In the first set of Florida’s senior-day match against Auburn, the Tigers seemed to only score points off the Gators’ mistakes.
But Auburn came out two sets later as an almost entirely new opponent and fought a back-and-forth battle at the net before senior Kristy Jaeckel sealed Florida’s 3-0 victory (25-10, 25-17, 28-26) Sunday with a decisive kill on a Tigers overpass.
While Florida (23-5, 16-3 Southeastern Conference) had to overcome its own nine service errors to sweep Auburn (10-19, 4-15 SEC), the third-set scare may have been exactly what the Gators needed before one last regular-season game Wednesday and the start of the NCAA Tournament.
“At the end they really pushed us,” senior Kelly Murphy said. “They dug some of our great shots, and I think for us to be able to fight back shows a lot of maturity and just the growth of our team. I think we’re at a great point at this time of the season.”
Murphy led the offense and hit .615 with eight kills and no errors. But the attack was balanced overall, as Jaeckel and junior Tangerine Wiggs each added seven kills.
“We did a good job distributing the ball,” Jaeckel said. “The more people we can get good looks, the more the other team has to rethink who they want to stop. Obviously … Kelly was unstoppable, and that really came in clutch for us in the end.”
Jaeckel also did her part and led the team’s defensive effort, showing her strength in the back row in the middle of the second set by notching three consecutive digs in one rally. She finished the afternoon with a team-high seven digs.
“Kristy is a fifth-year senior who plays like it,” coach Mary Wise said. “If she were a basketball player she’d be that one that you look at assists, rebounds, scoring, steals — she’s doing so much for us. Kelly’s done that for four years. That’s where it’s so valuable to have two such complete players.”
Although the sweep marked UF’s sixth win in a row, the Gators now enter this week with the goal of eliminating service errors for their float servers.
That emphasis, combined with Florida’s gritty play to prevent a fourth set, puts the team just where they want to be heading into the postseason.
“It’s good for us,” Wise said. “If Auburn hadn’t played well in that third set, I don’t know how much better we would have gotten from this match.”
