After dropping its last meeting with Kentucky in September, Florida sought redemption on Sunday.
Behind a strong defensive outing, UF accomplished its goal.
The No. 17 ranked Gators volleyball team (13-4, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) beat the No. 20 Wildcats 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-20 in a showdown that featured two of the SEC’s top teams.
Rhamat Alhassan played like an All-American, Alex Holston had one of her most efficient hitting performances this season and the defense put on another stellar performance to propel the Gators to victory.
The Gators’ defense carried them in an ugly game. While Florida posted a .237 hitting percentage as a team, Kentucky hit a lowly .167. UK was the third opponent in a row that the Gators have held under a .200 team hitting clip.
Much of UF’s defensive dominance can be attributed to the team’s size up front, highlighted by middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan.
The sophomore posted 12 kills and 10 blocks against Kentucky, Alhassan’s third game this season with double digit blocks.
Mackenzie Dagostino contributed seven blocks, and the team’s total of 17 marks was a season-high.
Kentucky (13-6, 6-1 SEC) got off to a hot start, bursting out of the gates on a 9-3 run and maintaining that lead throughout the first set. Whenever Florida drew close, the Wildcats pulled away and eventually won 25-22.
Down by two in the second set, the Gators went on a 10-2 run to establish the set’s first solid lead.
Not folding easily, Kentucky responded with a 7-1 run to knot the score at 16. Florida was able to re-focus, however, pulling away to win the set 25-21 and tie the match at one game apiece.
The game’s most pivotal momentum shift came in the third set with the Gators trailing 22-18. Not wanting to lose the swing set, Florida went on a 7-0 hot streak to win 25-22.
The difference in being up 2-1 as opposed to down 2-1 is significant. This season, the Gators improved to 4-0 in matches in which they have won the third set in a tie game.
For the rest of the match, the Wildcats were unable to recover losing the third set.
After trading points early on, the Gators took control. An Alex Holston kill buried the final hatchet and gave Florida the victory, 25-20.
The win was also the fifteenth match this season in which Florida tallied the most blocks. UF is 11-4 in those contests.
Florida’s back row defense has been a source of consistency during its four game winning streak.
Sophomore Carli Snyder compiled a career-best 17 digs, while senior Ziva Recek had 13. Recek also had 10 kills, good enough to give her 23 career double-doubles.
Coach Mary Wise noted the team’s recent improvement.
"The numbers tell the story of how much better we have gotten over the past month," Wise said in a release.
"Our players in double-digit kills, the things we couldn’t do a month ago. We are improving in the areas we have to with half the season still to go."
The victory was UF’s 50th all-time win in this one-sided rivalry. The Gators are 50-11 against the Wildcats.
With the win, Florida improved to 4-2 versus ranked opponents this season.
The Gators return home to face Arkansas on Friday at 7 p.m on the SEC Network.
Follow Brian Lee on Twitter @brianlee_17
UF middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan swings for a kill attempt during Florida's 3-0 win against Texas A&M on Oct. 3, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
