When junior middle blocker Amaya Thomas slammed the winning point home in front of a rowdy Stephen O’Connell Center crowd, it capped off a stellar group effort by Florida volleyball.
Five different Gators racked up eight or more kills, with four Florida players reaching the double-digit mark.
Leading the way was redshirt senior outside hitter Isabel Martin with 14 kills. Freshman middle blocker Jaela Auguste and Thomas added 12 kills each while setting new respective career highs.
Fellow freshman middle blocker Alec Rothe secured 10 more kills, while fifth-year outside hitter AC Fitzpatrick contributed with eight kills of her own.
Setting all of that offense up was freshman setter Taylor Parks, who crushed her career-high with 50 assists. She also recorded a joint team-high three service aces in the contest.
Behind the firepower from all angles of the court, the No. 11 Gators (5-1) got the better of Ohio State (3-2) in a 3-1 match victory.
“It was an incredibly gritty performance to play our third match in three days with such a short bench,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said post-match. “We’re asking a whole lot of our players, and they came through with a lot of grit and maturity.”
The Gators were still without redshirt sophomore setter Alexis Stucky and sophomore outside hitter Kennedy Martin, who are recovering from a pair of respective injuries.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair that featured nine ties and three lead changes. However, the Buckeyes pulled ahead with a 9-4 run, eventually claiming the set 25-20.
“That first set, we were right there at 15-15, but we weren’t able to finish it,” Wise said. “Those are things we’ll learn from.”
In the second set, Florida maintained a tight lead throughout the action. Auguste and Thomas recorded four kills a piece in the set to keep UF in front. Eventually, the Gators won the set 25-20.
Graduate transfer setter Erin Engel recorded a service ace in her first play as a Gator during the second set. She also recorded service aces in the third and fourth sets.
The Gators started out the third hot, leading by as many as eight points early on. The Buckeyes quickly responded, winning ten of the next twelve points to bring the set within two.
Nevertheless, Florida remained unphased, never surrendering the lead despite immense pressure from Ohio State. UF took a crucial 25-23 win in the third set, as Auguste led the way with six kills.
Similar to the game’s opening set, the fourth set featured back-and-forth action and a score that emulated the close nature of the game. Overall, there were seven ties and three lead changes in the set before the Gators pulled ahead and put the match to rest with a 25-21 set victory.
Following two wins and one loss in the Florida Invitational, the Gators now head to Atlanta for a matchup against No. 19 Georgia Tech on Sep. 11 at 7 pm ET, where Coach Wise says “the challenge won’t get any easier.”
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X @maxbernstein23.
