During the first set of Wednesday night’s matchup between No. 5 Florida and Kentucky, UF outside hitter Carli Snyder drilled a ball off a perfect set from Allie Monserez.
And like an impenetrable wall, UK’s frontcourt duo of Emily Franklin and Brooke Morgan stopped it.
Riding the second-longest win streak in the country, the Gators (12-2, 2-1 Southeastern Conference), played in front of a packed and raucous crowd at the Lemerand Athletic Center and came out flat, losing the match in a clean sweep to the Wildcats (10-4, 3-0 SEC).
Down 2-0 in the match, the Gators managed to take an early lead in the third set.
But it didn’t matter.
Florida struggled in all phases of the game, especially on defense.
For a team that boasts some of the most talented defensive specialists in the country, including the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week in libero Caroline Knop, the Gators had no answer for Kentucky’s Leah Edmond.
The freshman outside hitter dominated the Gators, slamming down 19 kills to the tune of a .325 hitting percentage.
“She’s hitting over Rhamat (Alhassan),” UF coach Mary Wise said of Edmond. “She’s a very special player.”
Knop, who registered a career-high 31 digs against Ole Miss just two matches ago, and freshman defensive specialist Allie Gregory struggled against the Wildcats’ attack.
Kentucky, powered by the 6-foot-2 Edmond, totaled a whopping 49 kills, spreading the Gators’ defenders all over the court.
On the offensive end, it wasn’t much better for Florida.
An otherwise high-powered attack was rendered useless against the Wildcats, in large part due to UK libero Ashley Dusek, who had a double-digit dig performance, and a ferocious frontcourt that stuffed the Gators on 11 attempts.
Snyder, Florida’s leader in kills (173) and kills per set (3.84), had an unusually rough night.
The junior, who hit -.083 in the first set, tallied only six kills against the Wildcats.
To make matters worse for Florida, the team couldn’t look to its captain — 6-foot-4 middle blocker Alhassan — for consistency.
The junior All-American registered just five kills and struggled with her accuracy, hitting .111.
Alex Holston was the lone bright spot for Florida.
The senior right-side hitter was Florida’s leading point scorer in the match, slamming down 15 kills and scoring 15.5 points.
“I don’t think we really had our chemistry tonight,” Holston said. “We were being a little too conservative instead of going all out for it.
“I think Kentucky just made a lot of great plays tonight offensively and defensively.”
Wise chalked up fatigue as a potential reason for her team’s struggles against the Wildcats.
Florida recently came off a two-game road trip and has logged plenty of miles so far this season.
“The road caught up to us,” Wise said. “My team is incredibly fatigued.”
Regardless of fatigue or mental errors, Wise's sentiment remained the same: Kentucky played lights out.
“Kentucky was too good,” she said.
Contact Ray Boone at rboone@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @rboone1994.
Right-side hitter Alex Holston swings for a kill during Florida's 3-1 win against Miami in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 6 in the O'Connell Center.
