University of Florida volleyball coach Mary Wise recorded the 600^th victory of her coaching career as the No. 7 Gators swept Marquette 3-0 (30-24, 30-26, 30-28) on Saturday in the Conference Challenge at the Champions Sports Complex.

Florida (27-2) won its 19^th consecutive match of the season with junior outside hitter Marcie Hampton (Gainesville, Fla.) leading the way with a team-high 13 kills on .333 hitting, while adding a team-high tying 12 digs. The Gators out-hit Marquette (16-14) .256-.129 and collected a whopping 15.5 blocks, including 13.5 in the final two games. 

“We saw the same thing before with the Kentucky match,” Wise said. “Blocking has been a huge part of our success this year. I’m pleased for us to get a 3-0 win against a team that had so much to be playing for and for us to win when we weren’t firing on all cylinders.”

Senior opposite hitter Stefanie Douglas (Belton, Texas) added 10 kills on .304 hitting and collected six blocks, while sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bowers (Gainesville, Fla.) added eight kills and a match-high seven blocks.

Junior setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) picked up 38 assists, 10 digs, five blocks and four kills, while senior Rhian Davis (Austin, Texas) and freshman Alli Cecchini (Brentwood, Calif.) tied for the team high with 12 digs.

The Gators improved to 20-2 in Thanksgiving weekend tournament matches under Wise and held their opponent to under .200 hitting for the 15^th time in the last 18 matches.

Marquette took an early lead in the opening game before the Gators responded by scoring nine of 13 points in a 30-24 win. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 7-4 advantage before the Gators came back to eventually tie the game at 9-9 on a kill from Douglas. After an ace from freshman libero Elyse Cusack (Melrose, Fla.), the Gators went up 10-9 and didn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the game. Marquette came within a point at 11-10, but Florida went on a 9-4 run to forge ahead 20-14 following a kill from junior Kisya Killingsworth (Deltona, Fla.). Marquette never came closer than four the rest of the way before the game ended with a Golden Eagle error. Florida out-hit Marquette .341-.173 in the game with Douglas collecting a game-high five kills on .500 hitting. Cecchini paced all players with six digs.

The second game was also close with Florida scoring seven of the final 11 points in a 30-26 win. Things were tight the entire way as there were 18 tie scores and 10 lead changes in the game. Neither team built more than a two-point advantage until Florida scored three consecutive points to move ahead 26-22 after a tandem block from Douglas and freshman middle blocker Kristina Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind.).  The Golden Eagles came within a pair at 27-25 after a ball handling error on UF before the Gators answered with a Hampton kill to make it 28-25. Marquette responded with a kill, but Florida closed out the match on a kill from Bowers followed by a kill from McGinnis. Bowers led UF with six kills on eight swings in the game as UF out-hit the Golden Eagles .295-.160. Hampton added five kills, while Davis collected six digs. The Gators recorded 7.5 blocks in the game with Douglas notching a team-high five.

The third game swung back and forth with Florida taking an early lead, Marquette storming back and the Gators recording eight of the final 10 points in a 30-28 win. Florida took control early in moving out in front 18-13 after an attack error by Marquette. The Golden Eagles didn’t back down and eventually tied the game at 19-19 on a kill by Monica Renfrow. But Marquette didn’t stop there as the Golden Eagles put three more points on the board to take a 22-19 lead. Eventually, Marquette was on top 26-22, but Florida scored two straight on a UM error and a Johnson kill to make it 26-24. After a kill by the Golden Eagles, the Gators scored blocks on the next two points with junior opposite hitter Amber McCray (Longview, Texas) and Johnson combining on the first and Hampton and Bowers coming together for the second. That brought the Gators within one at 27-26, but the Golden Eagles notched a kill to go back on top 28-26. After successive attack errors by Marquette tied the game at 28-28, McGinnis notched a kill to set up match point before Bowers and McGinnis recorded a tandem block to end the contest. The Gators managed to out-hit Marquette .108-.057 in the game and collected 6.0 total blocks with McGinnis recording four. Hampton notched a team-best four kills, while Cecchini and Hampton both had four digs.

Florida returns to action on Saturday when the Gators will conclude play in the Conference Challenge by taking on St. John’s at 4:30 p.m. at the Champions Sports Complex.

No. 15 LSU 3, St. John’s 0

The Tigers (25-5) claimed a victory for the SEC in the opening match of the Conference Challenge with a 3-0 sweep of St. John’s (30-3) 30-18, 30-26, 30-22 as LSU collected 11.0 blocks and out-hit the Red Storm .371 to .165.

Lauren DeGirolamo led the Tigers with 12 kills on .556 hitting, while adding four blocks. Melody Clark chimed in with 11 kills on .364 hitting and collected six blocks. Daniela Romero added 38 assists, five kills, four blocks and an ace.

Caitlin Rimgaila led the Red Storm with 14 kills on .296 hitting.