It was not the easiest of victories.
After Florida clinched sole possession of the Southeastern Conference title with a win against Arkansas on Friday, UF took down yet another ranked opponent after defeating No. 16 LSU 3-1 (25-19, 33-31, 25-27, 25-13) in Baton Rouge, La., on Sunday.
The No. 1 Gators (26-1, 19-0 SEC) made the Tigers (24-4, 15-4) their 10th ranked victim this season. UF is 10-1 in ranked matches, with its only misstep coming against then-No.1 Penn State on Sept. 10.
“This was great volleyball today as both teams battled, especially in sets two and three,” coach Mary Wise said. “It was such a high level of play. I thought the key to the match was that we were toe-to-toe with LSU, which leads the league in digs, and really made a statement with our blocking.”
The Gators just narrowly lost the dig battle, finishing with 71 digs compared to the Tigers’ 72. Florida easily won the blocking battle, however. The Gators recorded 11 blocks as a team while LSU only got four.
Florida has counted on its blocking game all season long. This match marked the 14th time this season the Gators have recorded double-digit blocks. It was also the fifth time in the past six games — a good sign for a team with just one regular season match left before the postseason.
Florida also counted on the play of senior outside hitter Callie Rivers.
Rivers recorded a career-high 21 kills on a .410 hitting percentage. Her seven digs, four blocks and one assist gave her a match-high 23 points — also a career best.
“Callie earned every one of those kills,” Wise said. “She had great vision tonight and took such smart swings.”
Rivers had just five attacks errors on 39 total attacks.
“To have 21 kills against such a good team as LSU is a great job of really getting it done,” Wise said.
Senior libero Erin Fleming also recorded personal bests, finishing with a career-high 22 digs. She also managed to dish out four assists.
Continuing to play well were middle blockers Lauren Bledsoe and Cassandra Anderson.
Bledsoe hit .381 and recorded 10 kills, a dig and five blocks. Anderson pitched in with 10 kills as well, hitting .364 with an assist, three digs and six blocks.
The Gators hit .298 as a team and held LSU to an inferior .157.
This was the second time the Gators knocked off the Tigers this season. Florida won 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-22, 25-18) in Gainesville on Oct. 1.
