Gators Top Ole Miss in Three

OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 19 Florida Volleyball team swept the Ole Miss Rebels in a mid-week matchup inside the Gillum Center to close out their three-streak road game series. The Gators move to 14-4 on the year and 6-3 in SEC play, while Ole Miss moves to 8-14 during the 2023 campaign and 2-9 in the league.

All three sets were close up until the final points. The Gators quickly found themselves down at the start of the first frame, and trailed for the entirety of the set. A 4-0 scoring run in the final stretch gave Florida their first lead of the match and take the first set, 26-24. Florida followed up with another close 25-23 win in the second frame, and found a rhythm in the final points of the third set to come away with a 25-19 to grab their sixth third-set victory of the 2023 season.

Florida’s offensive attack was led by freshman Kennedy Martin, who registered 19 kills with a .586 clip. Ac Fitzpatrick had 12 of her own, while Sofia Victoria ended with nine of her own.

Kennedy Muff dished out 40 assists to lead the team with a .488 clip, while also pitching in three kills of her own.

Florida held the Rebels to just a .185 clip, and recorded nine blocks at the net led by Nnedi Okkamor and Gabbi Essix who both had two solo blocks.

Libero Elli McKissock recorded 19 digs to set a new three-set individual season high and lead the backcourt defense. Martin added eight, and Emily Canaan had six.

McKissock also recorded a team-high three aces to set a new three-set individual high.  

The Gators are back in action at home on Sunday against No. 10 Arkansas. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. on SEC+.

Records

No. 19 Florida (14-4, 6-3 SEC)

Ole Miss (8-14, 2-9 SEC)

How It Happened

• Sofia Victoria put the Gators on the scoreboard after quickly falling to an 0-3 deficient at the start of the first. Serving errors allowed Ole Miss to keep a steady lead, but a solo block from Gabbi Essix brought life back into Florida. From there, the Gators strung together a 5-0 scoring run behind the serves of McKissock to take a 14-12 lead. Ole Miss regained a one-point lead going into the media timeout. Martin put one down to tie it all at 15, but the Rebels pulled ahead to a 15-18 lead, and made Florida use it’s first timeout. A second solo block from Essix brought it back within one, but then fell to a 3-point deficit for the eighth time. Okkamor solo block made it 22-23, and forced Ole Miss to use it’s first timeout. Back-to-back kills…