Surrounded by a packed Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Florida volleyball delivered to clinch the Gators’ second SEC win of the season.
UF (7-5, 2-1 SEC) secured a 3-1 victory over Auburn (11-3, 2-1 SEC) Friday night to finish out its three-game home stand. The Gators are now 2-1 in conference play, starting to make up some ground after falling to .500 last week.
“The ability to side out and score points,” said head coach Ryan Theis on what has contributed to Florida’s last two wins. “I think our attackers scored a ton tonight, but again,
After a dominating 25-18 win in set one, Florida gave into bad habits in the second set, committing 11 attacking errors compared to Auburn’s one at a .029 hitting clip. The Gators also did not make a block throughout the set while being blocked five times by the Tigers.
The strong defense and limitation of unforced errors that sparked the Gators’ set one win seemingly evaporated as Florida found itself in a deep 5-0 hole to start set two.
However, these struggles were relatively short-lived as Florida refused to let its set two errors linger. It came back to clinch a commanding seven-point win in set three, taking a 2-0 lead.
The Gators were strong on defense, getting to their spots and committing mostly recoverable passing errors. They also cut down on attacking errors, recording only two throughout the entire third set. This trend continued throughout the fourth set, which held off Auburn’s comeback and secured a 27-25 win.
UF redshirt junior setter Alexis Stucky had an especially impactful night. She clinched a career-high 10 kills while also adding 42 assists and 12 digs, marking the first Florida setter triple-double since 2006.
Stucky continuously picked apart Auburn’s defense and found open spots that the Tigers couldn’t cover. She was key to the incredibly versatile offense that Florida boasted, with four players cracking double-digit kills.
“I just try to get my teammates good looks,” Stucky said. “Our passing does a great job, so I can put them in good opportunities, but I try to give people one-on-ones so we can score.”
Redshirt sophomore outside Jordyn Byrd was Stucky’s go-to yet again this game, leading the team with 15 kills. Sophomore middle Jaela Auguste followed behind Byrd with 13, and redshirt sophomore outside Aniya Madkin notched 11 kills. Meanwhile, sophomore middle Alec Rothe added six kills and led UF with four blocks.
After a tough start to SEC play, the Gators seemed to have smoothed over some crucial pieces of their game.
The Gators go back on the road to face LSU (8-6, 1-2 SEC) in Baton Rouge at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Sunday at 2 p.m.
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).
