Florida played its last home match of this season Saturday night and it was arguably the most exciting match ever to be played in Gainesville.
The No. 1 Gators (29-1, 20-0 Southeastern Conference) defeated Florida State in a breathtaking five-set match 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-21, 17-15) to advance to the NCAA regional semifinals.
“This match lived up to its billing, and I can’t say enough good things about how well Florida State played,” coach Mary Wise said. “I don’t think we’ve played a team all year that has passed as consistently as they did.”
The match between the rivals was one of ups and downs for both sides. There were eight ties in the first set, none in a close second set, four in the third set, 10 in the fourth set and eight in the fifth set.
“To make a run in this tournament you got to be healthy, you got to have some pretty good talent and once in a while along the way you got to catch a break,” Wise said. “I think we caught a break tonight.”
Junior setter Kelly Murphy led the Gators with a triple double. Murphy hit .385 on her way to recording a match-high 19 kills, 21 assists and 12 digs. She also recorded two blocks.
Murphy also became the 17th player in UF history to record 1,000 kills.
“It would have been pretty bittersweet to have our season end with a loss to Florida State,” Murphy said.
“I just think that any second round match with any team playing in their possible last match of the season is bound to be exciting.”
Things looked bleak for the Gators as they trailed in the fifth set by scores of 12-7, 14-13 and 15-14. However, the Gators battled to the end, rallying to victory and closing the Seminoles’ season.
“We’ve been in high drama, and second-round matches are some of the best in the tournament,” Wise said. “With very little preparation time from one match to the next, you’re playing a team that’s just coming off a big win. Oh yeah: and it’s Florida State and they played terrific.”
Junior middle blocker Cassandra Anderson came up big on defense for the Gators, recording a match-high 12 blocks along with eight digs.
Florida had a higher hitting percentage and recorded more kills, assists, service aces, digs and blocks than the Seminoles.
However, the Gators also had six more service errors and four more attack errors.
The Gators will take on Purdue (23-10) on Friday in Austin, Texas. Purdue — Wise’s alma mater—is the tournament’s 16th seed.
“I was thinking ‘7-12,’” Wise said. “This team has been here before. We were down 7-12 against Nebraska in Omaha, and this team came back and won, so I shouldn’t doubt them. I just knew that at that specific point there was no room for error. We had to play perfect. The effort level and some of those digs were just outstanding. Some nights when it’s not going well, you’re lucky and you move on.”
