Under Mary Wise’s tenure as coach, the Gators have lost to the Bulldogs only once.
That did not change Sunday.
Florida rallied to defeat Georgia at home on Sunday afternoon. UF extended its’ sweep streak to nine by winning all three sets against UG 25-15, 25-15, 25-18.
Florida now leads its all-time series with Georgia to 56-9.
“At least this weekend we did not have point runs scored against us,” Wise said. “Even if it wasn’t a first wing kill to be able to win the rally…This team is showing more and more patience that way.
During the first set’s match point, Georgia’s Stacey Smith killed it into the crowd. Immediately after, a serving error from Georgia’s Allison Summers won Florida the set 25-15.
Florida freshman Alex Holston took a cue from senior middle blocker Chloe Mann. Holston committed no hitting errors in the first set. Overall, Holston recorded the highest hitting percentage of any Gator at .714. Mann was second to Holston with .588.
“Her numbers are just eye-popping. These numbers would be outstanding if she were a senior,” Wise said. “These are numbers you would see maybe in a junior or senior middle, but not in a pin hitter who’s a freshman.”
Wise went on to say that she expects Holston to be named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
The Gators closed the second set with a service error from junior Holly Pole, followed by an attack error from Georgia that ended the second straight set at 25-15.
Georgia rallied at the end of the third set, scoring three consecutive points before sophomore outside hitter Ziva Recek finally made the game-winning kill.
Florida cut its serving errors in half from 18 on Friday against Kentucky to just nine versus Georgia.
Sophomore outside hitter Gabby Mallette attributed this success to Saturday’s team practice, in which Wise stressed the importance of not committing serving errors.
“After Friday’s match, Mary made it a really big point that the whole game starts off of serving and passing,” Mallette said. “We all just had a really good mindset and what she was giving us we took it and focused on it and really made it a priority in this match.”
The next two outings for the No. 4 Gators (17-1, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) will be on the road. First up is a match against No. 16 Arkansas on Friday, followed by a Sunday match against undefeated No. 12 Missouri.
Follow Erica A. Hernandez on Twitter @EricaAlyssa.
Alex Holston hits the ball during Florida’s four-set win against Western Michigan on Sept. 14 in the O’Connell Center.
