Senior outside hitter Jane Collymore (Englewood,
Colo.) finished with match highs in points
(20.0) and kills (16) in leading No. 5 Florida to a 3-0 sweep (30-22, 30-22,
30-24) of Tennessee
before a crowd of 2,301 fans on Friday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The Gators (15-1, 5-0) won
their 197th straight contest against an unranked opponent behind
Collymore's 16-kill, nine-dig, six-block effort. Sophomore outside hitter Marcie Hampton (Gainesville,
Fla.) added her 15th career
double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs, while sophomore middle blocker Kisya Killingsworth (Deltona, Fla.)
tallied 10 kills and six blocks. The Gators finished with more kills (55-37),
aces (5-0) and digs (59-58), while out-hitting Tennessee (9-6, 3-2) .252-.102. The Gators
snapped a two-match losing skid to the Lady Vols, who became just the second
SEC team to defeat Florida twice in one season in Mary Wise's tenure in 2004.
"The good news is
that we're in first place in the SEC in the early part of the season with a lot
of matches left to play," Florida
coach Mary Wise said. "We had offensive diversity today and that's good.
When we get kills from everyone that really helps us."
Five different Gators
recorded at least seven kills with sophomore opposite hitter Amber McCray (Longview, Texas)
adding nine kills on .571 hitting. Senior libero Rachel Engel (Littleton, Colo.) finished tied for the match-high with 17 digs,
while sophomore setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.)
collected 45 assists, four digs and three kills.
The Gators started the
match well in taking a 12-4 lead in the opening game before going on to a 30-22
win. After the Lady Vols came within a point at 5-4, Florida sided out before Killingsworth
served six straight Gator points as UF's lead swelled to eight at 12-4.
Included in the run were a pair of aces and two kills from sophomore middle
blocker Kari Klinkenborg (Highlands
Ranch, Colo.).
Tennessee
pulled within three at 19-16, but the Gators responded with six of the next
seven points to rebuild their lead to eight at 25-17. The Lady Vols came within
five at 27-22, but Florida closed out the game
with three straight points with a McCray kill sandwiched by a pair of Tennessee errors.
Collymore paced Florida
with seven kills on .375 hitting in the game, while Engel had six digs.
The second stanza was
tighter in the opening stages before Florida
mounted a pair of 5-1 runs midway through in a 30-22 win. The teams exchanged
points back and forth to start the game with Tennessee surging to an 8-7 advantage.
Collymore tied the game with a kill and the Gators took a 9-8 lead on a UT
attack error and never trailed again. After Tennessee
knocked Florida's
lead down to one at 13-12, the Gators scored five of the next six points to
move on top 18-13. The Lady Vols got as close as four at 21-17, but Florida again went on a
5-1 run to increase the Gator lead to 26-18 after a kill from McCray before
McGinnis ended the game with a kill at 30-22. Killingsworth led all players
with five kills in the game, while junior defensive specialist Rhian Davis (Austin, Texas)
and Engel each collected four digs.
The final frame was close
until Florida
used an 8-1 run to take control of the game en route to a 30-24 win. After the
teams routinely sided out to open the game, the Lady Vols tied things up at
11-11 after a kill by Chelsea Noble. Florida
then scored four straight and eight of the next nine points to move ahead
19-12. Three of the points came on blocks with Collymore tallying three block
assists in the stretch and Killingsworth adding two. The game was never closer
than five points the rest of the way before Collymore put the finishing touch
on the match with a kill. Collymore finished with a game-high five kills, while
Engel added seven digs. Collymore and Killingsworth each tallied three blocks
in the game as UF finished with 5.0 as a team.
Florida returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 9 when the
Gators host South Carolina
at 1 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on WRUF AM-850 as well as www.GatorZone.com.
