With a big lead against Missouri, the Gators crumbled.
After jumping out to a 2-0 match lead against Missouri and gaining a 7-0 advantage in set three, Florida looked poised to bounce back from a loss to Kentucky on Sunday with ease.
But Carly Kan and the Tigers fought all the way back to take down the No. 9 Gators 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 19-25, 10-15) Wednesday night in Columbia, Missouri.
Florida (9-3, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) has now dropped back-to-back games versus SEC opponents for the first time since 2011.
After senior middle blocker Simone Antwi assembled just three kills in Florida’s loss to Kentucky, she came out swinging early against Missouri.
Antwi slammed down six kills on nine errorless attempts in the opening set that saw 16 ties and seven lead changes.
At 22-22, Antwi blistered a ball from Mackenzie Dagostino to take a one-point lead and help Florida win the set 25-22.
Antwi finished the match with eight kills and four blocks.
In the second set, UF and Missouri (13-1, 1-0 SEC) exchanged points back-and-forth early on before the Gators took a 21-17 lead.
But three straight points, including kills from Kan and Emily Thater and a Kira Larson ace inched Missouri closer at 21-20.
To keep the Tigers off Florida’s back, junior right-side hitter Alex Holston stepped up and delivered.
Holston pummeled a kill the very next point, and with set point at 24-20, she served up an ace between two Tigers in what looked like a miscommunication to win the set 25-20.
Holston finished with a team-high 13 kills in the match.
By the beginning of the third set, Missouri looked gassed.
Florida raced out to a 7-0 lead behind the serving run of senior outside hitter Ziva Recek.
Recek, who missed UF’s last three games because she was playing for Slovenia’s national team in Europe, looked right at home. She added a kill and her second ace of the match during the run.
But the Tigers came roaring back in what would be the turning point of the match.
Missouri came all the way back to tie the game at 17-17 and took an 18-17 lead after a Regan Peltier kill.
Then, Missouri’s All-American, Carly Kan, came to life.
The 5-foot-9 outside hitter tallied back-to-back kills to take a 21-18 advantage and paired with Thater to block Holston and win set three 25-21.
Kan, who leads the SEC in kills per set, finished with a match-high 17 kills.
The Tigers continued to ride their momentum into the fourth set.
Missouri led 13-9 following a Holston miss, but Florida rallied back to tie the set at 14-14 after back-to-back kills by Dagostino.
But Missouri dominated the rest of the set, going on an 11-5 run to take the set 25-19.
In the fifth set, Missouri jumped out to a 10-7 lead after a Rhamat Alhassan attack error.
UF cut the deficit to one point twice when Recek slammed a kill to make it 10-9 and 11-10.
But the Tigers won the final four points and capped off the set and match after blocking Recek.
Florida is now 0-2 in five-set matches this year after dropping a thriller to Hawaii on Sept. 11.
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @Pinakk12
UF middle blocker Simone Antwi swings for a kill attempt during Florida's 3-1 win against Florida State on Sept. 20, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
