Junior opposite hitter Amber McCray (Longview, Texas) collected 13 kills on .407 hitting to lead the 10^th ranked Florida Volleyball team to a sweep of  No. 17  Tennessee (30-22, 30-16, 30-20) in front of packed Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd of 3,250.

The Gators (12-2 overall, 5-1 SEC) improved to 30-3 against Tennessee (13-3, 4-2) under head coach Mary Wise and to 17-2 under her at the O’Connell Center against the Lady Vols. Florida ended with more kills (54-35), digs (59-50) and blocks (8-3), and also out hit the Lady Volunteers .377-.096. Tennessee’s hitting efficiency was a season-low.

“We had a great crowd today and we caught Tennessee on an atypical day for them,” Florida coach Mary Wise said. “I like to think some it was Gator induced. Things clicked for us and it’s not a coincidence that it started with Elyse Cusack. When she’s on the court it allows everyone else to what they do best. This team, though it’s still evolving, played well.”

Junior outside hitter Marcie Hampton (Gainesville, Fla.) recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs, while junior setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) nearly finished with a triple-double with 39 assists, nine digs and seven kills. Sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bowers (Gainesville, Fla.) chimed in with nine kills on .533 hitting and added four blocks, while freshman middle blocker Kristina Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) tallied eight kills on .727 hitting.

Freshman libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) made her first start in nearly three weeks and finished with a team-high 14 digs as the Gators improved to 21-6 under Wise against ranked SEC teams.

The opening game was a close affair before Florida used a 9-2 run to claim a 30-22 win. The contest was tight early with neither team building more than a four-point advantage in the opening stages. Tennessee jumped out to a 7-6 lead before the Gators responded with a 7-2 run to move on top 13-9 after an ace from senior defensive specialist Rhian Davis (Austin, Texas). The Lady Vols cut the deficit to one point at 14-13 before Florida responded with nine of the next 11 points to surge ahead 23-15. McGinnis led the way offensively during the stretch with a pair of kills. Tennessee never got closer than six the rest of the way before the game ended on a UT attack error. The Gators out-hit Tennessee .314-.130 in the game with McGinnis, McCray, Johnson and Bowers each tying for game-high honors with four kills. McGinnis and Cusack each tallied seven digs to lead UF.

The second game was similar to the first with the Gators using a pair of runs midway through in a 30-16 win. After Tennessee had narrowed Florida’s lead to one at 7-6, the Gators responded with a 5-0 run behind the serve of Cusack with Hampton collecting a pair of kills in the stretch as the UF lead swelled to 12-6. Tennessee came back within four at 13-9 before Florida answered with seven of the next 10 points to take a 20-12 lead. Bowers notched two kills in the run to lead UF. Tennessee came as close as seven points, but the Gators closed out the game after an attack error by the Lady Vols at 30-16. Hampton led all players with six kills on .417 hitting in the game as UF out-hit Tennessee .472-.050. Hampton also led all players with six digs.

The final game was a mirror image of the first two with Florida putting together a lengthy run midway through to seal the match in a 30-20 win. With Tennessee trailing by one at 6-5 the Gators tallied nine of the next 11 points to build a 15-7 advantage. McCray recorded three kills in the run with Hampton adding a pair. The Lady Vols cut the deficit to five at 15-10, but Florida answered with four consecutive points to move back on top by nine at 19-10 after a UT attack error. Tennessee never came closer than seven points before the match ended with a Lady Vol service error. The Gators out-hit Tennessee .371-.103 in the game with McCray pacing UF with five kills on .400 hitting. Hampton and Cusack led UF with four digs apiece.

Florida returns to action on Friday, Oct. 6 when the Gators travel to Mississippi State. The contest is slated to begin 8 p.m. (ET) and can be heard live on Rock 104 and www.GatorZone.com.