In the midst of a 10-match winning streak, Florida handed in its sharpest offensive performance of the season.
No. 8 Florida (15-3, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) swept Missouri (13-10, 4-4) 3-0 Friday night, dominating the Tigers in almost every facet of the match.
Freshman middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan turned out another strong outing, finishing with a team-high 14 kills and 5 blocks while accounting for 17.5 of Florida’s points.
“She’s one long, tall, quick-jumping, athletic, growing middle who just gets better each match,” Wise said. “But credit the passers, credit Mackenzie (Dagostino). When you’re getting double digits out of multiple players, that’s a good thing.”
Dagostino ended the night with 35 assists, eight digs, two service aces and a .800 hitting clip. As a team, the Gators hit .369 on the night compared to .168 for Missouri.
“Every inch of the game was completely on point tonight,” the junior setter said. “And that’s because we worked so hard to compete in practice. So when we got in the gym, in this game, it was cake.”
Florida opened the match on a 5-0 run before taking the first set 25-17. Missouri took its first lead of the match at the 4-3 mark in the second set, but Florida eventually grabbed a 2-0 lead with a 25-19 victory.
The Gators completed the sweep and earned its ninth straight conference victory after a 25-13 third set win.
“Missouri played well,” Wise said. “How low error they were, and the digs they were making. And our team responded.”
Juniors Gabby Mallette and Ziva Recek came off the bench to contribute 11 kills apiece while combining to hit 22 of 44 from the floor.
“In the second set Missouri was serving so well, and we really had to rely on our left sides,” Wise said. “Gabby and Ziva came through. (It was) as good a match from those two that we’ve had all year, easily.”
Florida will continue its weekend at home when it faces Mississippi State at 1:30 on Sunday.
“(Everyone) doing their part makes this whole machine work. Our team is just one piece, and tonight everything was clicking,” Dagostino said. “Just one more game that made us better.”
Follow Ian Cohen @ICohenB
Rhamat Alhassan (1) swings for a kill attempt during Florida's 3-0 win against Missouri on Oct. 24 in the O'Connell Center.
