As Florida’s libero, it’s not Caroline Knop’s job to score, but her perfectly-placed service ace split two Ole Miss defenders, sealing the deal on the road against Ole Miss on Friday.
Knop’s only point of the night gave the No. 1 Gators (14-0, 6-0 SEC) a 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-16) win over the Rebels (12-8, 3-4 SEC).
Knop’s late-match heroics were overshadowed by a scintillating performance from Rhamat Alhassan.
“She was dominant,” coach Mary Wise said after the game. “She was a first team All-American in every way, shape or form.”
Alhassan scored early and often, picking up nine of her 20 kills in the first set.
She tied her season-high in kills in just three sets (her 20 against Arkansas came in five sets) and set a new season-high in hitting percentage as well.
Her previous best was a .750 mark against N.C. State. Against Ole Miss, Alhassan hit an error-free .769, converting 20 of her 26 attacks into points.
“Rhamat made such good decisions,” Wise said. “Cheyenne set the ball very well for her… and CK (Caroline Knop) passed particularly well.”
The Rebels made the visiting Gators work for it in the first set, but couldn’t keep up in the second or third.
Aside from the Gators’ 13 service errors, the Rebels were thrashed in the box score.
Florida produced 39 kills with just 10 attack errors, and a team hitting percentage of .305. Ole Miss had more attack errors (29) than kills (25) and were held to -.036 by the nation’s No. 6 hitting percentage defense.
The Gators controlled the net, racking up 11 blocks. In contrast, the Rebels had just 3.
Carli Snyder, the team’s leading points scorer this season, totaled four kills and trailed just Knop (20) with 11 digs.
Wise has won all 43 matches played against Ole Miss since her first season as head coach in 1991, and her team’s 6-0 SEC record is the best start in league play since the 2014 team, which finished with an 18-0 conference record and 28-4 overall.
Additionally, the Gators are closing in the 2007 team’s 16-0 run to open the season. That team finished 29-3 overall with just one conference loss.
Florida will now shift its focus to a top-10 clash with Kentucky on Sunday. The No. 8 Wildcats (15-2, 6-0 SEC) travel to Gainesville for a 1 p.m. showdown between the only ranked SEC teams.
“I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Kentucky is a Final Four-team,” Wise said before the Gators left for Oxford. “They’re the best offensive team we’ll play all year.”
You can follow Andrew Huang on Twitter @AndrewJHuang, and contact him at ahuang@alligator.org.
UF libero Caroline Knop serves the ball during Florida's 3-0 win against Florida A&M on Friday at the O'Connell Center.
