In the
final home match of her career, senior outside hitter Jane Collymore (Englewood, Colo.) finished with a double-double,
while sophomore middle blocker Kisya
Killingsworth (Deltona, Fla.) had match highs in kills and points as
fourth-ranked and eighth seeded Florida advanced to the NCAA Regional
Semifinals with a 3-0 win (30-21, 31-29, 30-25) against No. 24 Kansas State on
Friday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center before a crowd of 2,364.
Florida will advance to the Omaha Regional Semifinal where the
Gators will face the winning team from the Louisville
sub-regional on Dec. 9 at the Qwest
Center.
The
Gators (32-2) advanced to the Regional Semifinals for the 14th time
in 15 seasons by finishing with more kills (63-54) and digs (61-49), while out-hitting
the Wildcats (21-11) as UF had an efficiency of .361-.261.
“As
predicted, our second-round matches have been awfully exciting,” Florida coach Mary Wise
said. “Kansas State competed and played hard and
they’re doing that with one senior. A 3-0 win isn’t reflective of how close
this was. There are no easy wins left.”
Killingsworth
tallied a career-high 19 kills and added a match-high 21.5 points, while also
picking up five total blocks.
“Those 19
kills she got were against two blockers and Angie did a great job of getting
her the ball,” Wise said.
Collymore
posted her 44th career double-double with 18 kills on .302 hitting
with 11 digs. She became just the second player in school history with two 500
kill seasons as she has 508 in 2005. Senior libero Rachel Engel (Littleton, Colo.) finished with a match-high 21 digs and
sophomore setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.)
added 54 assists, nine digs, four kills and two blocks.
The
Gators wrapped up their 2005 home season by going a perfect 18-0 – the eighth
team in UF history to accomplish the feat.
The opening frame was a see-saw affair until a 7-1 run
midway through gave the Gators a commanding lead en route to a 30-21 win. The
teams traded the advantage back and forth in the beginning stages with the
score tied as late as 11-11. Florida
went on a 4-1 spurt in moving on top 15-12 following a solo block by Collymore.
K-State pulled within a pair at 17-15, but UF responded by scoring seven of the
next eight points. Killingsworth led the way with three kills in the stretch
with Collymore adding two as the Gators went ahead 24-16. The Wildcats never
challenged again before sophomore opposite hitter Amber McCray (Longview,
Texas) and Killingsworth
ended the game with block assists. The Gators hit a blistering .469 in the game
with Collymore leading all players with seven kills on .500 hitting.
In game
two, the theme was big runs and each team had plenty to spare, but the Gators
were able to secure the key points in a 31-29 win. Florida
opened things with the first six points behind the serve of sophomore outside
hitter Marcie Hampton (Gainesville, Fla.)
and two kills apiece from Collymore and Killingsworth. The Wildcats
gradually came back and later used a 6-1 run to tie the game at 11-11. Florida promptly tallied
four of the next five to bump its lead back to three at 15-12, but the Wildcats
didn’t fade even when the Gators mounted a 5-1 stretch in moving ahead 20-15.
K-State battled back, even taking the lead at 26-25. Florida responded with the next two points
on a kill by Collymore and a K-State attack error. Ties followed at 27, 28 and
29 before the Gators moved ahead 30-29 on a Killingsworth kill. The game ended
with an athletic play by Killingsworth in which she moved toward the right side
of the next and hit the ball crosscourt to the left side. Florid was hot again
as the Gators hit .408 with 24 kills on 49 swings with Collymore and
Killingsworth each totaling seven kills. Killingsworth led all players by
hitting .875 in the game. Engel tied for the game high with seven digs.
The final
game also went back and forth with K-State holding a lead as late as 24-23
before the Gators stormed back in a 30-25 win. Florida looked to be in control early as the
Gators were on top 9-4 following a kill from McCray. But K-State stormed back
with a 7-1 run in moving ahead 11-9. Florida
responded with a 4-0 stretch to regain the advantage at 13-11. K-State then
forged ahead at 15-14 before the Gators retook the lead on an ace by Hampton at 16-15. The
teams sided out until the Wildcats notched three straight to move on top 24-21.
Following a timeout, Florida recorded eight
consecutive points with Hampton
serving seven to effectively end the match. Killingsworth tallied a pair of
kills and a block assist in the run. Following a KSU point that made it 29-25,
Collymore ended her tenure in the O’Connell Center with a kill. Leading all
players in the game, Killingsworth recorded eight kills on .438 hitting, while
Engel added 10 digs.
Florida will return to action next weekend when the Gators travel
to Omaha, Neb.
For the NCAA Regional Semifinal.
