Throughout the first two sets of Florida’s match against the Auburn Tigers, offense was hard to come by. Both teams found it hard to get anything going consistently and errors accounted for many of the points.
Off an attack from Auburn late in the third set, UF outside hitter Carli Snyder saved the ball, sending it back over to Auburn. Then the same exact thing happened again, with Snyder getting the save and the Gators pushing it back over.
On a third Auburn attack, Snyder received the set and slammed down a kill to put Florida up 23-19. In a match gasping for offense, the kill acted as a turning point for the offense.
“She did a whole lot well for us,” head coach Mary Wise said after the match. “Her passing, her serving, her hitting.”
Coming off a tough loss to Missouri on Sunday, No. 9 Florida (25-3, 15-2 SEC) bounced back against a feisty Auburn team in four sets, led by its veteran trio of Snyder, right-side hitter Alex Holston and middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan.
Although the Tigers (15-15, 9-8 SEC) haven’t seen too much success throughout the season, largely due to injuries at key positions, they still acted as a tough opponent for the Gators early on.
“In all honesty, this is the match I was most worried about,” Wise said. “Win or lose at Missouri, what could we get out of them?”
Defensively, Auburn didn’t allow easy points.
Senior middle blocker Breanna Barksdale had a strong outing, knotting 13 kills and a career high 11 total blocks.
In the second set, the Tigers dominated early, leading by as much as eight points. They overcame a late 8-1 run to take the second frame 25-22.
Through the first three sets, Florida trailed Auburn in hitting percentage, totaling a mark of .186 as opposed to Auburn’s slightly stronger .188.
However, the fourth set saw a change in Florida’s offensive and defensive output, as the Gators cruised to a finish.
Alhassan gathered a double-double on the night, notching 11 kills to go along with 10 blocks. With that, the junior posted her second double-double of the season.
Holston tied Barksdale for most kills through the night, pumping out 13 while hitting an efficient .345.
The Gators will conclude the regular season on the road against Arkansas Saturday at 2 p.m. Every play will be crucial, as they still look for a shot at a share of the 2016 SEC title.
Florida also hopes to get a chance to host some early round action in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, so a win would put the Gators in better position.
“That’s certainly our hope,” Wise said of returning to the Lemerand Center for tournament play. “At that point, it’s out of our control.”
Contact Skyler Lebron at slebron@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @skylerlebron .
UF outside hitter Carli Snyder swings for a kill attempt during Florida's 3-1 win on Sept. 20, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
