Less than 24 hours after 15 service errors cost Florida a chance to beat No. 1 Penn State, a pair of service aces brought them a measure of redemption.
With No. 4 Florida’s (6-1) match against No. 5 Texas (5-3) tied 14-14 in the fifth set, Gators freshman Chanel Brown stepped up and delivered back-to-back aces, lifting her team to a 3-2 (25-11, 27-25, 16-25, 20-25, 16-14) victory in its final match of the Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic on Saturday in the O’Connell Center.
“I just came out like it was any other serve,” Brown said. “I came out calm and relaxed because we’re so team-oriented, and I knew we had each other’s backs the whole way through.”
Brown led the way with four aces as the team recorded a season-high nine, providing the offense with a vital lift in a match where it hit just .159.
Florida’s attack seemed lifeless and uncoordinated for large portions of the contest, but it was saved by strong serving and blocking, as the Gators recorded double-digit blocks (11) for the fifth time this season.
“Our communication was definitely down and I think our energy was down,” said junior Kelly Murphy, who recorded her 17th career triple-double Friday against the Nittany Lions. “Texas definitely got in a rhythm and set us back on our heels a little bit.”
The match didn’t start out that way, however, as the Gators stormed to a 25-11 first-set win.
The Longhorns hit negative-.125 in the opening game, recording just six kills compared to nine errors thanks partly to Florida’s two blocks and three aces.
But Texas would steadily improve its attack from there, increasing its hitting percentage by at least .100 in each of the next three sets.
“In sets three and four, (Texas) got into a very good rhythm and were getting first swing kills at a high percentage,” UF coach Mary Wise said.
In those two sets, the Longhorns hit a combined .391 and outscored the Gators 50-36.
Texas’ offensive emergence corresponded with Florida’s offensive decline, as the Gators hit a combined .119 in the third and fourth sets after hitting a combined .241 in the first two.
Neither team was strong offensively in the fifth, but the Gators were able to pull out the win thanks to three aces, three blocks and an abundance of desire.
“When a team comes at you like that, it all comes down to how hard you’re going to fight and how much you want to win,” Murphy said.
In other action from the tourney, No. 2 Stanford (7-0) ended Penn State’s (7-1) NCAA-record 109-match win streak with a sweep (28-26, 25-12, 25-18) in the tournament’s final match.
Senior Alix Klineman led the Cardinal with 16 kills en route to being named the tournament’s MVP.
