It took one lucky bounce for the Gators to maintain their Southeastern Conference title aspirations in College Station, Texas.
A service ace by junior libero Taylor Unroe that hit the tape on the top of the net gave No. 5 Florida a win in the fifth set (24-26, 25-23, 25-8, 24-26, 16-14) against Texas A&M.
“We rode [Unroe’s] serve today,” coach Mary Wise said. “I don’t think any Texas A&M fan would want her to be going back to serve down there with the score tied and match point on the line. She stepped up big.”
The Aggies had multiple chances to put the match away, including a 14-13 match point in the fifth set before the Gators rallied for three straight points to claim the victory.
Winning the match was critical for Florida, which remains in the hunt for a record 20th SEC regular season title.
No. 7 Missouri swept No. 19 Kentucky on Sunday to stay undefeated and atop the conference.
Needing a win, the Gators turned to Chloe Mann, who had one of the most dominating performances of her career.
The redshirt senior middle blocker recorded a career-high 22 kills to go along with her team-leading .606 hitting percentage.
Freshman outside hitter Alex Holston was also helpful for the Gators, setting a career high with 21 kills on a .459 hitting percentage.
“[Mann and Holston] were just terrific throughout the entire match in terms of, you know, they’re all over everyone’s scouting report and how hard they work to get those kills,” Wise said. ”Those were not easy kills.”
That hitting combination saved Florida from disaster as the rest of the offense struggled against Texas A&M.
Sophomore outside hitters Gabby Mallette and Ziva Recek had 10 kills each, but neither hit better than .133.
Florida has a week off before three straight home matches, beginning with South Carolina on Nov. 13.
Follow RJ Schaffer on Twitter @rjschaffer.
Alex Holston hits the ball during Florida’s four-set win against Western Michigan on Sept. 14 in the O’Connell Center.
