Coach Mary Wise will have plenty for her squad to work on before Sunday.
In a five-set matchup between No. 7 Florida (5-3) and unranked Marquette (7-3), the Gators were unable to pull away with a win.
Despite solid performances from junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino and freshman middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan, errors plagued Florida and gave Marquette the edge.
For the first time in three years, the Eagles pulled out a win that could have gone either way.
“We’ve come to expect some better play by some people that just had an off night,” Wise said. “And you have an off night when the team you’re playing is playing real well, we’re lucky they went five and we almost pulled it out.”
Even with the errors, Dagostino and Alhassan’s shining performances couldn’t be ignored.
Dagostino finished the night with a double-double – her first of the season – and made six service aces, breaking her single game record.
“It’s going back there (when serving) and just completely emptying your brain is the best way to describe it,” Dagostino said. “We have a joke on the team, there been a couple times where Dave Boos has been yelling at me to float serve instead of top spin and I don’t hear him – I don’t see him, I don’t hear him and it’s because I just completely block everything out.”
The junior setter finished the night with five kills on six attempts, 43 assists, 17 digs and five blocks with no errors.
Alhassan also made a double-double on the night.
The 6-foot-4 freshman has become an integral cog in the machine that is Florida volleyball. Only having played eight games for Florida in her entire career, she’s become instrumental on blocking and as of Friday night, she’s now serving and playing in the back for the squad.
Alhassan finished the night with 11 kills on 23 attempts and three errors, one service ace and 10 total blocks for the night.
With a loss to Marquette in the books, Florida looks forward to Sunday when it faces unranked Central Florida.
Follow Eden Otero on Twitter @edenotero_l
Freshman middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan swings for a kill during Florida's 3-0 win against Idaho on Aug. 29 in the O'Connell Center.
