Marquette Defeats No. 15 Florida 3-0 on Friday

The Marquette women's volleyball team swept No. 15 Florida 3-0 on Friday evening at the Al McGuire Center. The Golden Eagles were led by Natalie Ring with 13 kills followed by Elena Radeff with nine, Emma Parks with eight and Hattie Bray with six. Ring also posted a double-double adding 10 digs alongside Avery Helms who also recorded 10 assists.

Marquette and Florida opened the first set trading kills, until UF began to pull away. The Gators extended their lead 10-6 before MU began to show signs of a comeback. After trailing 19-12, the Golden Eagles used a 7-0 run to level the match at 19-19. The Gators responded quickly with a kill from Alec Rothe, but it was MU that added another run to go up 22-20. A Florida error brought the Blue and Gold within one of securing the match. Assisted by Isabela Haggard, Ring sealed the set with her sixth kill.

It was Florida that opened the scoring column first in the second with a kill from Aniya Madkin. The Golden Eagles struggled to keep up with the Gators as they trailed 11-6 at one point. With the Gators up 14, Elena Radeff and Bray added two consecutive kills to bring the score to 14-13. UF answered with a kill of their own, but Ring kept the momentum going adding a kill and bringing the score to 17-16, just one point behind the Gators. Haggard immediately posted a kill of her own to level the match at 17-17. MU didn't stop there as they continued to use the 6-0 run to take the 20-17 lead over Florida. The set became a game of runs as the Gators went on their own run to tie the match again at 20-20. MU remained composed and went on a 2-0 run to extend the lead to 22-21. The set tied 23-23 down the stretch, but it was Ring that put the Golden Eagles within one of sealing the match. Despite the Gators effort, Bray's defense secured the second set for MU.

MU got off to a dominant start in the third set taking a quick 4-1 lead over the Gators. The Golden Eagles led 10-5 before the Gators cut into the lead with two kills and two MU errors bringing the score to 10-9. UF took the lead for the first time at 12-11, but a service error from the Gators leveled the match again at 12-12. The two teams began to go point for point until Emma Parks extended the Golden Eagles lead 16-14. MU continued its 4-0 scoring run to bring the score to 18-14. Down the stretch, the Blue and Gold led 22-18 but the Gators would not be put away closing in on the Golden Eagles 24-23. Ring once again, closed out the set to seal the 25-23 win for MU.

Notables:

No. 15 Florida is the first top 15 opponent that the Golden Eagles won against this season.
Mari King recorded her second kill of the 2025 season.
Former MU head coach Ryan Theis returned to the Al for the first time since becoming the head coach for Florida.
UF is the second of three ranked teams the Golden Eagles will face this week.
Head coach Tom Mendoza recorded his first win over a ranked team as the head coach of MU.
Mendoza has won three matches in a row against Florida (two at South Carolina) and four of the last six.

UP NEXT:
Marquette will face No. 12 Minnesota on Sunday at the Al McGuire Center. First serve is set for 5 P.M.

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