The opening point of Florida versus Auburn lasted for what seemed like three minutes, each team diving and digging and dashing around the court, neither side wishing to be the first to trail in its conference opener.
Finally, the Tigers’ Emily’s Klitzke committed an attack error, giving the Gators a 1-0 lead and setting a tone for her team that would echo throughout the remainder of the match.
Florida outplayed an outmatched Auburn team, finishing the night with a .340 hitting clip while Auburn hit .096 and tallied 23 total errors.
No. 10 Florida (7-3, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) swept Auburn (8-6, 0-1) in its first matchup with an SEC team this season, and did so confidently.
The Gators ran out to an early 17-9 lead in the first set due to strong serving from Mackenzie Dagostino and Alex Holston, who combined for three service aces.
“She’s just in a real good groove, and servers get to this point where she’s at,” coach Mary Wise said of Dagostino. “Also, her ability to better the ball, our hitters got so many good looks because of her skills, talent, and how hard she played.”
Dagostino finished the night with 36 assists and is currently third in the SEC with 423 of them.
Florida’s height at the net helped them to a 25-19 second set win, as it compiled 10 blocks with freshman Rhamat Alhassan accounting for five of them.
“(Rhamat) is a tough matchup for a lot of teams,” Wise said. “There are so many times in a rally where she’s seeing the ball in transition, (seeing) that speed coming across the net, (seeing) that speed on the dig, … that’s what we’re asking her to do. So that’s the exciting thing.”
Auburn rallied in the third set, at one point jumping out to a 9-5 lead. But UF blocked, served, and passed its way to a 25-19 victory to complete its fifth shutout of the season.
Florida will play four more road matches in the next month, but not before returning to Gainesville to take on Ole Miss on Sunday.
“Ole Miss will be coming from South Carolina and we will bus through the night. It will not be the ideal situation but it is what it is in terms of the schedule,” Wise said. “We’ll just have to be road warriors.”
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Junior Mackenzie Dagostino sets the ball during Florida's 3-2 win against Oklahoma.
