University of Florida Athletics issued the following announcement on Sept. 10.
T’ara Ceasar and Thayer Hall led the way offensively with 15 and 13 kills, respectively
The seventh-ranked Florida volleyball team fell to the 17th-ranked Baylor Bears in four sets on Friday night in Exactech Arena.
Baylor took the first set in a tightly-contested 27-25 battle, but Florida answered with a 25-22 victory in the second. The Bears took set three 25-18 and then secured the match with a 25-23 win in the fourth.
Outsides T'ara Ceasar and Thayer Hall led the offensive attack for the Gators, notching 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Lauren Forte added eight kills of her own in the match.
Marlie Monserez dished out 36 assists on the night, pushing her to ninth overall in Florida's program history for career assists.
As a squad, the Gators recorded 13.0 blocks at the net, led by Lauren Dooley, who posted a season-high nine. Merritt Beason followed with a career-high six blocks of her own, while Monserez and Forte each pitched in three.
Elli McKissock and Monserez led the backcourt defense for Florida, with the pair each recording 10 digs. Ceasar added nine digs of her own – just one shy of a double-double – while Hall and Beason added eight and seven digs, respectively.
Hall, Monserez and McKissock led the way behind the service line, tallying two aces apiece.
The Gators and the Bears are right back in action tomorrow to close out the series. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. on the SEC Network +.
Records
No. 7 Florida (4-2)
No. 17 Baylor (2-3)
How It Happened
With the first set tied 3-3, the Gators strung together a 7-2 run behind the serves of McKissock and Beason, forcing a Baylor timeout at 10-5. Out of that break, the Bears answered with a 6-2 run of their own to pull within one at 12-11. The Gators once again went ahead four points at 17-13, but Baylor cut the deficit to one, forcing UF to use its first timeout of the frame at 17-16. Florida continued to hold the slight edge, but Baylor stuck around, tying the set at 22-22. The two squads battled through the rest of the set, going to extra points, but Baylor claimed the 27-25 victory to go up 1-0 in the match.
Ceasar led the way with three kills in the set, while Beason, Dooley and Forte each recorded two kills apiece in the frame.
Florida jumped out to the early lead in the second set, going ahead three points at the 6-3 mark. Baylor fought back to tie the frame at 6-6, but the Gators exploded on a 6-1 run behind the serves of Ceasar to force the Bears to use their first timeout at 12-7. With the Gators holding the five-point lead at 18-13, Baylor battled back to tie it at 20-all. Florida was once again able to grab lead at 23-20, but the Bears kept in it, pulling within one at 23-22 before the Gators were able to close out on a 2-0 run to tie the match at 1-1.
Hall posted six kills in the second set to lead Florida offensively, while Dooley notched a team-high two blocks at the net, including the set-winner.
The Bears took the advantage early in the third set, pulling ahead 6-2 to force a Florida timeout. The Gators pulled within two at 15-13, but a 5-1 Baylor run gave the Bears the 20-14 advantage late in the frame. Florida did not bow out, cutting the deficit to three at 21-18 to force a Baylor timeout. Out of that break, the Bears went on a 4-0 run to claim the third set.
The Gators hit .241 in the frame, led by four kills apiece from Forte and Hall. Defensively, Dooley continued to rack up her blocks, notching three at the net.
Florida came out battling in the fourth set, taking the five-point lead at 10-5 after service runs from McKissock and Beason, but the Bears came storming back, tying the frame at 12-all. The two teams traded points until Baylor strung together a 3-0 run to take the 19-16 lead. Florida pulled back within one at 22-21, but Baylor was able to hold on to the edge, taking the frame 25-23.
Ceasar recorded eight kills in the final frame, hitting a stellar .533, while Hall added three kills of her own.
Notables
Marlie Monserez notched her third double-double of the year, recording 36 assists and 10 digs
Lauren Dooley posted a season-high nine blocks in the four-setter
Merritt Beason recorded a career-high six blocks on the night
The Gators drop to 2-1 in the all-time series against the Bears
With her 36 assists, Marlie Monserez has now tied Mackenzie Dagostino for the No. 9 spot in Florida program history for career assists (2,727)
Original source can be found here.
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