Gators Volleyball Swept by Kentucky to End Regular Season

The No. 20 Florida volleyball team fell in straight sets to No. 10 Kentucky in Lexington on Saturday afternoon. The rematch marked the last game of the regular season and puts the Gators at 18-9 overall and 10-8 in conference play.

It is tough to end the season on a loss, but the Gators will transition to postseason tournament preparation after the loss to the SEC champion Wildcats.

Florida’s Offensive Struggles

The Gator defense has been their strong suit this season, but there needs to be some offensive output to be able to win games. That attack usually comes off of the back of their outside hitters, but tonight they weren’t so successful. The Gators were held to a poor .196 hitting percentage as a team including .087 and -.200 clips from hitters Sofia Victoria and AC Fitzpatrick, respectively. Freshman phenom Kennedy Martin was really the only one able to get going from the outside with 14 kills and a respectable .243 percentage.

Kentucky made sure to eliminate Florida’s outside threats and forced them to go through the middle. The Gators’ middle blockers were forced to take on a larger offensive role, but were not able to bring the same attacking skill as the outside hitters. Both Nnedi Okammor and Gabbi Essix posted hitting percentages over .500, but were only able to post five and seven kills, respectively. The Wildcats defense proved too strong throughout and the Gators weren’t really close to taking any of the three sets. Florida was able to stick around at best, losing all sets by at least four points.

Next Move for the Gators

Finishing fourth in the SEC this season and in the top 25 nationally, the Gators look toward the NCAA tournament. The selection show to determine the matchups for the tournament takes place Sunday at 6 p.m.

The Gators will be on the road for at least the first two matches. It will be a tough task to get through the bracket, but anything is possible. Florida is still improving after losing three starters throughout the season. The youth and versatility of this Gators team makes them a wildcard in the tournament who are hungry to win.

You can watch the tournament selection on ESPN and the first round starting on Nov. 30.