For the second time in five matches, Florida fell behind 2-0. And, for the second time in five matches, Chloe Mann was at the center of the Gators’ come-from-behind win.
The junior middle blocker’s 19 kills and .486 hitting clip were instrumental in helping No. 11 Florida (17-2, 11-0 Southeastern Conference) erase a 2-0 deficit to Texas A&M (15-5, 7-4 SEC) and win in five sets on the road on Sunday (14-25, 25-27, 25-23, 25-23, 15-6).
The Gators dug their own grave early against the Aggies, hitting .149 and registering 11 attacking errors in the first two sets.
“We just struggled,” coach Mary Wise said. “For a team that’s been so good offensively, we were having such a hard time finding kills.”
Florida turned to Mann to dig it out of the hole. She registered 12 kills in the final three sets. She evened the match 2-2 by recording the Gators’ final kill of the fourth set.
Wise said after Sunday’s performance that the 6-foot-2 Gainesville native may be among the conference’s elites.
“Chloe made another statement as maybe the best player in the league,” Wise said. “(During) the set point in Set 4, three players triple jumped and she hit it over them.”
Coming into this weekend, Mann led the SEC and ranked eighth in the country in hitting percentage with a .435 clip. She also ranked among the top five SEC players in kills.
Behind Mann, Florida came back and won after being down 2-0 for the second time this season. UF first accomplished the feat at home against Kentucky on Oct. 6.
Sunday marked Florida’s first road win after falling behind 2-0 since it defeated Arkansas on Nov. 13.
“The win at home down 0-2 is pretty amazing,” Wise said. “But to do this on the road, as well as A&M was playing in this match … I couldn’t be more proud of this group.”
The Gators have won 14 straight matches, marking their longest winning streak since the team won 24 consecutive matches in 2010. That run ended with a loss to Purdue in the Regional Semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.
Florida’s last undefeated conference season also came in 2010, which was the last time the Gators won the SEC.
Junior middle blocker Chloe Mann hits the ball over the net in Florida’s 3-0 win against Arkansas on Oct. 5, 2012, in the O’Connell Center.
