No. 4 Florida (9-1) trailed 9-8 in the second set against No. 17 Florida State (6-4) on Tuesday, and it appeared another long point might not fall in the Gators’ favor.
Florida missed chances to close out points against Western Michigan in its previous match, allowing the Broncos to come back and win the third set in UF’s four-set victory on Friday.
But Tuesday was a different story.
The point went back and forth multiple times before outside hitter Ziva Recek notched a kill to tie the score at nine.
From there, the Gators were on track for a three-set sweep of the Seminoles in the O’Connell Center.
“The players were very focused,” coach Mary Wise said. “There was some great volleyball there.
“The first set was back and forth with no separation. … I think what you saw were two teams playing their hearts out early in the season.”
Although Florida won in a sweep, each set could have gone to either team.
In the second set, FSU led UF 24–23, needing only one more point for the Seminoles to grab momentum and enter the break tied.
Instead, the Gators kept the point going long enough to force the Seminoles into a ball-handling error.
Florida proceeded to win the next two points to take the set and put the Seminoles in a 2-0 hole.
The most instrumental player in keeping those plays alive for UF was libero Taylor Unroe, who led the team with 10 digs.
“Taylor Unroe really played well for us, especially in the serving-passing area,” Wise said.
“Florida State never made long service runs. … We’re at our best when we’re using all of our hitters.”
Having Unroe make key digs allowed setter Taylor Brauneis to get better options for quick kills with middle blocker Chloe Mann and right-side hitter Alex Holston.
“We knew that they had some big bangers,” Unroe said.
“So we knew we had to block well. We made enough of those plays to win the game, and that’s what really helped us win.”
With the Gators up 12–7 in the third set, trying to close out their rivals, the ball ricocheted high off of a Florida player. It looked like the point was over.
Unroe then proceeded to spring toward the bench and make a lunging dig, hitting the ball right before it was untouchable and keeping it alive.
Florida got the ball back over the net and got the point a few moments later on an attack error by Florida State’s Ashley Neff.
Another challenge facing Florida entering Tuesday was Florida State’s height advantage.
But not only did UF have nine blocks in the match, it shut down the Walch sisters — two of FSU’s top offensive threats.
Nicole Walch had 14 kills but a hitting percentage of .276. Elise Walch had only seven kills on a hitting percentage of .158.
“[Winning] definitely feels good,” Unroe said.
“You know, last year we didn’t play well, and they played awesome. This year, we battled it out, and we were able to come out with a win.”
Follow RJ Schaffer on Twitter @rjschaffer.
Taylor Unroe reaches for the ball during Florida’s three-set victory against FSU on Tuesday in the O’Connell Center.
