Nov. 27, 2009
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Senior Sarah Cline broke the career digs record in her final match in the Garnet and Black, but the day belonged to No. 15 Florida (22-5, 16-4 SEC) with a 25-14, 25-8, 25-12 victory over South Carolina (14-16, 5-15) on Friday afternoon.
Cline made three digs in the second set, putting her career total at 1,464. Hannah Lawing led the Gamecocks in digs with six, while senior Meredith Moorhead topped the squad with six kills. Kristy Jaeckel led the Gators with 11 kills, while Elyse Cusack made 14 digs.
The Gators captured the first set, 25-14, behind four kills each by Colleen Ward and Cassandra Anderson. Three early three-point swings put the Gators up, 13-5, and a five-point stretch put the set out of reach. The Gamecocks made just seven digs as the Gators completely avoiding South Carolina’s libero in the first set.
Florida didn’t avoid Cline long in the second, as the senior got two digs on the third point of the frame to break the record. That would be the only positive in the set for the Gamecocks, as the Gators won it, 25-8. The Gators hit .583 in the frame, not making an error in 24 swings. Kristy Jaeckel had four kills in the frame. The eight points is the least the Gamecocks have scored in a single set since losing the second set, 30-9, in a home loss to the Gators on Halloween night in 2007.
The Gators again dominated the final set, 25-12. Jaeckel had five kills in the final frame, including three of the final five for the Gators.
Besides Cline’s mark, senior Bridget Denson-Dorman moved into eighth on South Carolina’s career assists list, finishing up with 2,044. Cline’s single-season total of 498 digs is the second most in Gamecock history and 113 more than her previous rally-scoring era record in 2008. The Gators were the first team to keep Cline, a 2009 second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American, in single digits in digs this season.
Florida dominated every stat category, including a 9-0 advantage in aces.
