In a battle to stay undefeated in the Southeastern Conference, No. 8 Florida volleyball swept unranked Arkansas in one of the Gators’ most highly contested matches of the season.
Florida (14-3, 8-0 SEC) faced its biggest challenge in conference play yet against Arkansas (9-5, 5-2 SEC): a strong offensive team.
Throughout conference play this season, Florida has held its opponents to just under a .200 hitting clip.
That changed on Sunday.
Arkansas came out in the first set with a .065 hitting clip, but altered its attack in the second (.324) and third (.296) sets.
While the Gators swept the Razorbacks — marking the sixth SEC team in just eight conference games that Florida has swept so far — the win didn’t come easily for Florida.
"They’re (Arkansas) just not a roll over type team," coach Mary Wise said.
"What happened right away was they made their run. They made some changes, they’re a well-coached team."
Florida remained dominant in its offensive play with freshman Rhamat Alhassan leading the Gators with 11 kills on 13 attempts with a .846 attacking clip – a career high – and one service ace.
Alhassan also offered four block assists and one dig for the day.
The middle blocker went into Arkansas after having a tough match at South Carolina on Wednesday.
She finished against the Gamecocks with five kills on 16 attempts with six errors, leaving her with a -.062 hitting clip.
"Wednesday wasn’t my best night, but I just moved on," Alhassan said.
"I don’t dwell on the past. We’re always thinking about the next thing, what’s coming up next and that’s just how I look at it."
While Alhassan helped Florida offensively, setter Mackenzie Dagostino had to make quick plays to keep the Gators’ offense moving.
Dagostino finished the match with only 35 assists but had two service aces, two block assists and one dig on the day.
On paper, the Tampa native didn’t produce the huge numbers she’s typically known for.
But off paper, she put together lengthy plays that allowed Florida to hold onto its momentum.
"It’s not fun to come in and roll through teams and having someone like Arkansas who fights back, like we bite them they bite back," Dagostino said. "It makes the game what the game is supposed to be like. It makes us that much better because if you don’t have to work for your kills, if you don’t have to find different areas to put the ball down on their side of the court, then it doesn’t make you a better player. You just do the same exact thing over and over again."
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Rhamat Alhassan (1) swings for a kill attempt during Florida's 3-0 win against Arkansas on Sunday in the O'Connell Center.
