Gator Duo Garners SEC Weekly Honors

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After aiding Florida to a perfect 3-0 record this past weekend, two Gators earned SEC Weekly honors, as the conference announced Monday.

Merritt Beason was tabbed as the SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, while Alexis Stucky was named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week.

This is Beason’s third weekly honor of her career, as she earned two Freshman of the Week accolades a season ago. Stucky became the first Florida freshman to earn the honor in her Gator debut since Thayer Hall in the 2018 campaign.

Over the course of the three matches, Beason averaged 3.73 kills per set, 1.36 digs per set, 0.91 aces per set, 4.91 points per set and a .349 clip.

Against North Florida, the Gardendale, Ala. native recorded 12 kills, six digs, two blocks and three aces to help secure the four-set victory for Florida.

The sophomore right side then followed up with a career-performance against East Tennessee State, tallying a personal-best 17 kills and four service aces. She also hit .484 in the match and registered two blocks at the net to go along with three digs.

Against Virginia, Beason put on a show, recording 12 kills with a .588 clip in the sweep. She continued her strong effort behind the service line, finishing with three aces and added six digs in the victory as well.

Beason currently ranks second in the league in aces per game, fifth in points per game and 10th in kills per game.

Stucky saw action in nine sets this past weekend, averaging 11.00 assists per set, 1.22 digs per set and 0.89 service aces per set, all while leading the team to a .378 hitting percentage.

The Laramie, Wy. native made her Gator debut in the second set against North Florida on Friday, where she recorded a weekend-best 36 assists, six digs, two blocks and a service ace.

In the second match of the weekend, Stucky dished out 30 assists in three sets of action. She paired that performance with two blocks, two digs and two aces.

Against Virginia, Stucky led the squad to a stellar .521 clip, while dishing out 33 assists. Prior to that match, Florida had not hit over .500 since March 13, 2021 (Missouri, .513). The freshman also recorded five service aces in the match, becoming the first Gator to do so since T’ara Ceasar on Nov. 4, 2021 against Tennessee.

She currently ranks second in the league in assists per set and third in service aces per set.

The Gators are back in action Tuesday night in Exactech Arena against Stanford. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. on the SEC Network….