GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 15th-ranked Florida volleyball team continued its momentum from a night ago, topping the East Tennessee State Buccaneers in four sets on Saturday afternoon.
It took extra points in the first frame, but the Buccaneers claimed the set 26-24 before the Gators bounced back to take the second set 25-17. In familiar fashion, Florida controlled the tempo in the third frame, winning 25-13 before closing out the match with a 25-15 victory.
Merritt Beason led the Florida offense on Saturday afternoon, finishing with a career-high 17 kills on 31 swings for a .484 clip. Bre Kelley followed with eight kills of her own and a .429 hitting percentage, while Sofia Victoria added seven kills of her own on the afternoon.
Alexis Stucky dished out 30 assists in her three sets of action, while Birdie Hendrickson added 10 helpers of her own.
Florida held the Buccaneers to a .067 hitting percentage in the match, the best defensive performance since holding Miami to a .053 clip on Dec. 3, 2021. Essix was a force at the net, tallying a career-high 8.0 blocks, two better than her previous best of 6.0. Kelley added four blocks, while six Gators posted two blocks in the match (Hendrickson, Beason, Fitzpatrick, Stucky, Rhett Robinson, Marina Markova).
Elli McKissock notched her second-straight match with double-digit digs, finishing the afternoon with a team-high 22. Emily Canaan and Trinity Adams each added six digs of their own in the victory.
Beason posted a team-high and career-high four service aces in the match, followed by two apiece from Stucky and McKissock.
The Gators close out the Invitational this…
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