Alabama Volleyball Swept by #3 Florida in SEC Opener
9/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The University of Alabama volleyball team opened their conference schedule on Friday night with a 3-0 (30-16, 30-14, 30-20) road loss against 12-time defending SEC Champion Florida.
The loss snapped a three-match win streak by the Tide and dropped their season record to 5-7 (0-1 SEC). Florida, ranked No. 3 in the nation, improved to 13-1 overall winning their 13th straight match this year and their 115th consecutive regular season SEC contest.
Alabama held its own against the talented Gator squad to start game one. Florida broke things open midway through the frame as reigning SEC Player of the Year Audy Cruz sparked a seven-point spurt from the service line. Cruz tallied four aces in the run that put UF in front 19-6. Florida hit an impressive .435 and held the Tide to a -.097 performance en route to the 30-16 win.
Game two saw Bama and Florida trade points to seven, than an eight point surge by the Gators changed everything. Cruz again led the charge for UF from the service line adding another pair of aces and keeping the UA offense out of system with her aggressive jump serve. Alabama continued to battle, but Florida closed the game scoring 9 of the final 10 points for the 30-14 victory.
Florida came out after the break on a mission taking a quick double-digit advantage over the Tide (15-4). Alabama refused to quit eventually closing the gap to eight at 28-20, but it was too little too late as the Gators closed out the match, 30-20.
For the match, Alabama's offense struggled for any consistency finishing with a -.067 hitting percentage. Julie Farley was the lone Tide player to hit on the positive side (.286). Erin Heffner recorded a team high eight kills while Farley paced the defense with four blocks.
Cruz finished for Florida with six service aces. Jane Collymore was the offensive star of the night posting 19 kills for the Gators.
Alabama continues its SEC opening road trip on Sunday as the Tide take on the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens at 1:30 p.m. (ET).
Alabama (5-7, 0-1) 16-14-20
Florida (13-1, 1-0) 30-30-30
