GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 13th-ranked Florida volleyball team put up a valiant effort against the No. 12 Stanford Cardinal, but eventually fell in the fifth.
It took extra points in the first set, but the Cardinal came out victorious 31-29 to grab the 1-0 advantage. Stanford followed with a tightly-contested 25-22 win in the second, but Florida dominated the third set, taking it 25-16. The Gators forced a deciding fifth set after winning the fourth frame 25-22, but Stanford was able to close out the match with a 15-10 victory in the final set.
Merritt Beason led the way with 13 kills, followed by 12 from Marina Markova. Gabrielle Essix added a career-high 10 kills of her own with just two errors for a .381 clip, while Bre Kelley posted eight kills on the night.
Alexis Stucky dished out a career-high 45 assists in the five-set match.
As a team, Florida recorded 13.0 blocks at the net, with Kelley posting a career-best 10. That mark is tied for the fourth-highest total in program history in a five-set match.
Beason added five blocks, while Markova tallied four at the net. Both Essix and Sofia Victoria added the defensive effort with three blocks apiece.
Elli McKissock paced the backcourt defense with 15 digs, while Trinity Adams pitched in a career-high 11 in the match. Beason was just one dig away from a double-double with nine, while Stucky and Emily Canaan added six and five digs, respectively.
Canaan led the way behind the service line, recording four aces, all of which came consecutively in the fifth set.
The Gators are back in action on Sunday when the…
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