No. 19 Gators grind out sweep over Rebels

OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 19 Florida Volleyball team swept the Ole Miss Rebels in a mid-week matchup inside the Gillum Center to close out their three-streak road game series. The Gators move to 14-4 on the year and 6-3 in SEC play, while Ole Miss moves to 8-14 during the 2023 campaign and 2-9 in the league.

All three sets were close up until the final points. The Gators quickly found themselves down at the start of the first frame, and trailed for the entirety of the set. A 4-0 scoring run in the final stretch gave Florida their first lead of the match and take the first set, 26-24. Florida followed up with another close 25-23 win in the second frame, and found a rhythm in the final points of the third set to come away with a 25-19 to grab their sixth third-set victory of the 2023 season.

Florida’s offensive attack was led by freshman Kennedy Martin, who registered 19 kills with a .586 clip. Ac Fitzpatrick had 12 of her own, while Sofia Victoria ended with nine of her own.

Kennedy Muff dished out 40 assists to a .367 clip, while also pitching in three kills of her own.

Florida held the Rebels to just a .185 clip, and recorded nine blocks at the net led by Nnedi Okkamor and Gabbi Essix who both had two solo blocks.

Libero Elli McKissock recorded 19 digs to set a new three-set individual season high and lead the backcourt defense. Martin added eight, and Emily Canaan had six.

McKissock also recorded a team-high three aces to set a new three-set individual high.

The Gators are back in action at home on Sunday against No. 10 Arkansas. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. on SEC+.

Records

No. 19 Florida (14-4, 6-3 SEC)

Ole Miss (8-14, 2-9 SEC)

How It Happened

• Sofia Victoria put the Gators on the scoreboard after quickly falling to an 0-3 deficient at the start of the first. Serving errors allowed Ole Miss to keep a steady lead, but a solo block from Gabbi Essix brought life back into Florida. From there, the Gators strung together a 5-0 scoring run behind the serves of McKissock to take a 14-12 lead. Ole Miss regained a one-point lead going into the media timeout. Martin put one down to tie it all at 15, but the Rebels pulled ahead to a 15-18 lead, and made Florida use it’s first timeout. A second solo block from Essix brought it back within one, but then fell to a 3-point deficit for the eighth time. Okkamor solo block made it 22-23, and forced Ole Miss to use it’s first timeout. Back-to-back kills from Martin gave the Gators their first lead of the match and force Ole Miss to use its final timeout of the set. Tied at 24 all, Florida secured the final two points and grabbed the first set, 26-24.
• Kennedy Martin hit a .615 clip, finishing with 9 kills on 13 attempts, and Gabbi Essix recorded two solo blocks.
• The second set was back-and-forth from the start, with neither team having more than a one-point lead for the first 13 points. Ole Miss gained a 15-13 lead, making Florida use it’s first timeout. Back-to-back kills from AC Fitzpatrick brought it to 15 all, but the Rebs strung together three points to regain a two-point lead going into the media timeout. The Gators battled back to tie it at 19 all, where it would become another tightly-contested race to 25. Kills from Martin and Fitzpatrick gave UF a 23-21 advantage and forced an Ole Miss timeout. The Gators made two service errors out of the break, but pulled together two points to win the second set, 25-23.
• The second frame had 15 ties and seven lead changes
• The Gators finished with a .500 clip, registering 20 kills of off 36 attempts.
• Two aces from McKissock put the Gators up at the start of the third, but Ole Miss tied it all at four. After battling back-and-forth, the Rebels went on a 4-0 scoring run to take a 15-11 advantage. Florida continued to trail, until an ace from Emily Canaan tied it at 18. A kill from Sofia Victoria gave UF a one-point advantage and force Ole Miss to use their first timeout. Kills from Okkamor and Martin extended Florida’s lead by three, and made The Rebels use their final timeout. Out of the break, The Gators went on a 5-0 scoring run to grab a 25-19 win and earn their sixth league win.
• Martin and Fitzpatrick each posted a team-high four kills in the third set, while the team hit .440 overall.

Notables

• Freshman Kennedy Martin recorded 19 to register at least 10 kills in all 18 matches this season and set a new career high .589 hitting percentage. Martin’s 19 kills set a new three-set individual season high as well as her .589 clip also set a new three-set individual season high
• Florida set two, three-set team season highs:
• The Gators 49 kills surpass the 48 kills set against Stanford on August 29th.
• UF’s 45 assists beat the 44 assists recorded against Minnesota on Sept. 3rd.
• Elli McKissock’s 19 digs is a three-set individual season high
• The senior is only 78 digs away from surpassing Taylor Unroe’s 1558 to become second overall in Florida history.
• Her 3 aces set a new three-set individual season high
• Two players finished with double digits: Kennedy Martin and AC Fitzpatrick finished with double-digit kills, recording 19 and 12 kills, respectfully.
• Florida moves to 59-3 in all-time series against Ole Miss (53-0 under Mary Wise)
• The Gators move to 30-3 in Oxford
• UF moves to 6-1 in three-set matches during the 2023 campaign

Thoughts from Coach Wise

„Kennedy Martin’s 19 kills were a huge part of the reason why our offense was so good tonight. 3-0 wins on the road in this league is special.“

Up Next

• The Gators are back in action at home on Sunday against No. 10 Arkansas
• First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. on SEC+