No. 10 Florida too much for Razorbacks

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Freshman outside hitter Jasmine Norton tallied 11 kills Friday evening to push her consecutive double-dig efforts to seven but it wasn’t enough as the University of Arkansas volleyball team dropped a straight-set decision, 25-12, 25-18, 25-16, to No. 10 Florida in front of 2,850 fans. Kelli Stipanovich and Kristin Seaton added six and five kills, respectively. The Gators hit .392 during the match, while holding Arkansas to a .110 hitting percentage."There’s no doubt about it that Florida is a tough team," head coach Robert Pulliza said. "In the SEC, we have to be able to fight through these types of matches in front of a big crowd. This match is done, so now all we can do is focus and get ready for our match at South Carolina."The early stages of the first set saw the teams trade points with the Gators leading, 7-6. The rest of the set, however, was all Florida as the home team reeled off 11 of the next 12 points to take an 18-7 lead. Arkansas (10-12, 4-7) regained its composure but was never able to put a dent in the deficit with the Gators arriving at set point, 24-10. The Razorbacks saved two of those points, but a kill by Betsy Smith sealed the set for Florida, 25-12. The Gators outhit Arkansas, .458-.036, in the opening set.In the second set, the Razorbacks took a 3-1 lead after a kill by Norton. The teams were tied, 6-6, when Florida (15-3, 9-2) went on a four-point run to seize control of action. The last three points of the run came on service aces by Brynja Rodgers. A kill by Colleen Ward gave the Gators a 15-10 advantage before a television timeout.Arkansas responded by winning four of the first five points out of the timeout and after a kill by Norton, the Gators led by just one, 16-15. Florida quickly stretched its lead back to four, 19-15, on an attack error by Seaton. The Razorbacks upped their hitting efficiency to .222, but Florida committed just three errors in the second set and won the set, 25-18, to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.The home team went out to a 4-1 lead in the third set, but Arkansas came back to tie the score after a pair of Florida miscues. The set was tied at 9-9 when the Gators grabbed momentum with a 5-1 run. Amanda Anderson put a ball down to pull the Razorbacks to within two, but as it had in previous spots, Florida steadied and pushed the lead to six, 18-12. The rest of the action went in favor of the Gators and an ace sealed the victory with a 25-16 set win.The Razorbacks return to action with an Oct. 25 road match at South Carolina. First serve is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. (CT) from the Volleyball Competition Facility in Columbia, S.C. Live stats and audio stream will be available at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.

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