The Official Website of the Southeastern Conference
The Official Website of the Southeastern Conference

No. 6 Florida sweeps South Carolina

2580 days ago
Florida Athletics
Photo: Florida Athletics

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The No. 6 Gators hit above .350 for the seventh consecutive match and tied their season high of nine service aces in a sweep of South Carolina on Friday (Nov. 11), extending their winning streak to 11, sweep streak to seven, and giving them a half-game lead in the SEC standings.

This is the first time since 2003 the Gators hit above .350 in seven straight matches. The 2003 Gators, who played for the national title and were the last UF team to reach the NCAA Semifinals, registered a clip of .350 or better in eight matches (Sep. 20-Oct. 12).

Junior libero Caroline Knop spearheaded UF's effective serving night with six aces. Knop joins Mackenzie Dagostino (Sep. 19, 2014) as the only other Gator since 2012 with six-plus service aces in a match. The Pasadena, Calif. native is also the first Gator since Kristy Jaeckel (2011) to post six-plus aces in a three-set match.

Florida enjoyed yet another solid passing night as well, with redshirt sophomore Allie Monserez racking up 40 assists and helping four Gators-Rhamat Alhassan, Alex Holston, Rachael Kramer, Carli Snyder-notch at least eight kills.

Holston tallied a match-high 11 kills, marking the fifth time in UF's last six matches she finished with at least 10. Snyder was the only other Gator to reach double figures, logging 10 kills for her 17th match with double-digit kills this year.

Florida scored the first five points in set one to race to a 25-13 opening-set victory, which featured five of the team's nine aces. Set two saw both teams make runs to tie the match at 18-18, though the Gators stiffened defensively and took seven of the final nine points. UF built a 16-8 lead in the clinching set before closing out a 25-15 win.