Rhamat Alhassan can do it all.
On the biggest stage No. 4 Florida has been on this year, the sophomore middle blocker didn’t disappoint.
Behind her team-high 13 kills, the Gators (4-0) defeated No. 3 Texas (25-20, 21-25, 25-18, 26-24) Saturday afternoon in Austin, Texas, as part of the 2015 VERT Challenge.
Using her 38-inch vertical and 11-foot-3 jump reach, Alhassan tallied six block assists and three solo blocks. The 6-foot-4 Glenarden, Maryland, native also served up a team-high two aces.
“Rhamat’s numbers are going to garner a lot of attention, as they should, but this is a team win because so many people contributed,” coach Mary Wise said in a release.
Texas (4-1) and Florida split the first two sets to make the match a game of tug-o-war. In the third set, UF dominated the Longhorns, hitting .517 while recording zero errors.
Up 2-1 in the match, both teams consistently traded points toward the end of the fourth set. At match point in 24-22, the Gators dropped two straight before Alex Holston and Simone Antwi both slammed down kills for the win.
Florida and Texas split both games against each other last year. UF won a thriller in Texas on Nov. 29 in five sets.
“Winning in Austin is not easy, whether it’s late in the season or early in the season,” Wise said. “But today we got such great contributions by so many people it enabled us to be successful.”
In a quick turnaround, Florida travels to Honolulu to take on Eastern Washington Thursday as part of the 2015 Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge. The Gators play three matches in Hawaii before returning home for their home opener against St. John’s on Sep. 17.
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Middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan swings for a kill during Florida's 3-0 win against Mississippi State on Oct. 26, 2014, in the O'Connell Center.
