A kneeling Taylor Unroe swung at the ball and connected, keeping the play alive.
Then, senior outside hitter Stephanie Ferrell disposed of LSU’s retaliation with a kill, putting No. 13 Florida up 24-23 in the second set.
An attack error by the Tigers (11-6, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) on the next play sealed the most challenging set of the day for the Gators, who cruised to a surprising 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-8) win against SEC West leader LSU on Sunday in the O’Connell Center.
“Of all the players on our team, [Unroe would] be the one I’d have confidence she could make that play,” coach Mary Wise said. “Taylor’s got such game to her.”
The domination of the defensive-minded Tigers, who rank third in the SEC with 15.63 digs per set, stemmed from the Gators’ back-court effort, which was led by Unroe.
“Our goal was just to come out and match [LSU’s defensive energy],” Unroe said.
“It turns out we’re a lot scrappier and we’re a great defensive team.”
After recording just six digs in Friday’s 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 29-27) victory against Arkansas (11-7, 3-4 SEC), Unroe upped her total to a team-best 16 against the Tigers on Sunday.
“She took some extra reps [Saturday],” Wise said.
“(She) felt like she left some digs on the court Friday night and asked for some extra work — she brought that work ethic.
“She saw the game from a defensive standpoint the way she sees it in terms of serve-receive.”
Eight players recorded digs for the Gators (13-3, 6-1 SEC) against the Tigers, giving Florida a 52-34 advantage in that category.
One of those Gators was freshman defensive specialist Madison Monserez, who has become a staple in the UF backcourt this season.
Monserez chalked up eight digs against the Tigers on Sunday.
“Maddie’s always scrappy,” Unroe said.
“She’s a great person to play with in the back row when Steph’s not in, and she’s just everywhere.”
Monserez’s role on the team has been in a rotation with Ferrell.
The freshman usually comes in on defense to sub in for the former Hawaii standout.
Ferrell’s specialty remains offense, which Wise has described as “streaky” in the past.
The Los Angeles native started the weekend on the wrong foot, recording just five kills and hitting .050 against the Razorbacks on Friday.
However, Ferrell’s effort against LSU was dramatically improved.
She hit .375, recorded three digs and tied senior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel for the team lead with 11 kills.
“When she swings, she swings with no fear,” Wise said.
Ferrell twisted her ankle when landing after a kill late in the second set, but she chose to stay in the game.
She played through the rest of the match with no further problems.
“It was more so a scare play for me,” Ferrell said.
“I’ve had a lot of history with this ankle, but it’s better — I’ll be fine.”
Redshirt freshman libero Taylor Unroe (55) was one of eight Gators to record a dig in Sunday’s sweep of LSU. Florida had 18 more digs than the defensive-minded Tigers.
