Gophers volleyball beats No. 13 Florida in home opener

The fourth-ranked Gophers volleyball team won its home opener on Sunday, defeating No. 13 Florida 25-22, 17-25, 25-22, 25-16 in front of an announced crowd of 4,920 at Maturi Pavilion.

It was the start of a four-match homestand for the Gophers (3-1), who are now ready for Pac-12 standouts Oregon and Stanford.

"I'm super proud of the way the team competed tonight," coach Hugh McCutcheon said. "It wasn't super smooth and it was a bit clunky at times, but they were able to fight through that and figure it out. They really responded well when things didn't go their way."

The Gators (3-2) knotted the match at 1-1 before the Gophers won the final two sets. A kill from Taylor Landfair, her fifth of the set, ended the third set. In the fourth set, Florida took a 5-1 lead before the Gophers righted themselves. Tied at 10-10, they went on an 8-2 run.

Landfair tallied 14 kills, four digs and three blocks. Melani Shaffmaster dished out 34 assists with 12 digs and four blocks while CC McGraw led the Gophers with a season-high 13 digs.

Marina Markova led the Gators with 15 kills. Alexis Stucky had 33 assists, 12 digs and six blocks.

Minnesota hit .203 with 46 kills, six aces, 37 digs and 11 blocks. Florida hit .211 with 48 kills, five aces, 44 digs and 14 blocks.

The Gophers improved to 6-2 all-time against Florida. The Gators defeated the Gophers last year in Gainesville.