In a clash between two of the Southeastern Conference’s elite, Florida turned in one of its most impressive performances of the season.
Bolstered by a stifling defense and an efficient offense, the Gators made quick work of Missouri, dispatching the Tigers in straight sets, 25-12, 25-14, 25-17, for their fifth sweep in the last six matches.
Seeking redemption for a five set loss at the hands of the Tigers on Sept. 30, No. 15 Florida (15-4, 7-3 SEC) rocketed out of the gates early, beginning the match on a blistering 10-2 run from which Missouri never recovered. The Gators cruised to a 25-12 victory to take the first set.
The second set got off to an even start, with both teams trading points in the early going.
But with the score tied at 11-11, Florida went on a sizable run and took control by winning 14 of the next 17 points, putting a stranglehold on the match.
The teams were knotted at 11 points apiece again early in the third set.
In the end, Florida’s dominance was too much for the Tigers to overcome.
A block by senior middle blocker Simone Antwi and junior right side hitter Alex Holston on the final play punctuated the victory as the Gators buried the Tigers, 25-17.
"You can tell that the team was playing really close, really connected today," senior outside hitter Ziva Recek, who had 11 kills and 10 digs on the afternoon, said.
"We lost against them before and we had more details about them, more information on how we have to prepare on them. … It feels great to execute and go on the court and beat them."
Once again, Florida’s suffocating defense proved to be the difference maker, holding Missouri to just a .009 team hitting percentage. It’s the sixth time this season that the Gators have held their opponent under a .100 hitting clip.
"It feels great. It’s a nice reflection on how much time we put into getting better at the areas we needed to improve on in the past month," sophomore outside hitter Carli Snyder, who had a game-high 12 kills, said.
"We’re not going to settle now that we’ve avenged certain matches. I don’t think we thought of it as revenge, I think we thought of it as this is where we can get better and we’re going to show how much better we got the next time we play them."
UF’s offensive efficiency has been steady during its current win streak to complement the defense. The Gators hit .398 as a team and had 45 kills to the Tigers' 25. Florida also committed only eight attack errors on Sunday, compared to Missouri’s 24.
The last time they played, it was Florida who was sloppy.
"I think the biggest difference between this match and the one a month ago against Missouri was how low error we were," coach Mary Wise said.
"I thought our team was locked in."
The Gators next play South Carolina in a road matchup on Friday at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network +.
Follow Brian Lee on Twitter @brianlee_17
UF outside hitter Ziva Recek swings for a kill during Florida's 3-0 win against Texas A&M on Oct. 9, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
