Friday, October 9
Gainesville, Fla.
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
9-6, 2-2SEC
0
at
3
Florida
10-4, 2-3SEC
1
2
3
F
Texas A&M
9
23
18
0
Florida
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
Volleyball Falls to No. 17 Florida
Oct 09, 2015 | Volleyball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 17 Florida got back into the win column and snapped Texas A&M's two-match win streak with a 25-9, 25-23, 25-18 victory tonight at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
The defending SEC champion and preseason-favored Gators (10-4, 2-3 SEC), who entered the match mired in their first three-match losing streak since 1990, hit a blistering .517 in the match, a season high by an A&M opponent. Sophomore 6-4 middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan led the Gators with a career-high 18 kills while hitting .810. Junior right-side hitter Alex Holston, the 2014 SEC Player of the Year, added 12 kills and hit at a .524 clip as Florida improved to 11-0 in the all-time series against the Aggies.
Junior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, led Texas A&M (9-6, 2-2 SEC) with 13 kills while hitting .588.
A&M quickly fell behind in the opening set as Florida opened the match with four consecutive points. The Aggies remained within four points at 11-7 before Florida used a 9-1 run to pull away. The Gators, who outhit A&M .583 to .000 in the stanza, went on to close out the set on a 14-2 run with Alhassan posting her seventh kill to put the Gators at set point and Ziva Recek posting the set-clinching kill.
A&M took its first lead of the match at the start of the second set with a kill by sophomore outside hitter Kiara McGee giving the Aggies a 3-1 advantage. Florida took over the lead at 6-5 after an A&M attack sailed long. A&M, however, would hit at a .316 pace in the second frame to stay within striking distance.
After the Gators equaled their largest lead at 19-14, McGee blasted a crosscourt kill that marked the start of a 3-0 run by the Aggies. Babers followed with a kill, set up by a play-saving dig by junior outside hitter Emily Hardesty, and Florida's Simone Antwi hit into the net to put A&M within 19-17. Carli Snyder ended the run with a kill, but McGee immediately countered, exploiting the seam in the block for her sixth kill of the set. Hardesty and Babers then teamed to block Holston's attack attempt to put A&M within 20-19, forcing Florida coach Mary Wise to call a timeout.
The Gators, who hit .417 in the frame, went on a 4-1 run coming out the timeout, with back-to-back Alhassan kills putting Florida at set point, 24-20. Aggie senior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan kept A&M alive with a kill and then teamed with Hardesty for a block. Freshman defensive specialist Amy Houser put the Aggies within 24-23 with an ace, forcing the Gators to call their second timeout.
Once back on the court, Florida senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino immediately went to her go-to player, setting up Alhassan who closed out the set with her 16th kill of the match to give the Gators a 2-0 lead in the match.
An ace by sophomore libero Amy Nettles gave A&M its only lead of the third set at 4-3. Florida then went on an 8-2 run to take an 11-6 lead. McGee got a kill down the line and Babers capped a long rally with a kill to put A&M within 11-8 before Florida reeled off three consecutive kills to go up, 14-8. A&M got back within four points at 15-11 and again at 16-12 but could get no closer.
The Gators, who outhit A&M .593 to .480 in the stanza, were up, 18-13, when they reeled off four unanswered points, including back-to-back aces by Abby Detering. Sullivan tipped in a kill to end the run and begin a 3-1 surge by the Aggies. A block by Babers and sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple had put the Aggies within 23-16 before Holston put the Gators at match point with a kill. Florida served long on the next play and Aggie freshman opposite hitter Kaitlyn Blake put down a kill to put A&M within 24-18 before Antwi's kill closed out Florida's fourth consecutive sweep at home against the Aggies.
The Aggies now head to Columbia, S.C., for a Sunday match against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The match begins at 12 p.m. (CT) at the Carolina Volleyball Center and will be televised by the SEC Network.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.
Texas A&M post-match quotes:
Head Coach Laurie Corbelli
On it being a tough time to play Florida, which was looking to redeem itself after three losses…
"The first set was just a 20-minute debacle, and we couldn't get anything going. Once we got that out of our system, we realized we could still play. I really thought I saw it starting to come along in the second set. We were getting our offense going and doing some great things. We were hitting around .300, but the problem was they were hitting .500 to .600. They out dug us and out blocked us. Our defense and blocking were really poor tonight. Those are areas we have been really relying heavily on, and for that to be our issue and not the passing to attack was kind of stunning to everybody. Even though there were signs of recovery in the third set, they had too much fire power. We weren't able to come up with the digs, even though they hit right us in a lot of situations. They hit right where we were, and we couldn't come up with them and make a play off of it, so that was disappointing."
On Florida not letting up…
"They made it the Rhamat Alhassan show. Essentially it was her versus us. They were able to get her the ball, which means great ball handling, great defense, and it's hard to stop a kid that plays that high. I wasn't disappointed in our effort so much as our execution in those skills tonight. I felt like it was going to be a really good time or really bad time to play Florida, because they have three losses and that's unusual for them. To come home and have us to prove to themselves again something - I feel like that's kind of what they rode on tonight. I think we caught them actually at a very bad time for us."
On facing South Carolina on Sunday...
"They are a very, very dangerous team. They have a lot of weapons, and they play great defense. We have to bring our A-game and an awesome attitude in order to do the things we want to do, and hopefully we will. I really trust this team and I believe in this team. They want it and they will do that, but that will be necessary."
The defending SEC champion and preseason-favored Gators (10-4, 2-3 SEC), who entered the match mired in their first three-match losing streak since 1990, hit a blistering .517 in the match, a season high by an A&M opponent. Sophomore 6-4 middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan led the Gators with a career-high 18 kills while hitting .810. Junior right-side hitter Alex Holston, the 2014 SEC Player of the Year, added 12 kills and hit at a .524 clip as Florida improved to 11-0 in the all-time series against the Aggies.
Junior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, led Texas A&M (9-6, 2-2 SEC) with 13 kills while hitting .588.
A&M quickly fell behind in the opening set as Florida opened the match with four consecutive points. The Aggies remained within four points at 11-7 before Florida used a 9-1 run to pull away. The Gators, who outhit A&M .583 to .000 in the stanza, went on to close out the set on a 14-2 run with Alhassan posting her seventh kill to put the Gators at set point and Ziva Recek posting the set-clinching kill.
A&M took its first lead of the match at the start of the second set with a kill by sophomore outside hitter Kiara McGee giving the Aggies a 3-1 advantage. Florida took over the lead at 6-5 after an A&M attack sailed long. A&M, however, would hit at a .316 pace in the second frame to stay within striking distance.
After the Gators equaled their largest lead at 19-14, McGee blasted a crosscourt kill that marked the start of a 3-0 run by the Aggies. Babers followed with a kill, set up by a play-saving dig by junior outside hitter Emily Hardesty, and Florida's Simone Antwi hit into the net to put A&M within 19-17. Carli Snyder ended the run with a kill, but McGee immediately countered, exploiting the seam in the block for her sixth kill of the set. Hardesty and Babers then teamed to block Holston's attack attempt to put A&M within 20-19, forcing Florida coach Mary Wise to call a timeout.
The Gators, who hit .417 in the frame, went on a 4-1 run coming out the timeout, with back-to-back Alhassan kills putting Florida at set point, 24-20. Aggie senior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan kept A&M alive with a kill and then teamed with Hardesty for a block. Freshman defensive specialist Amy Houser put the Aggies within 24-23 with an ace, forcing the Gators to call their second timeout.
Once back on the court, Florida senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino immediately went to her go-to player, setting up Alhassan who closed out the set with her 16th kill of the match to give the Gators a 2-0 lead in the match.
An ace by sophomore libero Amy Nettles gave A&M its only lead of the third set at 4-3. Florida then went on an 8-2 run to take an 11-6 lead. McGee got a kill down the line and Babers capped a long rally with a kill to put A&M within 11-8 before Florida reeled off three consecutive kills to go up, 14-8. A&M got back within four points at 15-11 and again at 16-12 but could get no closer.
The Gators, who outhit A&M .593 to .480 in the stanza, were up, 18-13, when they reeled off four unanswered points, including back-to-back aces by Abby Detering. Sullivan tipped in a kill to end the run and begin a 3-1 surge by the Aggies. A block by Babers and sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple had put the Aggies within 23-16 before Holston put the Gators at match point with a kill. Florida served long on the next play and Aggie freshman opposite hitter Kaitlyn Blake put down a kill to put A&M within 24-18 before Antwi's kill closed out Florida's fourth consecutive sweep at home against the Aggies.
The Aggies now head to Columbia, S.C., for a Sunday match against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The match begins at 12 p.m. (CT) at the Carolina Volleyball Center and will be televised by the SEC Network.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.
Texas A&M post-match quotes:
Head Coach Laurie Corbelli
On it being a tough time to play Florida, which was looking to redeem itself after three losses…
"The first set was just a 20-minute debacle, and we couldn't get anything going. Once we got that out of our system, we realized we could still play. I really thought I saw it starting to come along in the second set. We were getting our offense going and doing some great things. We were hitting around .300, but the problem was they were hitting .500 to .600. They out dug us and out blocked us. Our defense and blocking were really poor tonight. Those are areas we have been really relying heavily on, and for that to be our issue and not the passing to attack was kind of stunning to everybody. Even though there were signs of recovery in the third set, they had too much fire power. We weren't able to come up with the digs, even though they hit right us in a lot of situations. They hit right where we were, and we couldn't come up with them and make a play off of it, so that was disappointing."
On Florida not letting up…
"They made it the Rhamat Alhassan show. Essentially it was her versus us. They were able to get her the ball, which means great ball handling, great defense, and it's hard to stop a kid that plays that high. I wasn't disappointed in our effort so much as our execution in those skills tonight. I felt like it was going to be a really good time or really bad time to play Florida, because they have three losses and that's unusual for them. To come home and have us to prove to themselves again something - I feel like that's kind of what they rode on tonight. I think we caught them actually at a very bad time for us."
On facing South Carolina on Sunday...
"They are a very, very dangerous team. They have a lot of weapons, and they play great defense. We have to bring our A-game and an awesome attitude in order to do the things we want to do, and hopefully we will. I really trust this team and I believe in this team. They want it and they will do that, but that will be necessary."
Team Stats
TAMU
UF
Kills
38
51
Errors
14
6
Attempts
92
87
Hitting %
.261
.517
Points
44.0
63.0
Assists
37
47
Aces
2
6
Blocks
4.0
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
MB/OPP
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
DS/S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMedia Availability: Jamie Morrison
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Media Availability: Logan Lednicky
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Media Availability: Ifenna Cos-Okpalla
Monday, December 22
NCAA Championship Postgame: Morrison, Cos-Okpalla, Lednicky, Stowers
Sunday, December 21
