Sophomore
middle blocker Kisya Killingsworth
(Deltona, Fla.) finished with career and match bests in kills (17) and
points (19.0) in helping No. 5 Florida to a season-best .420 hitting percentage
as the Gators swept South Carolina for the ninth straight time (30-25, 30-22,
30-17) on Sunday afternoon at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Killingsworth
also hit a career-best .762 with 17 kills on just 21 swings. Sophomore setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) helped
the Gators to a their season-best hitting efficiency, while also totaling 40
assists, six kills on seven swings and three block assists. Florida
(16-1, 6-0) won its 24th straight match against South Carolina (9-7, 2-4) and finished with
more kills (53-25), digs (36-29) and blocks (5.0-4.0), while out-hitting the
Gamecocks .420-.135.
"To
get two 3-0 victories in back-to-back matches this weekend against two largely
veteran teams says pretty good things about our team and the progress we've
made," Florida
coach Mary Wise said. "What Kisya did came against two veteran middle
blockers and the credit goes three ways - Kisya for finishing, Angie for
delivering and to our passers."
Sophomore
opposite hitter Amber McCray (Longview,
Texas) also added 11 kills on .529 hitting with senior outside hitter Jane Collymore (Englewood, Colo.) chiming
in with 10 kills and seven digs. With 10.5 points on the day, she moved into
sixth in Florida
history in career points with 1,597.
The
Gators dominated the early stages of the first game before fending off a late South Carolina rally to
take the opening game 30-25. Florida
streaked out to an 8-2 lead behind solid serving from McGinnis and a pair of
kills from Killingsworth. The Gamecocks came within four at 13-9 after a UF
blocking error, but the Gators then tallied four of the next five points to
build a 17-10 advantage. The Gators looked to be in good shape after a Gamecock
attack error made it 25-19, but South
Carolina scored four of five points to come within
range at 26-23. The teams traded points before UF scored three of the final
four and closed out the game on a kill from Killingsworth on the right side.
The Gators hit .400 in the game with Killingsworth tying for the game-high with
seven kills, while Collymore and McCray added four apiece.
The
second game mirrored the first with the Gators coming out strong in totaling
nine kills on their first 12 swings before fending off a late South Carolina rally in a 30-22 win. Florida raced out to an 11-2 lead with sophomore outside
hitter Marcie Hampton (Gainesville, Fla.)
serving five of the points. The Gamecocks narrowed the gap to six at 13-7,
but Florida tallied four of the next five
points to move ahead 17-8 after a kill from Hampton. The Gators led by eight at 24-16
before South Carolina
notched five of the next six points to come within four at 25-21. Following a Florida timeout, UF scored
four consecutive points before Killingsworth ended the game with a kill. The
Gators out-hit South Carolina
.471-.088 in the game with Killingsworth leading all players with six kills in
the game, while McCray added five. Junior defensive specialist Rhian Davis (Austin, Texas)
paced all players with five digs in the game.
The final
frame offered little suspense as Florida
scored eight of the first nine points in cruising to a 30-17 victory. With the
teams tied at 1-1, the Gators sided out before Hampton served UF to six straight points and
an 8-1 lead with Killingsworth providing a pair of kills in the stretch. The
Gamecocks never threatened the rest of the way before the match ended on a
McGinnis kill. Killingsworth again finished with a game-high four kills.
Florida returns to action when the Gators complete their
four-match home stand at 7 p.m. on Wednesday vs. Georgia. The match will be
televised live on Sun Sports as well as WRUF-AM 850 and www.GatorZone.com
