In the history of its program, only two non-conference opponents have ever defeated Southern California at home.
On Friday night, Florida became the third.
The No. 10 Gators (5-2) earned their second straight sweep, upsetting the No. 6 Trojans (6-2) 3-0 in the final match of their two-game road stretch.
Highlighting the win was freshman Rhamat Alhassan with 11 kills and seven blocks, Alex Holston with 13 kills and three blocks, and Holly Pole with 16 digs.
"It was a gut check," coach Mary Wise said. "This one was a win that was built over the course of the first three weeks (of the season)."
Florida opened up with a 15-11 lead in the first set before falling behind 19-21. But the Gators rallied with a series of strong digs and blocks to take a 25-23 victory.
Alhassan secured the set point, clinching her fourth set in a row dating back to Thursday against San Diego.
The second set began, and USC jumped out to an early 6-3 lead. But again UF rallied with their defense as Taylor Unroe and Pole turned digs into kills, eventually taking a 25-23 victory and a 2-0 lead.
"This was really one of (Unroe's) best matches of the season," Wise said. "She was so good passing, digging, and in her serving. She, Holly and Maddy (Monserez), you know what they did? They looked like seniors back there and they played like seniors."
The third set was even more of a battle than the previous two. Florida and Southern California swapped leads until the set was tied at 22 with neither team gaining more than a three-point lead on the other. Florida then scored three consecutive points to take a 25-22 victory and the match.
Florida finished the match with a plus-6 differential in blocks and .303 hitting percentage.
"All three sets were so close, it could've gone either way," Wise said. "We're playing against some of the premiere players in the country. ... If you had told me that we could come in, and blocking was so hard to come by early in the season, that for us to out-block USC... it's pretty amazing."
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Alex Holston swings at the ball during Florida's 3-0 win against Tennessee on Oct. 27 in the O'Connell Center.
