Florida volleyball’s 2024 NCAA Tournament run came to an end in the regional semifinals against Stanford, 3-1, on Thursday night.
The Gators took the opening set but couldn’t hold off the Cardinal after that. Sophomore Kennedy Martin led all players with 24.5 points, 21 kills and 5.0 blocks. Martin also notched her 1,000th career kill and set various program records with the season over.
In an individual season, Martin had the second-most kills per game (5.56), second-most points per game (6.28) and 10th-most kills in a season (512). she also set the program record for kills in a game this year with 33 against Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Only a sophomore, Martin’s breakout season has the Gators primed for another deep run in 2025.
How it happened: Stanford def. Florida, 3-1
Florida led early in the first set, but Stanford rallied to take a late lead. A pair of service errors knotted things up at 23 and 24 points. A kill by Kennedy Martin and a block assist by Isabel Martin — set up by a beautiful pancake save — delivered a 1-0 lead.
Stanford jumped out to a 10-5 lead early in the second set and never looked back, evening things up 1-1 with a 25-17 win. Set 3 started off in Florida’s favor, but a four-point rally made it a back-and-forth affair. Stanford gained the advantage late and won 26-24 to move within a set of the regional final.
The Gators were the first to 20 in Set 4, but the Cardinal went a 3-0 run to put the match within reach. Martin delivered a pair of kills to keep it close, and Florida even reached set point twice, but Stanford prevailed and advanced to the regional final.
Senior sendoff
Five Gators — Trinity Adams, Erin Engel, Annie Cate Fitzpatrick, Isabel Martin, Elli McKissock and Gabrielle Essix missed most of the season with a knee injury and could return if granted a medical redshirt; however, volleyball does not have a participation threshold, so her five sets played against Florida State make her ineligible for a regular redshirt.
McKissock leaves Florida with the most digs (2,147) and sets played (534) in program history. She is also second in matches played (146), third in digs per set (4.02) and eighth in service aces (144)
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