Mary Wise had never lost to Auburn — until Sunday.
Florida’s head coach came into Sunday’s match 40-0 all time against the Tigers, but the Gators found themselves in a contested battle that went down to the wire.
With the match on the line and Florida down 16-17 in the fifth set, senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino set the ball high to senior middle blocker Simone Antwi.
Antwi, who jumped too early, swung and missed, as the ball fell on UF’s side of the court, deflating the Gators and sending Auburn’s players into a frenzy.
The Tigers defeated the No. 11 Gators in five sets (22-25, 25-16, 26-24, 21-25, 16-18) in Auburn, Alabama, on Sunday, giving them their first win over Florida since 1990.
Wise, who was noticeably upset talking with her players after the game, gave all the credit to Auburn.
"This will be the signature win for their team," she said, "and they deserved the win."
The Gators (18-5, 10-4 Southeastern Conference) still haven’t figured out how to win a five-set match, as they’re now 0-4 in five-setters this season.
Florida had no answer for Auburn’s defense in set one.
The Tigers (14-10, 6-6 SEC) held the Gators to a .000 hitting percentage, the lowest UF has hit in a set since a -.071 mark in the fifth set against Arkansas on Oct. 4.
Florida stumbled into a 7-10 hole before sophomore setter Abby Detering’s serve picked the Gators up.
Detering’s six-point service run, which included back-to-back aces, put UF in the driver’s seat with a 13-10 lead.
But the lead didn’t last long.
Auburn went on a 15-9 run to win the set 25-22.
Florida had won its previous 18 sets prior to dropping the first frame. The Gators last lost a set against Kentucky on Oct. 18, 22-25 in set one, a match they’d go on to win 3-1.
In the second set, UF began to hit its stride.
Florida and Auburn exchanged points in the beginning of the set before a series of service runs.
Senior defensive specialist Nikki O’Rourke helped separate UF with a three-point service run to take a 15-11 lead.
A few points later, sophomore outside hitter Carli Snyder closed out the set with a four-point run behind the line to win it 25-16.
The third set was a battle between both teams.
AU jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, leaving the Gators with work to do.
On cue, Snyder’s serve worked Florida back to tie it up at 5-5.
UF pulled ahead later in the set 23-18, but Auburn responded with fight.
After the Tigers stole five straight points to even the score at 23-23, and again at 24-24, junior right-side hitter Alex Holston pounded back-to-back kills to take set three 26-24.
The fourth set shaped up early like the third, except Auburn prevailed late.
At 18-18, the Tigers began to pull away with four straight points as part of a 7-3 run to win 25-21.
Then came the fifth set.
Florida started off hot, leading 5-2 following back-to-back Auburn attack errors.
The Tigers bounced back and traded points with the Gators, who had a match point at 15-14 after senior outside Ziva Recek hitter slammed a kill.
UF couldn’t take advantage, and Auburn went on to tie up the set 16-16 before a kill and Antwi’s attack error sent the Gators home packing with a loss.
The defeat snapped a nine-game win streak for UF.
Wise said poor serving has had a lot to do with her team’s losses this season.
UF recorded 15 service errors Sunday.
"What’s a common denominator in our losses?" Wise said. "Service errors."
Lost in Florida’s defeat was the defensive performance of O’Rourke, who tallied a career-high 33 digs in the match.
The Gators will look to bounce against Alabama at home Friday night at 7.
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @Pinakk12
UF setter Abby Detering serves during Florida's 3-0 win against Auburn on Oct. 11, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
