Junior setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) set the school record for career kills by a setter and collected seven kills, 47 assists, nine digs and five blocks in leading No. 6 Florida to a 3-1 (30-25, 27-30, 30-24, 30-24) win against Florida State on Tuesday night at Lucy McDaniel Court.

The Gators (7-1) captured their 37^th consecutive win against instate opponents, including their 15^th straight against the Seminoles. Florida finished with more digs (65-60) and blocks (13.0-5.0), while out-hitting Florida State .336-.194

“There was a tremendous atmosphere out there tonight in this gym that made it a very difficult place to play,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “Was it great volleyball – no. But there was a lot of passion out there and we’re happy to get the win.”

The victory also brought Gator head coach Mary Wise within one win of becoming the second coach in Gator athletics history to reach 500 wins at UF. She’ll enter Florida’s Friday night match with a career record at Florida of 499-52.

Junior outside hitter Marcie Hampton (Gainesville, Fla.) picked up her 20^th career double-double with 16 kills and 11 digs, while junior Amber McCray (Longview, Texas) added 15 kills on .429 hitting. Freshman libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.) led all players with 22 digs. Junior Kisya Killingsworth (Deltona, Fla.) added 13 kills on .522 hitting with four blocks.

McGinnis broke the record for kills by a setter of 279 set by Jen Sanchez (1996-99).

The opening game was a tight affair with the Gators using a trio of 3-0 runs and a 4-0 stretch to gain enough separation in a 30-26 win. The game started as a see-saw contest with neither team moving on top by more than two points until the Gators went ahead 12-9 following a 4-0 run. After the Seminoles went on top 9-8, UF tallied the next four points on a Kelsey Bowers (Gainesville, Fla.) kill, an FSU error, a tandem block from McGinnis and Bowers and a kill from McGinnis. Florida State battled back to retake the lead at 14-13 before Florida scored five of the next six points to move back in front 18-15. FSU pulled within one at 18-18, but Florida put the next three points on the board on a pair of Hampton kills and one from McCray. After Florida State again came within two at 24-22, the Gators scored the next three points on a Bowers kill, a Bowers ace and a Seminole attack error. But Florida State didn’t go away and responded with four consecutive points to pull within one at 27-26. Florida fought back the charge with the final three points with McGinnis ending the game with an ace. McCray and McGinnis tied for game-high honors with four kills each as the Gators out-hit FSU .421-.217). Cusack paced all players with eight digs.

The second game featured an early Florida State run and a late Florida comeback before the Seminoles took the game 30-27. FSU got off to a great start by jumping out to a 9-3 advantage. The Gators fought back, closing the gap to one point after scoring five consecutive points on three kills and a solo block from Killingsworth. The Gators eventually took the lead at 15-14 on an ace from Rhian Davis (Austin, Texas) and pulled in front 16-14 after a kill from McCray. But Florida State came back with a 6-0 run to surge out in front 21-17. The Gators slowly took back points and came within one at 26-25 after a setting error by Florida State. The Seminoles notched the next two points to move ahead 28-25 before the Gators recorded an ace to narrow things to 28-26. Florida State scored next to make it 29-26. Florida fended off one game point on a kill from Hampton before the game ended on a kill from Florida State. The Gators still out-hit FSU .290-.275, but Florida State had five aces in the game. McCray led UF with five kills in the game and Hampton and Cusack added team highs of four digs each.

Fueled by an early 8-0 run, the Gators went up 2-1 after a 30-24 win in game three. After Florida State scored four of the first six points and eventually led 8-6, the Gators put together their second-longest run of the season in turning a two-point deficit into a six-point advantage that the Seminoles never recovered from. Hampton provided strong serving in the run, including an ace and a kill, while the Gators registered two blocks in the stretch. The Seminoles came as close as four at 17-13 and 18-14, but UF answered with three consecutive points to move ahead 21-14 and Florida State never got closer than five the rest of the way. The game eventually ended when Killingsworth put a ball down the middle. Florida again out-hit the Seminoles .250-.119 with UF also recording 5.0 blocks in the game. Hampton paced UF with five kills, while McGinnis and Bowers each picked up three blocks.

In the fourth and final game, the Gators used an early 8-2 run before fending off a late Florida State rally in a 30-24 win. Florida shot out of the gate in using an 8-2 run to build at 12-5 lead after a kill from Hampton. UF extended its advantage to nine at 17-8 after a Seminole attack error. But Florida State didn’t go away, recording 10 of the next 12 points to pull even at 19-19. Florida responded with the next three points on a Seminole error, a Hampton kill and a tandem block from McCray and freshman middle blocker Kristina Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.) to go up 22-19. Florida State came as close as two at 26-24, but Florida put the final four points on the board to close the match with Killingsworth ending things with an offspeed kill. Hampton led all players with five kills in the game, while Cusack added seven digs.

Florida will return to action on Friday evening to open Southeastern Conference play when the Gators travel to Athens to face Georgia at 7 p.m. The contest will be carried live on Rock 104 and www.GatorZone.com. In addition, fans can watch the match live via the Internet for $9.95 by logging onto www.georgiadogs.com.