Gators Sweep Tide in Rematch

The Gators have not lost a set against Alabama this season.

The No. 11 Florida Gators defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 3-0 in the O’Connell Center on Sunday afternoon. It is the team’s second sweep of the Crimson Tide this season.

Florida’s 13th straight victory moves the team to 8-0 in the SEC. They are now 10-1 within the friendly confines of the O’Connell Center.

“As we predicted, the match looked differently than it did just two weeks ago,” Head Coach Mary Wise said. “Credit Alabama on how well they controlled the first contact. We got solid production out of the entire team.”

What Went Down

The first set of the match was tightly contested with neither team grabbing more than a three-point advantage. With it knotted up at 21, Florida went on a 4-0 run to close it out thanks to two Alabama errors and kills by Paige Hammons and Holly Carlton.

Set 2 was not as close as its predecessor. Florida’s lead in the set peaked at seven and the Gators were able to win it going away easy due to 15 Alabama errors.

Holly Carlton had a three-point and five-point service run in Set 3 to help Florida hold a 20-10 lead.

A pair of Mia Sokolowski kills, two Alabama errors and a solo block by Lauren Dooley sealed the match for the Gators.

For the past 2 weeks @GatorsVB pulled out wins in the fifth set. Today the #Gators beat #Alabama in a quick three sets. @holly_carlton2 says she's happy with the sweep. @ESPNGainesville pic.twitter.com/7jMajiUIs8

— Kate Venezio (@kate_venezio) October 14, 2018

Evenly Spread Production

Florida hit .333 as a team on the match with multiple players finishing over .300 in hitting percentage themselves.

Middle blockers Rachael Kramer and Taelor Kellum registered efficiencies of .400 and .583 respectively.

Meanwhile, right side hitter Holly Carlton finished with .471 and outside hitter Paige Hammons at .308.

🐊🏐 stays undefeated in #SEC play with a sweep over Alabama! The @SECNetwork recaps today's match! 🎥🎙️ pic.twitter.com/eUxVrESwvA

— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) October 14, 2018

Carlton led the way with nine kills on the day as no player for the Gators recorded double-digit kills. She paced the team with 14.5 points as she also added on four service aces and three blocks.

Wise emphasized the production Carlton provided for the team. There were still areas in which the team struggled against Alabama, but they executed when they needed to.

Florida will be on the road Friday night for an 8:30 rematch with the Ole Miss Rebels. Florida swept the Rebs in the O’Connell Center during their first meeting.