Florida Volleyball Sweeps Aggies

The 23rd ranked Florida volleyball team moves to 12-6 on the season and 6-2 in Southeastern Conference play after sweeping Texas A&M (11-7, 4-4 SEC) on Saturday in Gainesville.

Set 1

The Aggies got off to an early lead but Florida made a statement with a huge Thayer Hall kill to take the lead at 7-6.

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The game was rife with big digs from both teams. Florida’s T’ara Ceasar blasted the ball out of the back row at 12-9 and the Gators soon took control over the game.

Although she rarely passes, Florida middle Lauren Dooley had a nice pass in serve receive when the ball tipped over the net, which led to a kill. Setter Marlie Monserez dug the ball to Merritt Beason who set up Ceasar for a kill. Hall dived to scoop that ball out of the back right corner.

The first contact (to Monserez) set the Gators up for success; all five Gator hitters hit .500 or better. Ceasar was brutal down the line with six kills and Beason right behind her with five.

The Gators hit a palatial .621 on the set while holding the Aggies to only .182, winning the set 25-12.

Set 2

Though scoring went back and forth, Texas A&M never had a lead after earning the first point of the set.  Dooley contributed two quick kills. The Gators continued to hit an astronomically high clip.

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Florida got their lead to 19-10 but the Aggies inched back with a five-point run. Gator coach Mary Wise took a timeout at 20-16 and the Gators went on to win from there.

Set 3

The Aggies got off another advantageous start like in the first, trekking to a 6-2 lead.  Texas A&M defensive specialist Taylor Voss produced quality digs to keep the rally going.

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Texas A&M called a timeout down 7-6. Florida freshman Merritt Beason, who has struggled with service errors during the season, changed her serving style. She now starts further back and does a standing float like former Gator Allie Gregory and the change served her well.

Florida kept the Aggies out of reach the rest of the match.

Monserez had two kills while her quintet of hitters continued to execute; all five of them hit .471 or over on the match.

What’s Next

The Gators hit the road to play Alabama (9-9, 1-5) Wednesday at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast live out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on ESPNU.