Gainesville, Fla. – Winthrop lost to #3 Florida to end the Eagles' long non-conference road trip by a final score of 3-0 (12-25, 19-25, 15-25).
Winthrop (0-9, 0-0 Big South) | #3 Florida (7-0, 0-0 Southeastern)
Sep. 8, 2023 | Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center
Winthrop 0, #3 Florida 3 (12-25, 19-25, 15-25)
How it Happened
Set 1 | The Gators began the day with an early 9-3 lead before two errors against Florida, a
Brookelynn Thomas ace and two kills by
Avery Jolley cut it to 10-8. Winthrop called timeout when Florida tacked on the next three points for a 13-8 lead. The Gators kept it going following the break by scoring four more points to lead 17-8.
Rachel McCollum finally ended Florida's 7-0 run with a kill. An error against the Gators gave Winthrop another point on the next play but Florida finished the first set by scoring eight of the last 10 points, taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
Set 2 | Florida began the second set much like the first, taking an 8-3 lead and forcing Winthrop to call a timeout. Florida added one more point after the stoppage but Winthrop fought back to make it a 16-14 game on kills by McCollum, Thomas, two kills by Jolley and
Karli Shepherd, an ace by
Teagan Sychterz and four Gator errors. After a Florida timeout, the Gators then took a 2-0 lead in the match by scoring nine of the final 14 points.
Set 3 | The Eagles and the Gators started the third set by splitting the first 10 points. The five Eagle points were kills by Sychterz, a Florida error, a Jolley ace and two kills by Shepherd. Florida scored four straight points to take a 9-5 lead, temporarily stopping play. Once the game resumed, two kills by Thomas, kills by McCollum, Sychterz and Shepherd and two errors by Florida made it 15-12 in favor of the home standing Gators. But that's as close as Winthrop would get for the rest of the set as Florida scored the next three points to go up 18-12 and forcing the Eagles to once again call for time. After the timeout, each team got three points, making the score 21-15 Florida before the Gators concluded the match by scoring the last four points.
Statistical Leaders
Notables
- The Eagles have played 1,783 matches all-time as the program holds a mark of 1,058-725.
- Four Eagles had at least one ace.
- Thomas and Shepherd both had five blocks to lead the Eagles.
- Alicia Roberts led the Eagles in blocks with three.
- Isabella Murray led Winthrop in assists with 10.
- McCollum led the Eagles in digs with six.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will play their first home matches of the season next week as Winthrop welcomes VCU, Eastern Kentucky and South Carolina for the Winthrop Invitational. The Eagles will play Eastern Kentucky on Friday at 6 p.m. and then take on South Carolina the next night at 6 p.m. Both of these matches will be televised on ESPN+.
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