Even as Chloe Mann tied her career high with 20 kills in just three sets, the Gators’ defense stole the show.
No. 11 Florida (15-2, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) blocked and dug its way past Auburn on Sunday in the O’Connell Center to earn its 10th sweep of the season (25-19, 25-19, 25-15). For the fourth straight match, the Gators notched at least 10 team blocks, and they had three players notch nine digs or more.
Coach Mary Wise said many of her team’s mistakes on the offensive side of the ball, such as passing errors, were masked by UF’s blocking effort.
Florida’s 10 blocks on Sunday were 2.5 more blocks than its season average in three-set matches.
Mann led the team both offensively with 20 kills and defensively with seven blocks against Auburn (13-6, 4-5 SEC).
“The blocking makes up for mistakes,” Wise said. “Not even the stuff blocks, just the control blocks or at least funneling the balls. The players in this league are just too big, too physical that you’ve got to block balls to have any chance.”
Florida held Auburn to a sub-.300 hitting percentage in the first two sets. UF remains undefeated when holding opponents below that mark for an entire match.
However, Wise’s defense buckled down even more in the third and final set, limiting the Tigers to an .029 hitting clip.
Sophomore defensive specialist Madison Monserez’s nine digs marked the second most among Gators. Sophomore Taylor Unroe led the way with 11 digs, while freshman Ziva Recek added nine.
Monserez said Florida’s blocking and positioning aided her defensive effort.
“They were in the right spots, so it was easy for us to line up behind it, and I think that was a big part of the defense today,” she said. “Definitely the blocking helped today.”
The Gators are 6-0 when registering 10 or more blocks in a match.
Senior middle blocker Betsy Smith, whose 38 blocks on the year rank third for UF, said Florida’s recent play at the net is due to increased comfort with Wise’s scheme.
“It is getting used to our game plans and knowing what we’re supposed to do, and really buying into them and knowing what their hitters are doing before they even know what they’re doing,” Smith said. “It’s a lot more cerebral than you would think.”
Chloe Mann (10) spikes the ball over Missouri’s Whitney Little (8) during UF’s 3-0 win on Sept. 21, 2012, in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
