Alex Holston was a ball hawk Thursday night.
The junior right-side hitter slammed a team-high nine kills, including the final kill of the match — all while doing most of the work herself.
"With not the best looks she’s like the wide receiver," coach Mary Wise said.
"The passes weren’t right there, (but) she did a whole lot of work to complete the play."
Holston and the No. 5 Gators’ efforts were enough to down St. John’s 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-21) in Florida’s home opener Thursday night at the O’Connell Center.
"We all came in the game with a lot of excitement," Holston said.
"It was just a great start to our season playing in the O’Dome."
The Gators (7-1) got off to a blistering start in the first set.
Florida hit .619 as a team, its second-highest hitting percentage in a set this year.
Behind that number were Holston and sophomore middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan, who each had three kills on three attacks.
Senior outside hitter Gabby Mallette, earning the start in lieu of the injured Carli Snyder, tallied four kills in the first set.
The Orange Park native tied her season high with seven kills in the match.
Senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino, known for her top-spinning jump serve, finished off the Red Storm with her second ace of the match to win 25-15.
The Gators dominated once again in the second set.
While Florida and St. John’s were neck-and-neck in the beginning of the set, UF pulled away after the Red Storm tied up it at 10-10.
Florida rumbled off eight straight points, all with senior outside hitter Ziva Recek behind the service line.
Recek strung together three aces during the run, including two in a row that helped the Gators keep their momentum going.
"It was definitely a great serving run," Alhassan said. "It’s something we needed."
The Slovenia native cranked out the first to go up 14-10.
A point later, Recek sent one fast and deep for an ace before slowly finessing her third ace of the set, barely kissing the top of the net and giving the Gators a 17-10 lead.
Fittingly, sophomore setter Abby Detering served up an ace of her own to take the set 25-13.
Florida tallied six aces throughout the match.
The Red Storm (9-4) put up a tough fight in the third set, only to be overcome by Florida’s blocking.
The Gators raced to an 8-3 lead after Holston earned back-to-back blocks, the second being assisted by middle blocker Simone Antwi.
The Olney, Maryland, native compiled three blocks in the match.
"It was just really exciting for me to finally get all the parts put together and for it all to work out," Holston said.
Alhassan, who led the match with six total blocks, helped Florida tally 13 total team blocks.
The Glenarden, Maryland, native finished the game with a .636 hitting percentage.
St. John’s inched their way back in the final set, knocking on Florida’s door at 17-16 and 20-19, but ultimately couldn’t take the lead.
UF then went on to take the set 25-21 after Holston’s kill and sweep the Red Storm.
Florida now prepares to take on No. 18 Florida State on Sunday at 5 p.m.
"The thing about Florida State is that when you take a team with great talent and that team gets to play their arch rival, you get really good stuff," Wise said, "and that has been true of Florida State now for a long time."
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @Pinakk12
UF right-side hitter Alex Holston (3) celebrates during Florida's 3-0 win against St. John's on Sept. 17, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
