Florida and NC State had never faced each other in the NCAA Tournament before — that is, until Friday evening in Lawrence, Kansas. The programs hadn’t played each other since Sept. 2, 2017.
Florida, the sixth seed in the lower left region of the bracket and No. 22 in the nation, beat ACC opponent NC State.
Florida started out strong, pushing ahead 9-4 in the first frame with kills from freshman middle blocker Jaela Auguste, sophomore outside hitter Kennedy Martin and fifth-year outside hitter AC Fitzpatrick. NC State called a timeout, hoping to stop the momentum.
A block from freshman setter Taylor Parks put the Gators further ahead, followed by a kill from redshirt senior outside hitter Isabel Martin.
More kills from Isabel Martin and Kennedy Martin pushed Florida ahead 15-9.
Kennedy Martin totaled 18 kills, while Isabel Martin tallied 7 kills.
A block from Auguste and Isabel Martin, in addition to a block from Kennedy Martin, lengthened Florida’s lead 19-14.
An NC State attack error eventually put Florida at set point.
After a three-point run from NC State, Florida closed out the set 25-18 with a kill from AC Fitzpatrick.
Kennedy Martin scored Florida’s first point in the second set, but four attack errors from the Gators put the Wolfpack up 4-3.
A kill from Auguste tied the set, followed by an NC State kill and an ace from junior libero Emily Canaan.
After a service error from Canaan, Isabel Martin worked in a kill, bringing Florida to a 10-7 lead.
UF’s lead shrunk to 12-11 after an attack error from Kennedy Martin and back-to-back NC State kills.
The Gators were able to maintain their lead 15-13 after two Wolfpack errors and a kill from Fitzpatrick.
After a media timeout, NC State scored back-to-back kills, tying the set.
Kennedy Martin went on to throw down a kill to get UF back on track. Parks followed it up with an ace, putting the Gators up 20-17.
With Florida in range to win the set, NC State took a timeout and returned to the court with a kill and an ace, trailing by one. Kennedy Martin answered with a kill, maintaining the Gator lead.
Fifth-year libero Elli McKissock and Isabel Martin each served aces, pushing Florida ahead 22-19.
A service and attack error from the Wolfpack put the Gators at set point, where Kennedy Martin closed out the frame 25-21 out with a kill.
With two sets under Florida’s belt and the end of their season in sight, NC State opened the third frame on a three-point scoring run.
However, Florida responded by going ahead 10-7 following kills from Auguste and Isabel Martin in addition to two consecutive NC State attack errors.
The Gators added two more points to the scoreboard after back-to-back errors from the Wolfpack.
Isabel Martin served back-to-back aces, followed by two more NC State attack errors.
She served another one, extending Florida's scoring run to seven points with a lead of 21-11.
A kill from Kennedy Martin, Thomas, and a Wolfpack attack error putFlorida was put at match point.
Kennedy Martin served an ace to close things out, claiming the match 25-13 on behalf of the Gators.
The Gators will face the winner of the Kansas vs. Colgate match 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Kansas and Colgate are scheduled to play at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
UF is looking for its ninth all-time NCAA Semifinals appearance. The program hasn’t made it to the semifinals since 2017.
Contact Shaine Davison at sdavison@alligator.org. Follow her on X @shainedavison.
