Mississippi State
3-311-6 / SEC
Florida
6-013-1 / SEC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| MSTATE | 14 | 20 | 16 | 0 |
No. 2 Gators Power Past Bulldogs
October 10, 2010 | Volleyball
"We played strong defensively at times, but Florida comes at you with so many weapons and from all directions," said second-year Bulldog volleyball head coach Jenny Hazelwood. "We want to be known as a strong serving team and a strong passing team, and when those things don't happen for us, we struggle, especially against a team as strong and talented as Florida. Today they put up a huge block and had a great serving game, and those were big factors."
Junior outside hitter Caitlin Rance, MSU's season leader in kills, paced MSU with 10 kills while senior middle blocker Ashley Newsome followed with eight.
The Gators served up nine aces in the match, six in the first set and four of those during a 9-0 Florida run that led to a 25-14 UF opening stanza win. Newsome and Rance had three kills each in the opening set.
Rance and Chanelle Baker delivered kills early in the second set as State bolted to a 3-1 lead before Florida took its first lead of the set at 7-6 on a Bulldog attack error. But State battled gamely and pulled even at 18-18 on a Gator misfire. Florida regained the upper hand after three straight Bulldog errors and nailed down a 25-20 with a 4-1 run punctuated by a trio of kills by Murphy.
Florida limited State to five kills in the third set and overcame six service errors en route to a 25-16 match-clinching win. Murphy took command in the final set, delivering six kills in eight attack attempts.
The Gators held a 45-28 edge in kills, out-hit State .327 to .161, and enjoyed a 7-3 edge in total team blocking. Jaeckel recorded two of UF's four solo blocks. Baker finished with two kills and paced State with a solo block and an assisted block.
Defensively, Florida's Erin Fleming took match honors with 14 digs. Kellye Jordan paced State with 12 while Kayla Woodard followed with 10.
The Bulldogs return to Southeastern Conference competition against SEC East foes this weekend when State visits Tennessee Friday (Oct. 15) and Kentucky Sunday (Oct. 17).
