For the first time since 1991, Gators volleyball was left off the AVCA/TARAFLEX Top 25. Florida spent 556 straight weeks ranked, but fell off the list after a 7-6 start and a loss to Louisiana State (9-6, 2-2 SEC) on Sunday. The Gators received 66 points in the most recent poll.
Florida’s 34-year streak was unable to survive the shake up that happened this season, with first year head coach Ryan Theis taking over UF’s renowned program.
Former head coach Mary Wise and her 1991 squad were ranked for the first time in program history three weeks into her time at the helm. For 556 weeks after that, the Gators remained one of the Top 25 teams in the country and spent 16 of those weeks at No. 1.
Under Wise, by the final weeks of 1992, Florida was a top-5 program, and in 1996 it clinched its first No. 1 ranking and remained at the top for five weeks. It found the top spot again in 2010, remaining there eight consecutive weeks, and for a third time in 2017. The Gators’ dominance and consistency renewed the program’s prestige year after year.
In 2025, timely wins, like the one over Alabama on Sept. 28 to pull it out of a three-match losing streak, allowed Florida (7-6, 2-2 SEC) to maintain a spot in the Top 25 for the first part of the season, but just over the halfway point it faltered and fell off the list.
The Gators started off strong, coming into the year at No. 16 and jumping to No. 12 after a ranked win over then-No. 3 Pittsburgh in their second match of the season. They climbed again to No. 11 after a four-match win streak that included road wins over South Florida and Ohio State.
That marked the end of their forward progress, as a 3-0 loss to unranked North Carolina set the Gators back to No. 15 in Week 3 despite a ranked win over then-No. 20 Baylor. Florida fell to No. 19 and then No. 23 in subsequent weeks before ultimately being left off this week’s list following a loss to unranked LSU Sunday.
The SEC has proven challenging for the Gators so far and their road does not get any easier. The fight to recapture its spot will have five ranked opponents in its path, including three top 10 teams.
UF will look for its first ranked win over No. 25 Missouri Friday at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
Contact Ava DiCecca at adicecca@alligator.org. Follow her on X @avadicecca24.
Ava is a sophomore sports journalism student and the volleyball beat reporter for fall 2025. She enjoys playing basketball and volleyball in her free time and going on beach trips with friends. She has been a Boston sports fan all her life (Brad Marchand we miss you).
