Florida Volleyball Stays Perfect at Home With LSU Sweep

After a four-match road trip, No. 5 Florida (16-2, 7-1 SEC) came home Friday night and extended its winning streak to three, sweeping LSU in three sets (25-18, 25-21, 25-14) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in front of 3,132 fans.

The Gators went 3-1 on the trip, with wins at Missouri, Texas A&M and Texas and a loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 11. They beat then-No. 12 Texas in five sets last Sunday, a result that helped Florida jump two spots to No. 5 in this week’s AVCA poll. Friday’s win moved the Gators to 8-0 at home this season.

Florida hit .241 as a team, compared with LSU’s .043, and outkilled the Tigers 41-24. Four Gators had at least six kills, led by Kamryn Chaney, who had 10 kills and four blocks. Logan King added nine kills, Alec Rothe had seven kills on .429 hitting with four blocks, and Jordyn Byrd had a season-high six kills while hitting .455. Setter Taylor Parks finished with 31 assists, and libero Lily Hayes had 16 digs.

Florida controlled the first set despite six attack errors and three service errors, pulling away 25-18. The Gators had to work harder in the second set, which featured 14 ties and three lead changes. Florida trailed 19-17 late before LSU tied it at 19, forcing a Florida timeout. Rothe responded with two straight kills, and King closed out the 25-21 set. The Gators finished the third set on a 4-0 run, with Byrd closing it out with a kill.

Florida also limited LSU’s Jurnee Robinson, who entered the night leading the SEC in kills (342). She finished with eight kills on .125 hitting.

“Logan [King] and Kamryn [Chaney] are great athletes,” Rothe said after the match. “One of the hardest things about playing defense against us is if you’re stopping one of us, there’s two other people that are gonna bring the heat.”

Rothe, who was named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, has been a key part of Florida’s recent run. “Yeah, [Rothe’s] been huge,” coach Ryan Theis said. “She has thrown an All-American season together, and I hope everybody sees it.”

The win also avenged last year’s five-set loss at LSU, which moved Florida to 54-15 in the all-time series.

“Yeah, that was definitely a little bit of revenge,” Rothe said. “I think last season was not a reflection of our best volleyball, but it was good to kind of shut it down and get it taken care of.”

Florida stays home to face Ole Miss (8-10, 2-5 SEC) at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, at the O’Connell Center. The Gators lead the all-time series 61-3, including 27-0 in Gainesville, and won last year’s meeting 3-1.

Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Volleyball