UF volleyball beats Mississippi State

Sophomore Florida right-side/setter Kelly Murphy registered her seventh triple-double of the season in a three-set sweep, as the Gators defeated Mississippi State in a 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-22) match on Sunday in Starkville, Miss.

The Gators have now posted six consecutive sweeps of SEC opponents. Florida won the blocking battle 8.0-7.0 and out-dug Mississippi State 65-62 in a match that featured six ties and nine lead changes.

“We fully expected Mississippi State to play well coming off their big win on Friday night,” Florida head coach Mary Wise said. “They did just that by playing lights-out defense and low-error volleyball. A 3-0 win this year is even more difficult to achieve. I thought our team’s play, down 23-18 in the second set, showed a lot of guts.”

Florida returns to action on Friday when it returns home to host Georgia. Opening serve is slated for 7 p.m.

SOCCER: Top-seeded Florida (14-4-2, 8-1-2 SEC) faces No. 8 seed and defending tournament champion Tennessee (8-8-3, 4-5-2 SEC) on Wednesday, in the opening round of the SEC Soccer Tournament. The SEC Tournament is set for Nov. 4-8 in Orange Beach , Ala.

Florida earned the No. 1 seed after claiming the SEC title Friday with a 3-0 win over No. 13 South Carolina. The title was the fourth consecutive and the 10th in the program’s 15-year history. The Gators face No. 8 seed Tennessee at 6 p.m. (ET) in Wednesday’s opening round of the SEC Tournament.