Amber leads Florida over rival Tennessee

October 1st, 2006

Junior opposite hitter Amber McCray collected 13 kills on .407 hitting to lead the 10th-ranked Florida Volleyball team to a sweep of #17 Tennessee (30-22, 30-16, 30-20) in front of packed Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd of 3,250.

The Gators (12-2 overall, 5-1 SEC) improved to 30-3 against Tennessee (13-3, 4-2) under head coach Mary Wise and to 17-2 under her at the O’Connell Center against the Lady Vols. Florida ended with more kills (54-35), digs (59-50) and blocks (8-3), and also out hit the Lady Volunteers .377-.096. Tennessee’s hitting efficiency was a season-low.

“We had a great crowd today and we caught Tennessee on an atypical day for them,” Florida coach Mary Wise said. “I like to think some it was Gator induced. Things clicked for us and it’s not a coincidence that it started with Elyse Cusack. When she’s on the court it allows everyone else to what they do best. This team, though it’s still evolving, played well.”

Junior outside hitter Marcie Hampton recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs, while junior setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) nearly finished with a triple-double with 39 assists, nine digs and seven kills. Sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bowers chimed in with nine kills on .533 hitting and added four blocks, while freshman middle blocker Kristina Johnson tallied eight kills on .727 hitting.

Freshman libero Elyse Cusack made her first start in nearly three weeks and finished with a team-high 14 digs as the Gators improved to 21-6 under Wise against ranked SEC teams.

Florida returns to action on Friday, Oct. 6 when the Gators travel to Mississippi State. The contest is slated to begin 8 p.m. (ET) and can be heard live on Rock 104 and www.GatorZone.com.