Florida claims season-opener
August 25th, 2006
Redshirt freshman middle blocker Kristina Johnson finished with match-highs in kills (12) and points (14.0) as the #5 University of Florida volleyball team won its 35th consecutive match against instate foes with a season-opener 30-14, 30-17, 30-15 win against South Florida before a crowd of 2,122 fans on Friday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The Gators finished with a whopping 13.5 blocks as four players tallied at least four blocks. In the 800th match in school history, Florida (1-0) had more kills (50-29), aces (5-0), digs (43-40) and blocks (13.5-1.0), while out-hitting South Florida .410-.009.
“Tonight’s match was a really good place to start,” said Florida head coach Mary Wise, who improved to 10-1 in season-openers at home at UF. “To get 13.5 blocks and hit over .400 was a good way to begin the season. It didn’t look like the first match of the year because there were so many bright spots. But, we’ll see if some cracks show when we play a physical Utah team tomorrow night.”
Junior opposite hitter Amber McCray also reached double-figures in kills for the Gators with 11 on 19 swings (.579 hitting). Junior setter Angie McGinnis ended the match with a solid line * 38 assists, seven blocks and four kills on .500 hitting. Freshman libero Elyse Cusack also shined in her Gator debut with a match-high 17 digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bowers helped the Gator block with six block assists, while adding eight kills on 11 attempts (.727 hitting), while McCray and Johnson each added four block assists.
The victory extended Florida’s winning streak against instate rivals to 35 matches as UF hasn’t lost a match to another team from the state of Florida since 1994.
