OXFORD, Miss. – The 12th-ranked Florida volleyball team closed the 2022 regular season with a thrilling five-set victory over the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday evening.
With today’s victory, the Gators clinched a share of the 2022 SEC Championship. Florida and Kentucky will serve as Co-Champions, with UF earning the automatic bid following the SEC tie break rules.
Florida finishes off the regular season with a 23-5 overall record, including a 14-3 record in league play. Ole Miss finishes its 2022 campaign with an 11-17 record and a 7-11 record in the SEC.
UF claimed its 25th SEC Championship, the most of any team in the league. Those 25 titles are the third-most by any sport (men and women) in the league since volleyball’s inception into the SEC in 1979.
This evening’s win ups Florida athletics overall SEC total to a league-high 256 titles. Volleyball has claimed the first SEC title of the year for the Gators and now Florida has picked up at least one SEC team title for 45 consecutive seasons – the league’s longest current streak.
Since 1984 – the inception of volleyball at Florida – the Gators have the second-most SEC Championships at the school, behind just women’s tennis.
UF took the first set 25-23 in a tightly-contested battle, then followed with a 25-16 victory in the second set. The third set belonged to Ole Miss, with the Rebels taking it 25-19. Ole Miss grabbed the fourth set 25-21 to force a deciding fifth frame, which Florida grabbed 15-11 to win the SEC title.
Florida was led on the offensive front by Marina Markova, who posted an 18-kill effort on the evening. Merritt Beason and Sofia Victoria each added 13 kills of their own, while Gabrielle Essix pitched in a 12-kill performance.
Rookie setter Alexis Stucky dished out 53 helpers in the match, leading the team to a .322 clip.
At the net, Florida registered 12.0 blocks, with Essix posting a team-high six. Bre Kelley and Beason each added four of their own, while Markova registered three on the evening.
Beason led the backcourt defense for the Gators, finishing the match with 12 digs. Elli McKissock followed with 10, while Stucky tallied nine digs of her own.
Florida tallied five service aces on Saturday evening, with Stucky recording a team-high two.
The Gators now await their NCAA Tournament…
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