16 from the floor in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Five newcomers saw action in the game including three of Florida’s four leading scorers: St. John’s transfer Leilani Correa led the way with 18 points and added four steals, former Purdue Boilermaker Ra Shaya Kyle, a 6’6 center, scored 15 points and grabbed five boards in just under twenty minutes of action, and West Virginia transfer KK Deans added 15 points and 5 assists to the stat sheet while manning the point for the Gators. Junior Jordyn Merritt added a double-double, finishing with 15 points and ten rebounds.
The Gators return to action Sunday as UNC – Asheville makes a trip to Gainesville for a 2:00 PM tip. UNCA defeated Converse 79-25 to open its season Monday.
The Golden Era of Florida Gators basketball got underway with a fast start Monday night. The Gators used fast starts at the beginning of each half to rout Stony Brook 81-45 for the first win with Todd Golden at the helm of the program.
The Gators jumped out to a 23-3 lead and never looked back. At the halftime break, Florida possessed a 38-22 lead.
Golden was impressed, however, with what he saw from his team the next twenty minutes of play. Despite playing with a big lead, the Gators continued to fight and play with a ton of effort. Florida opened the second half on a 9-2 run before the first media timeout.
As Florida’s lead continued to swell, the defensive intensity continued. In total, the Gators forced SBU into 18 turnovers and kept them to a 31% clip from the field, including a 21% mark from 3-point range.
The Gators were led by LSU transfer Alex Fudge, who finished with 16 points. Will Richard, a transfer from Belmont, added 14 points on 4-5 from the floor. Colin Castleton was the only other double-digit scorer, finishing with 13 points and five rebounds.
For the contest, Florida shot 48% from the field and 40% from three-point range. The Gators only turned the ball over ten times despite ten players seeing more than ten minutes of action.
The Gators are back in action Friday as they host Kennesaw State at Exactech Arena with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 PM.
Five days removed from a five-set thriller, the Florida Gators came away with a sweep (25-22, 25-17, 25-23) when it took on the Missouri Tigers. Each set was a battle, but the Gators managed a victory in front of their home crowd Friday.
Florida drew blood first in its match against Missouri. Gabrielle Essix came up with a kill to put her team up 1-0 in the opening set.
Despite two kills by Sofia Victoria and a block by Alexis Stucky, the Tigers managed to keep the set close in the first set. Missouri tallied three kills from three players to trail by only one point, 4-3.
Florida went out of its way to prove why it is the No. 12 team in the nation and went on a 6-point run led by Bre Kelley who had two kills and a block in three straight plays. The run forced Missouri to reassess as it called the first timeout of the match due to its 9-3 deficit.
The away team fought back, scoring back-to-back points out of the break, but the home Gators didn’t waiver and stayed hit. Merritt Beason had 2 kills and Marina Markova and Essix each added one to help the Gators to a 15-7 lead. Missouri called its second timeout of the set as Florida held an 8-point lead.
The Gators continued their offensive attack until the Tigers found a groove. After moving their lead to 20-12, the Gators slowed down and the Tigers went on a run.
Missouri went on a 7-2 run and head coach Mary Wise called a timeout to recollect. Florida won the first serve after the timeout, but Missouri went on a 3-point run and trailed by only one point, 23-22.
A service error and block by Victoria after the Gators’ second timeout gave UF the first-set victory, 25-22.
Markova was too much for the Tigers in the first set, scoring 7 kills on 8 attacks. Alexis Stucky directed the offense with 16 assists in the opening set.
Beason scored the first point of the second set on a kill assisted by Stucky. Markova kept giving Missouri’s defense trouble as she then tallied back-to-back kills to give Florida a 3-0 lead. After the teams exchanged points, Missouri scored four in a row off of 2 kills, a block and a service ace to take a 5-4 lead.
Florida tied the set twice, but Missouri was clicking and managed an 8-6 lead. Florida won the next two serves and the back-and-forth battle continued.
The Tigers got out front and held a narrow lead as the set continued. Florida kept close and finally tied the set at 16 after a block by Stucky and Essix.
A Missouri kill gave them the lead back, but 2 kills by Essix and one by Markova gave the Gators their first lead, 19-17, since it held a 4-3 advantage.
MIssouri called a timeout to stop the bleeding, but the Gators kept rolling with a kill by Beason and an error called against Missouri to put Florida ahead, 22-17, and force another timeout by the Tigers.
Florida won the next two serves and closed the set with a 9-point run to take the victory, 25-17.
The Tigers started the third set with the early advantage for the first time in the match after scoring the back-to-back points. While UF didn’t open the set on top, it wasted no time finding the lead.
The Gators scored five points in a row, led by Beason who had two blocks and a kill, to take a 5-2 lead. In a set shaped by runs, Missouri scored four in a row, Florida took the next three serves, the Tigers went on a 3-point run, and the Gators took back-to-back points to see UF holding a 10-9 lead.
The teams took turns scoring back-to-back points and the score sat at 12-11 in favor of Florida. Missouri then went on a 4-point run led by Anna Dixon, who had 2 kills and a block, to give it a 15-12 lead.
The lead changed for what felt like the 100th time in the set, and Florida scored four in a row due to kills by Markova and Victoria to take a 16-15 lead. The lead continued tipping back and forth until Missouri scored three points in a row and found itself in front, 21-19, to force a time by Florida.
The score was evened after Beason tallied a kill and Missouri committed an attack error. The Tigers called a timeout, and earned a point on an attack error by Beason. However, Wise challenged the call, and the decision was reversed to put Florida up 22-21.
Missouri tied it up, but Florida scored back-to-back points to hold the set point. The Tigers held a little longer after tallying a kill, but Beason put an end to the set, and match, sending Missouri home with a game-winning kill.
Essix was a force offensively and defensively. Essix had a team-high 5 blocks and 9 kills on a .667 hitting percentage.
Wise said the team had some crucial blocks but missed a few important ones. She specifically credited Essix for her performance.
Gabi Essix had a terrific night, probably should’ve gotten a set more, or two,” Wise said. “We really rode her blocking tonight.”
Along with Essix Markova tallied 16 kills, leading the team in the category for the third match in a row, and Beason added 13.
Essix said Stucky had a characteristically strong night. Stucky finished the match with 46 assists, 5 digs, 2 kills and 2 blocks.
The Gators won all three sets, but each set was hard-fought. Wise said Missouri played a clean match and outserved Florida.
“Wins are hard to come by in this league,” she said, “it doesn’t matter what the record is.”
The Gators next match will come against Texas A&M on the road. Florida won’t have a mid-week match and will be able to spend the week preparing to take on the Aggies.
“A&M Plays as well as Missouri today,” she said, “it looks very different on the road.”
Florida will travel to College Station to take on Texas A&M at 5 p.m. Saturday.
The Florida Gators have parted ways with linebacker Brenton Cox, Jr., head coach Billy Napier confirmed Monday. Zach Abolverdi of GatorsOnline was the first to report the story.
While Napier didn’t state the reasoning, he did mention it was, “an accumulation of things, rather than one specific action.”
Cox was a five-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting cycle and initially signed with Goegia before transferring to Florida prior to the 2020 season.
Cox leaves Florida with 35 tackles, eight for loss and two sacks. He played a major role in Florida’s upset of then No. 7 Utah, where he tallied ten tackles.
The Gators travel to College Station, Texas to take on a disappointing A&M team Saturday . The game is scheduled for a noon (ET) kickoff.
The Florida Gators followed up their win against Auburn Wednesday with a victory against the Auburn Razorbacks Saturday. Florida won (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) in its first match of this weekend’s two-game series with Arkansas.
Freshman Alexis Stucky started the match strong for the Gators. She put the home team out front first with a service ace. That followed by a bad set by the Razorbacks and a kill by Marina Markova put Florida in front by three.
Arkansas’ Hailey Dirrigl got a kill, but the Gators stayed strong early with a kill by Gabrielle Essix and a black by Merritt Beason and Essix. Florida led 5-1, but the Razorbacks scored three in a row to bring the set within one point.
The teams got caught in a game of tug-of-war as Arkansas tried to take the lead from the Gators. Florida struggled to take complete control as they kept at least one point in between the two teams but couldn’t extend their lead to more than three points.
This was until UF caught fire and scored five in a row to take a 16-10 lead. Arkansas committed four errors to assist Florida’s run.
The Razorbacks tallied back-to-back kills to stay alive, but the next seven of the next eight serves were in favor of the Gators. Beason had two kills and Sofia Victoria had one to keep the momentum with Florida and give the team a 23-13 lead.
Despite a strong rally attempt by Arkansas in which it scored seven in a row to bring the set within three, Florida closed out the set with a kill by Victoria and a block by Markova and Bre Kelley to give it a 25-20 victory in the first set.
The second set had a similar trajectory as the first. Florida got on the board first after Markova came up with a block. Arkansas won five of seven serves to take a quick 5-3 lead.
A 5-point run by the Gators gave the lead back to the home team, 5-8. The Razorbacks had back-to-back points but two kills by Markova and a kill by Kelley extended Florida lead to 11-7.
The teams took turns winning serves and adding to their scores until the Gators won three in a row to hold a 18-13 lead. The set slowly approached an end, and the Razorbacks weren’t going away.
The Gators held a 22-16 lead, but Arkansas scored three in a row to come within three of Florida. UF closed the set strong, winning three of the last four serves to take the second-set victory, 25-20.
Florida stayed with their strategy from the last two sets and took a quick lead. A block by Beason and Essix put the Gators on the scoreboard first, and they kept scoring to find themselves with a 5-2 lead.
Arkansas brought it within one after back-to-back points but fell back to down four after a 3-point run by Florida. The away team crept close to the Gators and trailed 9-7, but a run for Florida gave them a greater lead.
The team scored five in a row, with Markova hitting two kills, to give it a 14-7 lead. Both squads found 3-point runs to see the score sitting at 17-10.
Florida managed to hold onto a consistent lead and the score was at 22-17. Arkansas turned things around to keep the set, and match, interesting by going on a 4-point run to trail by one point, 22-21.
The Gators stopped the run and didn’t allow another point to win the set 25-21.
UF completed a sweep against the team in large part due to playing the cleaner match. Arkansas had 24 attack errors compared to Florida’s 17.
The Gators had 38 kills on 103 attacks, and the Razorbacks had 28 on 111 attacks. Florida’s .204 hitting percentage also bested Arkansas’ .036 hitting percentage.
Markova and Beason both tallied double-digit kills, scoring 11 and 10 respectively. Stucky led the offense with her 27 assists while also adding two service aces.
McKissock’s 14 digs led the way for Florida’s defense, but Beason also added 10 of her own to give her a double-double. Markova and Kelley each had 4 blocks to anchor the defense’’s frontline.
The Gators play Arkansas again at 12 p.m. Sunday in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center to complete the weekend’s two-game series.
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