Florida volleyball continues to rebound with its second win this week after being tested and dropped from the Week 6 AVCA/TARAFLEX rankings.
“We’ve been struggling to get that,” said Florida’s head coach Ryan Theis on the consecutive win. “It’s nice to do it, nice to be at home. Hopefully, we can carry that momentum into a big week.”
Following a win over No. 25 Missouri on Friday, Florida (9-6, 4-2 SEC) topped Vanderbilt (5-10, 1-5 SEC) 3-1 Sunday at home.
Vanderbilt returned to the volleyball sphere this season after a 45-year hiatus. The new program challenged Florida, especially from behind the line, but the Gators' hitters were too powerful despite undergoing some struggles throughout the match.
Florida fell in set two for the 12th time this season, trailing by as many as nine. The Commodores topped Florida nearly across the board statistically, successfully getting around its block, charting five service aces and cutting down on their own errors.
Florida struggled massively in serve receive, not only getting aced five times, but being constantly forced out of system. Five of Vanderbilt’s nine total aces came from freshman outside Maya Witherspoon.
Some adjustments allowed the Gators to recover in set three. Florida failed to be aced again and recorded two of its own from freshman libero Lily Hayes, her third of the match, and redshirt junior setter Alexis Stucky, which marked her second on Sunday.
The Gators kept themselves to only three attacking errors and got back into rhythm on the defensive end, recording 12 digs and four blocks.
As a unit, Florida continued to struggle to curb their opponent’s scoring runs early on, allowing a 6-0 scoring run in set one that almost lost UF its 15-8 lead. However, in later sets, UF secured a 6-0 run to extend its lead to 10 late in the fourth set. The Gators’ consistency remains a point of contention, but it did not keep them from winning Sunday.
Offensively, Byrd led the way for the 13th time this season with 13 kills.
“It’s her first year of being asked to carry a massive load offensively, and she’s doing it pretty well,” Theis said.
Behind her was sophomore middle Jaela Auguste, who added nine kills and seven blocks to Florida’s effort. Redshirt sophomore outside Aniya Madkin followed with eight kills.
Florida’s dominance in blocking was crucial to its win. Behind Auguste, freshman opposite Milica Vidacic and sophomore Alec Rothe each added four blocks, tripling Vanderbilt’s blocking output.
The Gators will go on the road to face No. 17 Tennessee (12-2, 3-1 SEC) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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).
