Gators take sole possesion of 1st place in SEC with victory over LSU

October 15th, 2006

Junior opposite hitter Amber McCray tallied 14 kills, while junior Kisya Killingsworth added 12 kills on .350 hitting to guide the #8 University of Florida volleyball team to a sweep of #13 LSU (30-26, 30-22, 30-22) Sunday afternoon at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

Florida (16-2 overall, 9-1 SEC) moved into sole possession of first place in the SEC with the victory at the midway point of the conference season as UF now controls its own destiny in its quest for a 16th consecutive SEC title.

“At the midway point of the SEC season, this is a great win for our team,” Florida coach Mary Wise said. “To beat a team like LSU – to out-block and out-dig them and hit above .300 – today, things just fell into place for us. But, there are so many matches left, including a match at LSU. It’s one thing to beat teams at home and it’s another to do it on the road.”

The Gators improved to 22-6 under Wise against ranked SEC teams as UF claimed its eighth-straight win of the season, 72nd straight against teams from the SEC Western Division and 21st consecutive match against the Tigers (16-3, 8-2). LSU entered the contest ranked when facing the Gators for the first time since 1992 and was swept for the first time in 2006.

Florida ended the contest with more kills (54-45), aces (4-1), digs (65-61) and blocks (9.5-7.0) and UF out-hit LSU .304-.135. It marked just the fourth time this season that LSU failed to hit at least .200.

The Gators moved to 83-43 under Wise against ranked teams overall and 36-11 vs. ranked opponents at home. In the last five seasons, the Gators have won 12 of 15 matches at home against ranked teams.

Freshman libero Elyse Cusack had a banner day for the Gators in finishing with a match high 23 digs, including 10 in the third game. She broke the UF record for digs by a freshman libero/defensive specialist in season and now has 240 on the year.

Junior setter Angie McGinnis guided the Gators to a .304 hitting efficiency – UF’s eighth match this year above .300. McGinnis tallied 48 assists and 10 digs to record the 18th double-double of her career. Junior outside hitter Marcie Hampton also fared well for the Gators with 11 kills on .344 hitting with six digs.

Sophomore Kelsey Bowers took charge in the middle for the Gators with nine kills on .350 hitting with three block assists, while freshman middle blocker Kristina Johnson tallied five kills on .444 hitting with four blocks.

Florida returns to action next weekend when the Gators host South Carolina at 8 p.m. (ET) on Friday and Georgia at 1:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. The Georgia match can be seen live on Sun Sports, while the South Carolina match can be seen via GatorVision Online. Both will be broadcast on WRUF-AM 850 and www.GatorZone.com.