Sophomore middle blocker Kisya Killingsworth (Deltona, Fla.) tallied a match-high 15 kills in leading No. 5 Florida to its 33^rd consecutive win against Kentucky 3-0 (30-18, 30-28, 30-23) Friday evening at Memorial Coliseum.

The Gators (18-1, 8-0) won their 24^th straight game in Southeastern Conference play and their 78^th consecutive SEC regular season away match. Senior outside hitter Jane Collymore (Englewood, Colo.) and sophomore outside hitter Marcie Hampton (Gainesville, Fla.) both finished with double-doubles for UF. The Gators ended the contest with more kills (55-37), digs (66-54), aces (8-4), and blocks (7.5-6.0), while out-hitting Kentucky (11-6, 4-3) .271-.149.

“We understand that this Kentucky team we played is very different than the team we’ve seen in past seasons and earlier this year,” Florida coach Mary Wise said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with our team. We held a high-octane offense with so many weapons to .149 hitting.”

In finishing with 19 digs, Collymore moved into 10^th place in school history in career digs with 972 and became just fifth player in UF history to be ranked in the top 10 in both kills and digs. She also added 10 digs for her 38^th career double-double. Hampton tallied 10 kills and 11 digs to record her 16^th double-double, while sophomore opposite hitter Amber McCray (Longview, Texas) finished with 11 kills on .409 hitting. Senior Rachel Engel (Littleton, Colo.) posted the 15^th 20-plus dig match of her career with 21 digs.

The Gators used an 11-3 run midway through the opening game to cruise to a 30-18 win. Florida jumped out to a 7-3 lead after a kill on the slide by Killingsworth, but the Wildcats crept back, coming as close as two at 11-9. Florida then tallied 11 of the next 14 points as the two-point advantage swelled to 10. Junior defensive specialist Rhian Davis (Austin, Texas) guided the Gators through the run as she served four of the points with four different UF players recording kills and block assists in the stretch. The Wildcats came as close as eight at 24-16, but Florida eventually closed out the game on a kill from Collymore. The Gators hit .395 in the game after not picking up an attack error through their first 30 swings. Hampton notched three of the team’s first four kills and led all players with five in the game. Engel finished with a game-high six digs. Florida had 4.5 blocks in the game with six different players finishing with at least one.

The second game began like the opener, but ended with the Gators fending off a late UK run in a 30-28 win. After the Wildcats led early at 7-5, Florida went on a 10-2 run to move on top 15-9 with Collymore providing three kills in the stretch. The Gators looked to be in great shape after a kill from sophomore middle blocker Kari Klinkenborg (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) gave UF a 23-16 lead. But The Wildcats didn’t go away, recording seven of the next eight to come within one before then taking the lead at 26-25. Florida tied the game at 26-26 on a Kentucky service error and at 27-27 on a kill by Killingsworth. The Gators then notched the next two points on a kill from sophomore setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) and a Wildcat attack error to lead 29-27. Kentucky fought off one match point before the Gators captured the game on a UK ball handling error. Collymore and Killingsworth tied for the game high with five kills each with Engel tallying 10 digs.

The final game resembled the first more than the second with the Gators using a 7-0 run in the early stages to take control before winning 30-23. With the Wildcats on top 8-6, Florida tallied seven straight points with Engel serving seven of them as Florida went ahead 13-8. Kentucky remained close until the Gators scored four straight to build their lead to eight at 23-15 after an ace from Collymore before the match ended with a kill from McCray. Killingsworth led all players with seven kills in the game, while Collymore tallied a game-high nine digs.

Florida will have a lengthy break before resuming action at home against Arkansas at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21. The contest will be featured on Friday Night With Gators and will air live on FSN Florida as well as Rock 104 and www.GatorZone.com.