UF loses home volleyball match

Everything seemed the same, except the outcome.

With the packed crowd on its feet Friday at the O’Connell Center, the No. 5 Florida volleyball team rallied in the fifth set against No. 15 Kentucky. It had the feeling of the team’s emotional five-set victory over Florida State on Aug. 31, but this time there was no match-point ace.

The Gators dropped their first regular-season home match since 2004 in heart-breaking fashion. After cruising to an early advantage to the delight of the 3,820 fans in attendance, the Gators struggled to capitalize on opportunities and fell 9-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11, despite Kelly Murphy’s ninth-career triple-double.

“The difference in the match was the 19 balls that we hit out of bounds,” said Gator coach Mary Wise, who suffered just her second home regular-season defeat in 19 years with the program. “I think if you hit 19 balls out, you don’t deserve to win.”

In what was billed as the team’s biggest home match of the regular season, the Gators shocked everyone in attendance by blowing through the first set. UF (10-2, 4-1 SEC) stacked point after point on the WIldcats, bringing the lead to double digits early and ending with a 16-point edge.

Florida controlled the nets early, outblocking UK 4-0 and holding the best attacking team in the SEC to a —.059 hitting percentage while the Gators hit a whopping .520. The largest lead Florida held the rest of the night was three points, early in the fifth set.

“(The first set) was misleading,” Wise said. “I don’t know whether Kentucky just hadn’t gotten the plane (ride) out of them or whatever.”

Kentucky (14-1, 4-0 SEC) grabbed an early lead and led most of the way through the second set. Wise called two timeouts during a 9-2 run in hopes of stopping the bleeding, but it was too late. UF got within five, but couldn’t chip away at the ‘Cats, who outblocked Florida 6-2 in the frame.

The next three sets saw 29 of the match’s 33 ties as neither team could gain separation. Florida erased a three-point lead in the third set with a five-point run and held on for the narrow victory. Kentucky’s Sarah Mendoza, a high school teammate of Florida’s Callie Rivers, dropped six kills in the fourth set and keyed an 8-2 run that broke a 15-all tie and brought the match to the deciding set.

The Gators took a 4-1 lead early in set five, but gave it all back during a 6-2 Wildcat run. UF reclaimed the edge at 10-9, but fell behind for good after three straight attack errors.

Murphy led the Gators with 20 kills, 27 assists and 14 digs. Mendoza logged 20 kills and eight digs for UK while reigning SEC Player of the Year Sarah Rumely dished out 46 assists. Kentucky outblocked Florida 10-9, while the Gators’ .215 hitting percentage narrowly bettered UK’s .206.

“Right now, we’re all upset,” said senior Elyse Cusack, who suffered her first ever home regular-season defeat despite her team-high 15 digs. “A loss sucks, but it’s how you respond. The SEC is a long season and it’s how we respond to it.”