Nearly two months ago, Florida was dominated by Texas.
Back when the Longhorns visited the O’Connell Center in September, they held advantages in blocks and hitting percentage en route to a 3-1 victory.
But a lot can change in two months.
No. 6 Florida (25-3, 18-0 Southeastern Conference) upset No. 3 Texas (23-2, 15-1 Big Ten) 3-2 on the road Saturday night to finish the regular season.
Alex Holston had a career high 29 kills and four blocks, and Mackenzie Dagostino recorded her fourth double-double with 57 assists and 16 digs.
“No matter what the end result was going to be, this was a great match for our players in terms of learning about ourselves,” coach Mary Wise said in a release. “The bonus is that we came out ahead and won on the road against a great Texas team.”
Despite playing in a hostile environment, the Gators performed well under pressure, surviving four back-and-fourth sets and finally outlasting UT to pull out the victory in five sets (26-28, 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12).
After being out-blocked by Texas 16-5 in the first meeting, Florida nearly pulled even in the second matchup with 9 blocks compared to 9.5 for UT.
The Gators were also more efficient, hitting .304 from the floor while the Longhorns hit .248.
In addition to extending its own winning streak to 20 games, UF snapped UT’s eight match winning streak and handed Texas just its second loss of the season.
It was UF’s fifth win against a top-25 opponent this season.
With the victory, Florida reached the 25 win mark for the 24th straight season.
The Gators will return home to prepare for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, which begins on December 4.
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Alex Holston swings for a kill attempt during Florida's 3-0 win against Missouri in the O'Connell Center.
