To err is human, but the Gators are slowly overcoming that.
No. 7 Florida (8-2, 1-0 SEC) cracked down on mistakes in a 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 26-24) victory against Mississippi State (6-5, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) on Friday.
After averaging 5.4 errors per set in their previous three matches, the Gators lowered that number to four in Starkville, Miss.
“The players did especially well on offense in attacking,” coach Mary Wise said. “When you play aggressively, the game is based on errors, so you try to eliminate the unforced ones and I thought we were very efficient offensively.”
That efficiency showed up on the stat sheet, as five of the six Gators who recorded a kill against the Bulldogs had a hitting percentage of at least .281, led by setter Kelly Murphy (.500) and middle blocker Betsy Smith (.444)
Murphy didn’t stop there, as she tallied 10 kills, 19 assists and 11 digs to post her second consecutive triple-double, and the 25th of her career.
Her ninth and 10th kills came on the final two plays of the match, propelling UF to a 26-24 win in the third set.
“It’s hard not to recognize Kelly Murphy for a triple-double,” Wise said. “And Betsy Smith as well — she may not get as many attempts, but she takes advantage of them. That and her four blocks are outstanding in three sets.”
Not far behind Murphy and Smith was junior right-side hitter Tangerine Wiggs, who continued to be the hot hand for the Florida offense.
Wiggs delivered several clutch plays throughout the match and racked up 11 kills and five block assists to go along with a .375 hitting percentage.
“We continue to see Tangerine Wiggs as a big-time point-scorer in terms of both her attacking and her blocking,” Wise said.
Wiggs’ heroics included two kills and a Smith-aided stuff block during an 8-1 run that clinched the first set.
She also had a kill in the third set that ended a 7-1 Bulldogs run and pulled the Gators within one point of the lead at 15-14.
While the Florida offense saw a marked improvement in the conference opener, the defense may have been even better.
After averaging just 14.7 digs per set in its final three non-conference tilts, UF recorded 51 total digs Friday.
Leading the way for the Gators in that category was redshirt freshman Taylor Unroe, who had a match-best 15.
“The numbers cannot be disputed,” Wise said.
“Although our total may be improving — especially with 21 digs in the first set — I just feel that we also continue to leave some plays out there.”
