Alabama
Florida
Volleyball Falls, 3-0, at No. 17 Florida
11/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 4, 2011
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Alabama Crimson Tide volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (16-25, 12-25, 21-25) Southeastern Conference loss to the No. 17 ranked Florida Gators on Friday from the O'Connell Center. With the loss, Alabama falls to 11-15 overall and 4-11 in SEC play and the Gators improve to 18-5 and 11-3 in conference play with the win.
Alabama got a team-high nine kills from Kayla Fitterer, while Andrea McQuaid chipped in with eight. Leigh Moyer and Brianne Vande Griend had five kills each and Stephanie Riley led the team with 26 of the team's 27 assists. Cristina Arenas and McQuaid led the Tide with six digs each and Katherine White had a team-high four total blocks.
Florida controlled the match from beginning to end, as the Gators outhit the Crimson Tide .333 to .091 overall, en route to a season sweep of Alabama. Tangerine Wiggs paced the Gators with 10 kills, hitting .500, with three blocks. Kelly Murphy had six kills, 21 assists, four digs and three aces and Chloe Mann added six kills and four total blocks.
The opening set was back and forth to start, as the score was tied at 13-13 midway through the set. After a kill by Moyer tied the score at 13, Florida put the foot on the gas to score five straight points. The Gators ended the set by scoring on seven of the final nine serves to win the opening frame, 25-16. Florida hit .409 in the set, while the Crimson Tide hit .207.
The second set opened with the score tied at 7-7, but the Gators bounced out to 12-8 lead following a pair of Tide errors. UF then scored eight of the next 11 points to open a 20-11 lead, and after UA got its final point of the set on a service error by the Gators, Florida scored the final five points to close out the set with a 25-12 difference. Florida hit over .500 to dominate the set, while holding Alabama to a .125 hitting mark in the middle frame.
Florida continued its control of the match, winning the third set 25-17. Alabama was held to a negative hitting number in the matches final set, while the Gators posted a .139 hitting mark. The Tide trailed big early (12-4) but rallied to get within four (20-16) following a kill by Vande Griend. UA got as close as 24-21 following a block by White, but a kill by UF's Stephanie Farrell ended the match.
Alabama continues SEC play on Sunday when it travels to South Carolina for a 12 p.m. CT, match against the Gamecocks. The match, which will be played at the Volleyball Competition Center, will be televised live on FSN Sports South.
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