Gators Volleyball Falls to Wisconsin to End Non-Conference Play
Florida Volleyball lost on the road to No. 7 Wisconsin Sunday in a top-15 matchup to go 5-4 headed into conference play. This is the first time the Badgers (7-1) defeated the Gators in Madison.
Sunday’s loss comes days after No. 15 Florida was swept by coach Ryan Theis’ former squad, Marquette, who the Badgers beat in three sets on Sept. 17. Facing Wisconsin, in Theis’ hometown, the Gators took set one 25-19 before dropping the next three 22-25, 20-25 and 34-36.
Coming into the match, five of eight meetings in history went to five sets, and it almost came down to that again.
With the Gators winning set one, they snapped Wisconsin’s 15-set win streak. Florida handed Wisconsin its first lost set since getting swept by Texas Aug. 31.
In that set, redshirt sophomore outside hitter Aniya Madkin put up seven kills on 17 total attacks. This was more than the rest of the team combined. She went on to total a season-high 18 kills, 57 attempts and two total blocks.
Set four is where the excitement happened, as it went back and forth between set and match point for Florida and Wisconsin, respectively. Eventually, the Badgers were victorious on their fifth match point, winning 36-24 after 19 ties and nine lead changes.
The Gators struggled with substitutions and exhaustion by the end of this thriller, but their passion never wavered.
The serving game was difficult on both sides of the court. The Gators came out hot but ended the match with 13 service errors and just three aces. Defensive specialist Ella Vogel put up two of the service aces for Florida. Wisconsin had a similar fate, tallying 16 service errors and two aces.
Middle blocker Alec Rothe put up a season-high 13 kills in the match, just one short of the most in her career. The sophomore also hit four total blocks. Fellow sophomore middle blocker Jaela Auguste was just behind, tallying 11 kills and three total blocks.
The typical kill leader for Florida, outside hitter Jordyn Byrd had just 10 kills, hitting 6.4%. The redshirt sophomore best aided the Gators in blocks, putting up three total in the match.
For Wisconsin, senior outside hitter Mimi Colyer hit a season-high 27 kills on 62 total attempts for a season-high 30 points. The Oregon transfer also recorded a season-high 14 digs, tying libero Kristen Simon for the most for the Badgers.
Florida freshman libero Lily Hayes tallied 16 digs and a career-high seven assists in the contest. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Kira Hutson also has a career-high 13 digs.
The Gators now look to turn their season around, as SEC play begins Friday at home against Mississippi State.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Volleyball, NCAA, Volleyball
