The Gators upset No. 2 Stanford on Saturday, but their luck came to an end against No. 1 Penn State on Sunday after they were swept 25–18, 25–17, 25–20.
The Nittany Lions proved to be too much for eighth-ranked Florida after giving the Gators some of their biggest deficits of the season. PSU racked up leads of seven and eight points during the game.
“It was a great experience for our team to play Penn State, who has been amongst the elite for the last several years,” coach Mary Wise said. “They were an elite team today. The separator was the serve-pass game, and they were outstanding today.
“It was a great learning experience for us and we’ll be better from it.”
Florida got solid efforts out of a few players but struggled to get any type of streak going against the Nittany Lions.
Florida had its worst hitting output of the season with only 34 kills and a .194 hitting percentage. UF also had 16 attack errors and only one service ace, compared to PSU’s 12 attack errors and nine service aces.
The Gators have won most of their matches this season with high hitting percentages and solid defense — both were lacking on Sunday. The Gators also had nine reception errors while the Nittany Lions only had one.
“We approached this weekend like all of our preseason tournaments where you learn about players you don’t play on a regular basis,” Wise said. “The turnaround in this tournament is so fast.
“It’s something we don’t have to face in the [Southeastern Conference], because the teams are so familiar with each other. All four non-conference weekends really do prepare us for postseason when you’re learning about players for the first time.”
It was a rough outing for almost all of the Gators’ starters. The few bright spots for Florida were senior middle back Chloe Mann and sophomore setter Mackenzie Dagostino.
Mann led the Gators with 10 kills and had a hitting percentage of .350. Mann didn’t get much help from her teammates.
Sophomore outside hitters Ziva Recek and Gabby Mallette notched a combined total of only 13 kills. Recek finished with a .250 hitting percentage, and Mallette ended the day with a -.053 percentage.
Dagostino, who transferred from Maryland, showed why she was brought into the program and helped soften some of the load on senior setter Taylor Brauneis. Dagostino led the Gators with 15 assists and was second on the team with a .333 hitting percentage.
Sunday was the opposite of how Florida played against Stanford, when the Gators had a hitting percentage of .326 and Recek led the team with 19 kills.
The Gators’ struggles could trigger the return of sophomore outside hitter Noami Santos-Lamb. Santos-Lamb was expected to be a key contributor to the Gators’ attack in 2012, but she missed the season with a torn ACL suffered during training camp.
Santos-Lamb has played sparingly since returning from injury and did not see any time on the court against Stanford or Penn State. Santos-Lamb would provide a solid fourth scoring option after Mann, Recek and freshman setter Alex Holston.
Follow RJ Schaffer on Twitter @rjschaffer.
Sophomore Noami Santos-Lamb gets in position during Florida’s 3-0 victory against New Orleans on Aug. 30 in the O’Connell Center.
