Stony Brook Unable to Pull Off Upset Over No. 17 Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Facing their third consecutive Power Four opponent this week, the Seawolves were unable to pull off the upset as they were defeated 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-20) by No. 17 Florida on Sunday.

Ella Sanders led the team with eight kills and nine digs today, while Ayanna Pierre Louis and Quinn Anderson picked up four and three blocks each.

How It Happened

SET 1 | The Seawolves kept pace with the 17th ranked team in the nation through the first half of the set as the score sat at 15-13 at the media timeout. Rayanne Wheat, Carey-Jean Block, and Pierre Louis each notched a service ace during the run, while Sanders recorded a pair of kills. Out of the timeout, though, the Gators offense came alive and went on a 10-2 run to close out set one.

SET 2 | Stony Brook again kept things close halfway through the second as seven Gators errors along with blocks from Anderson and Pierre Louis made it 15-11. Unlike the first, however, the Seawolves kept the pressure on for the rest of the set, with Pierre Louis logging two more kills and another block to eventually tie it up at 19-19. However, a Sanders kill would be all the team would get for the rest of the set as Florida regained control of the court and pulled away in the end.

SET 3 | The Seawolves led early in the third after consecutive Florida attack errors quickly made it 2-1. Then, kills from Anderson, Mercedes Motton, and another ace from Wheat grew the lead to 6-5. After the Gators retook the lead with a 15-10 advantage at the media timeout, Stony Brook came out of the break with a 5-0 scoring run featuring two more kills from Anderson to tie it up. The score would remain tied all the way to 18-18, at which point Florida again got hot right at the end outscored Stony Brook 7-2 to win the match.

Notable Stats

• This marked the third time in four matches Sanders recorded nine digs. After one week of play, she paces the team with 43 kills, followed by Anderson with 40.
• Pierre Louis now leads Stony Brook with 16 blocks on the season.

Up Next

The non-conference slate continues next week in Annapolis, Maryland as the Seawolves compete in the Kristen Dickmann Invitational, hosted by Navy. The action begins on Friday at 3 p.m. vs. Penn, followed by Coppin State on Saturday at 7 p.m. and finally Navy on Sunday at 3 p.m. The first two matches will not be livestreamed, while the finale vs. Navy will be streamed on ESPN+.

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