Skinner’s 20 Kills Not Enough to Fend Off No. 7 Florida
GAINSEVILLE, Fla. – Senior outside hitter Avery Skinner went for 20 kills on Friday afternoon, but it wasn’t enough as the No. 7 Florida Gators won an instant classic with No. 3 Kentucky in five tight sets, 3-2 (18-25, 27-25, 17-25, 25-16, 17-15) at Exactech Arena Gainesville, Florida.
The Wildcats won sets one and three, but lost set two in extra points before the Gators reeled off the final two sets, including the fifth set in extra points to take the win.
Kentucky is now 16-1 on the season, and falls for the first time all season. Florida improves to 17-2 on the season and is just one game back of Kentucky in the 2020-21 Southeastern Conference standings.
The series of top-ranked teams will conclude on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcasted on the SEC Network+, ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
Kentucky had four players in double-digit kills with Skinner notching 20 kills, Azhani Tealer logging a career-high 18 terminations, Alli Stumler registered 15 and freshman Madi Skinner had 11 kills. For the match, Kentucky’s offense hit .312 paced by a season-high 59 assists from Madison Lilley, and Gabby Curry also had a season high in digs with 23.
At the net, it was Kentucky that out-blocked Florida as Azhani Tealer had five stuffs, with Madi Skinner, Bella Bell and Avery Skinner also both recording multiple blocks.
For Florida, T’Ara Caesar had 20 kills and hit .311 to lead the Gators in the match.
Set One
The Wildcats and Gators were off to a neck-and-neck start until Kentucky generated the first bit of separation, taking the lead by three points in a row approaching the media break at 15-14. Out of the media break, Avery Skinner pummeled two kills to the floor, advancing the separation to five points and sending Florida into its first time out of the set. UK’s offense continued to compete, hitting .382 in the set and forcing the Gators into a second timeout before closing out the first set 25-18 as Alli Stumler killed four-straight balls to end the set.
Set Two
Azhani Tealer terminated two of her six kills of the set early on, holding the competition to mirror the level of play in the first set. Kentucky stole four points in a row, climbing to a 14-12 lead before Florida took the first timeout of the set. After back-to-back attack errors from the Gators, Madison Lilley and Avery Skinner slammed down two more kills, hitting .500 and .714 respectfully in the set, stretching Kentucky’s lead to 18-13 and sending Florida into its final timeout. Out of the break, Florida made a run to advance the score to a one-point game before Kentucky called its first time out at 20-19. The Gators’ momentum picked back up as they won four points in a row and regained the lead 23-20, forcing Kentucky into its final timeout. Despite three impressive kills from Stumler, Tealer and A. Skinner, Florida rounded out the final match point 27-25 in extra points.
Set Three
The Wildcats fought out another tight battle in the beginning of the third set, pulling away by a pair and entering the media break at 15-13. Another Stumler and A. Skinner kill sent Florida into its first timeout, only three plays after the media break at 17-14. From there, Kentucky only ballooned its lead to 21-16 with M. Skinner earning her second kill on a pair swings in the set. The Wildcats took three points in a row to push Florida into its second timeout at 21-16 and closed out the set with two more Azhani Tealer kills, winning at 25-17. Tealer punished Florida with five kills on five swings, hitting 1.000 alongside M. Skinner and Bella Bell. UK hit an eye-popping .560 in the set, and led 8-4 in blocks at that point in the match.
Set 4
Florida opened up the set with the first two points followed by a challenge from Kentucky, resulting in a reversed call. Azhani Tealer slammed two back-to-back terminations in the early minutes of the set for Kentucky until a four-point run was entered into by the Gators, sending Kentucky to a timeout training by six at 17-11. Several point later, the Gators went into a five-point run, setting the score at 16-9, and the Gators saw out the set with a 25-16 win. Florida hit an impressive .481 in the frame with UK hitting its lowest percentage in a set all season at .154.
Set 5
Madi Skinner took the first point of the last set for Kentucky, slamming down her ninth termination of the match before the Gators went on a mini-run to take an 8-6 lead into the fifth set media break. Kills from Bell, M. Skinner and Tealer kept the Wildcats in the fifth set, as UK trailed by three at 13-10. A. Skinner slammed her 20th kill of the match after a Florida timeout to tie the set at 14-14 before a service error gave match point back to Florida. Bell responded with another kill to make the score 15-15 but the Wildcats later fell 17-15 in the fifth set after a Florida kill and a UK attack error to close the match.
