The quaint Tully Gymnasium in Tallahassee was packed Wednesday night as announcers yelled over the intercom for people to clear the aisleways and fans stood about seven rows deep in the corners just to get a glimpse of the famous in-state rivalry.
The anticipation didn’t disappoint. At least it didn’t for the UF fans in attendance.
The No. 11 Gators (6-3) took home a win from Tallahassee over the Seminoles (4-5) in four sets (25-22, 25-22, 16-25, 25-19).
Freshman outside hitter Thayer Hall logged the most kills (12) for the night for the Gators.
But the real excitement came as junior middle blocker Rachael Kramer closed out the fourth set with back-to-back kills, her eighth and ninth of the night.
The 6-foot-8 offensive weapon led both rosters with seven blocks for the match, just two more than sophomore right-side attacker and setter Holly Carlton logged.
The first two sets saw a dominant Florida force. Despite the Seminoles having more kills (25) in the first two sets, they committed errors at a high pace (15). Where Florida lacked in kills during the opening sets (21), the team made up for it in blocks (8).
“This was a typical Florida-Florida State match with both teams playing extremely hard,” UF coach Mary Wise said in a release. “It might not have been the cleanest match, but it made for great drama."
The real heat came during the third set when UF faced its biggest challenge of the evening. Florida State’s smaller offensive stars started taking advantage of the Gators’ height by turning the Gators’ biggest asset against them. The hitters would use the tips of Florida’s fingers to send attacks out of bounds, still securing major kills despite the high swings that would have ordinarily traveled out of bounds.
FSU only made three hitting errors on 27 swings, hitting .370 for the third set. But the team also used an aggressive serving strategy to its advantage.
The Seminoles jumped out to a seven-point lead in the third set, much in part because of Payton Caffrey’s work behind the service line. The 6-foot outside hitter varied her serve, switching from a jump top-spin to a standing-float or a jump-float serve.
The Gators will use the momentum from the midweek matchup as they prepare for the Gator Invitational this weekend, facing Jacksonville and Florida International starting Friday afternoon.
You can follow Mari Faiello on Twitter @faiello_mari or contact her mfaiello@alligator.org.
Outside hitter Thayer Hall posted a team-high 12 kills against Florida State to help the No. 11 Gators to a 3-1 win in Tallahassee Wednesday night.
