Mississippi State
Florida
No. 7 Gators Blank Bulldogs In Gainesville
November 12, 2006 | Volleyball
* Official Statistics (PDF)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Marcie Hampton, Kisya Killingsworth and Kelsey Bowers combined for 30 of Florida's 43 kills Sunday afternoon to lead seventh-ranked Florida (24-2, 17-1 SEC) to a 3-0 win (30-14, 30-15, 30-17) over Mississippi State 16-12, 7-10 SEC) before 1,810 fans at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Killingsworth led the way with 12 kills on a .391 hitting show. Hampton and Bowers added nine kills each.
Florida used a strong blocking performance to hold State to an .082 hitting percentage, the second-lowest of the season for the Bulldogs. The Gators out-blocked State 15-2 , with Bowers piling up a pair of solo stops and eight assisted blocks. Angie McGinnis assisted on six blocks.
Orshi Kriegel paced State with eight kills and both Martina Gregusova and Jamie Joyner tallied seven apiece.
The Bulldogs fell behind 4-1 in the opening set and managed back-to-back points just once in bowing 30-14. State stayed with the Gators in the early going of the second stanza, notching their lone leads of the afternoon at 2-1 and 3-2 on kills by Orshi Kriegel. The Gators used a 6-0 run to pull away from a 7-7 deadlock and went on to claim a 2-0 lead in the match with a 30-15 win, hitting a match-best .458 in the set.
The Gators scored the first four points to open the third game and were never threatened in salting away their 30th win in as many series meetings.
The Bulldogs struggled at the service line with15 errors and for the first time this season finished a match without a service ace.
Eva Kriegel led MSU on defense with 11 digs and, with 24 assists, managed State's only double-double of the day. Else Cusack was credited with a match-high 16 digs to lead Florida.
The Bulldogs close out their 2006 schedule on the home court this weekend, hosting SEC West champion Louisiana State Friday at 7 p.m. before entertaining Arkansas in a 1:30 p.m. match Sunday. MSU's lone senior, outside hitter Orshi Kriegel, will be honored prior to Sunday's season finale.
