Ziva Recek used her rifle of an arm when she needed it most.
With Florida ahead by just one point at 24-23 in the second set against Tennessee, the senior outside hitter took a pass from senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino and drilled it off of UT defensive specialist Claudia Coco’s face.
Coco couldn’t handle it and the ball fell to the floor, as the No. 15 Gators won a pivotal second set and went on to sweep Tennessee (25-21, 25-23, 25-19) Sunday in the O’Connell Center.
Florida (20-5, 12-4 Southeastern Conference) has now swept back-to-back matches and swept its opponents in 10 of its last 12 matches.
"Everyone loves to win," Dagostino said, "but I think we also have to remember we’re getting closer and closer to tournament time, so we have to take away from the win what we did really well and what we can improve on."
The Gators and Vols traded points early and often in the first set.
Down 9-8, Florida tied the score up with a Carli Snyder kill then began to pull away under Dagostino’s serve.
UF won four straight points, which were capped off by one of Dagostino’s two topspin aces in the match.
Tennessee fought back later in the set, pulling within one, down 21-20.
But the Gators fended off the Vols down the stretch and took set one 25-21.
Junior right-side hitter Alex Holston, who’d tallied 36 kills over her last two matches before UT, slammed six in the first set.
The Olney, Maryland, native finished tied with a match-high 14 kills.
Holston has now compiled 50 kills over UF’s last three matches.
"She’s just good day in and day out," Snyder said.
"We always know what to expect from her."
UT bounced back quickly in set two.
Back-to-back blocks and a kill put Tennessee ahead 5-2, but Florida responded with authority.
Snyder pounded a kill then stepped behind the service line, before UT committed two attack errors and Recek swooped in with a kill to pull ahead 6-5.
With the help of sophomore middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan’s arm, the Gators went on a 12-6 run to take an 18-11 lead.
Alhassan thumped four kills during the run and put down a team-high five kills in the set.
The Glenarden, Maryland, native finished the match with 10 of Florida’s 53 kills.
UF had trouble closing out the set, though, as the Vols muscled their way back to a one-point deficit at 23-22.
Florida earned set point after a long rally finished with Holston hitting through two UT blockers for a kill.
One point later, Recek ended it with her kill to win the set 25-23 and give UF a 2-0 match lead.
Like set two, the third set was close early on.
Both teams see-sawed points until the Gators separated themselves when they needed to toward the end.
Up 18-17, Holston and Recek pelted two kills to go up 20-17.
Florida would then go on a 5-2 run to take set three 25-19 and complete the sweep after Snyder smashed her 14th and final kill of the match. The sophomore outside hitter also added 11 digs to her second-highest kill total this season.
Dagostino had a front-row seat to Snyder’s performance.
"She was on fire," Dagostino said. "It’s so much fun when you can trust a pin like that and know they’re gonna put any ball away."
The Gators, who have three games remaining in the regular season, will next square off against LSU on the road Friday at 6 p.m.
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @Pinakk12
UF outside hitter Ziva Recek (middle) celebrates with teammates after a point during Florida's 3-0 win against Alabama on Nov. 13, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
