Gators Volleyball Spoils Ohio State’s Home Opener
No. 12 Florida volleyball continued its journey on the road with a clean sweep at Ohio State Sunday afternoon. The Gators (4-1) got stronger as the day went on, winning 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-14) to put a damper on the Buckeyes’ home opener.
Ohio State (1-3) went on a few scoring runs in the first set, but the Gators fought back to keep the match close the entire way. Set one went the way of Florida with a score of 25-23. The second set began with some miscommunication for the Gators, but they quickly found their footing. After going down 3-1, they responded with a 6-0 scoring run. The Buckeyes remained in striking distance, but a 5-0 scoring run gave Florida the advantage in the end.
Despite starting down 1-2, the Gators led the entire rest of the third set. Florida was dominant down the stretch, as Florida recorded kill after kill. With some help from Ohio State errors, the Gators wrapped up the match with an 11-point victory.
Outside hitter Jordyn Byrd led the Gators in kills once again with 15. Aniya Madkin and Jaela Auguste followed with 11 and eight, respectively.
Middle blocker Alec Rothe had a pretty quiet match, until three straight kills in the third set. The sophomore hit negative in the first two before finishing with six kills on the day.
Back swinging after a season-ending shoulder injury in 2023, Gators redshirt freshman Kira Hutson added a career-high four service aces.
Ohio State outside hitter for Hannah Jones led her squad with 12 kills on 40 total attacks.
Gators coach Ryan Theis said that sophomore Taylor Parks earned the start at setter over Alexis Stucky, who saw more action and had a 31-assist effort Tuesday against USF. Parks put up a double-double, with 35 assists and 10 digs against the Buckeyes. Alexis Stucky didn’t come in until late in the third, and she only had two assists and one dig on the day.
On defense, libero Lily Hayes was all over the court, recording 13 digs.
Buckeyes libero Olivia Hasbrook seemed to injure her back going for a dig on the second rally of the third set. However, she returned to the match to serve after a one-rally pause on the bench. She ended with 11 digs on the afternoon.
Florida put up eight aces and eight service errors, showing there is still work to be done as Theis continues to emphasize the importance of the serving game.
Florida has one more road game in its two-week hiatus from the Stephen C. O’Connell Center against North Carolina in the SEC-ACC Challenge Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Volleyball, Uncategorized
