It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
Florida proved that on Sunday.
The UF volleyball team overcame sluggish starts in each set to sweep Auburn 25-23, 25-21, 25-18 on Sunday afternoon in the O’Connell Center.
The No. 17 Gators capped off a perfect weekend homestand that included a win vs. Texas A&M on Friday in which they also didn’t drop a set.
Despite the final score, sloppy play in each set’s early moments became a concerning trend throughout the match.
"It was a sweep in the final box score, but it didn’t feel anything like a sweep," coach Mary Wise said.
The Gators (11-4, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) were plagued throughout the match by poor serving.
The team committed 14 service errors to Auburn’s seven and will need to cut back on the amount of unforced errors if it wants to be one of the best teams in the conference.
"We kept missing serves, and it’s hard to get any rhythm when every other ball is a service error," Wise said. "It happens, some nights you miss free throws."
Auburn (11-6, 3-2 SEC) drew first blood in the opening moment of the match, building a 15-10 lead.
But the Gators fought back, eventually taking the first set 25-23.
The second set, a 25-21 Florida victory, saw 12 tie scores and six lead changes between the teams.
Much like in the first set, Auburn raced out to an early lead to begin the third with a 13-7 advantage.
However, Florida was not about to give in easily.
A blistering 18-5 run crushed any hope of an Auburn comeback and sealed the win for the Gators, 25-18.
"It’s never fun going down in a set, but I think it just shows how hard we have been working at doing that, by our ability, especially in that third set to come back," senior setter Mackenzie Dagostino said.
"The more you see us doing that, the more that we’re having confidence in ourselves, and we fought back so hard in that third set.
On an off day for middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan, the rest of the team picked up the slack.
Junior right side hitter Alex Holston led all players with 12 kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Carli Snyder contributed eight kills while hitting .667.
After a series of tightly contested five-set matches earlier this season, the Gators’ mental toughness has only grown stronger and provided them with the resolve to grind it out in tough situations.
"At the end of the third, I felt that our team just put it into another gear," Wise said.
With Sunday’s victory, Florida improved to 5-1 at home on the season.
Next, the Gators will head to Tennessee to face the Volunteers on Wednesday at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
Follow Brian Lee on Twitter @brianlee_17
UF outside hitter Carli Snyder racked up double-digit kills and eight digs in UF's four-set win over Texas A&M on Wednesday in the O'Connell Center.
