Florida’s defense squashed Georgia this weekend — on the volleyball court.
The Gator volleyball team wasn’t in Jacksonville; it was about six hours north in Athens, Georgia, where it swept the Bulldogs with the help of a dominant defensive performance on Sunday.
With blockers stuffing shots like defensive lineman jumping to block field goal attempts and back row passers playing like ball hawking corners, UF held UGA to a -.031 hitting percentage.
The mark was the second-lowest Florida has allowed and was just the second time this year it limited an opposing team to a negative line.
The mastermind behind the Gators defensive scheme, associate head coach Dave Boos, said one example of how elite the defense played was that not a single Bulldog attacker hit above .000.
"(It) means we’re doing a great job serving the ball, blocking and defending," he said.
The heart of the defense Sunday wasn’t even a starter.
It was sophomore setter Abby Detering.
Detering, who comes in to serve for sophomore middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan, led Florida on a 14-point scoring run behind the service line in the second set against Georgia.
On Friday night against Arkansas, it was a seven-point streak in the second set.
"The highlight of that match was definitely Abby Detering," Boos said.
Detering’s role has been slightly unconventional this season.
Setters typically play right back defense their entire playing careers, but Boos and the rest of the coaching staff have asked her to serve and play left back defense.
Boos said she’s been handling it great.
"She comes in and serves for Rhamat Alhassan, (and) early in the season that was our worst point scoring rotation," he said.
"Now with her role it’s our best point scoring rotation, which is huge for us."
Another driving force in the defense’s dominance has been UF’s blocking led by the nation’s leading blocker, the 6-foot-4 Alhassan.
Pairing Alhassan and her 1.76 blocks per set with the veteran senior middle blocker Simone Antwi presents quite the challenge to opposing offenses.
Senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino has also been pivotal in the Gators’ success on defense.
Though she’s 5-foot-10, her 0.93 blocks per set rank second among Florida players.
Boos said teams have routinely tried to attack her size while avoiding Alhassan when swinging.
"Mackenzie definitely has that gritty mentality where she doesn’t wanna give up to anybody," he said.
"If you try to avoid Rhamat and go at Mackenzie she’ll make you pay."
Teams have paid and it’s shown.
The last time UF allowed a hitting percentage higher than .200 was eight games ago a 3-0 win against Texas A&M on Oct. 9.
Because the defense has played so well, Florida’s matches haven’t been as close as they were toward the beginning of the season.
This has opened the door for players like freshman middle blocker Taelor Kellum, who slammed the first two kills of her career Sunday in the third set.
Boos said the best part was watching the bench react to the kills.
"She works hard at practice behind two really good middles," he said.
"She’s in that mentee role in this point in time, but she’s doing a really good job of learning and getting better."
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @Pinakk12
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.
