The Gators had led the match only once before Milica Vidacic went behind the service line with Florida down 13-12 in set three. Vidacic aced the Aggies twice in a row and gave Florida the spark it needed to go on a run, but it couldn’t come up with the win.
The Gators (13-10 and 8-6 SEC) fell to No. 6 Texas A&M (21-3, 13-1 SEC) in three sets Wednesday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Florida found its rhythm in set three behind Vidacic and sophomore setter Taylor Parks, but it faltered at the end and allowed the Aggies to climb back.
“There is a reason Texas A&M only has three losses on the season,” head coach Ryan Theis said. “They are just extremely experienced, consistent and play at a high level that we touched at times but couldn’t maintain throughout the match.”
The Aggies showed their dominance from the start, going on a 6-1 run to open set one and forcing the Gators to call a timeout early. For all of the set, the Aggies were near perfect from behind the service line, committed only two attacking errors and hit at .406.
Despite attempts from sophomore middle Jaela Auguste early in the set to interrupt Texas A&M’s runs, the Aggies ran away with it, leading by as many as 11 points.
Florida regained momentum at the end of the first set, going on a 4-0 run with their opponents sitting at match point. While the push at the end of the set established momentum going into set two, the Gators were unable to maintain the lead and trailed for the rest of the set.
In set three, Florida was able to establish control. Sophomore Taylor Parks came in to set and UF’s offense started flowing. The pair served Florida back into the match, and the Gators held a 22-17 lead before their momentum was stifled and they dropped the next seven points to lose the set.
The Gators clocked a season-low 48.6% side out percentage and struggled to receive the Aggies’ tough serves, getting aced seven times.
Leading the Aggie’s relentless charge was seniors Logan Lednicky and Ifenna Cos-Okpalla. Lednicky charted 14 kills and hit at .423. Cos-Okpalla, who is No. 2 in hitting percentage in the SEC, logged eight kills at .500. She also leads the conference in blocking, and Wednesday night was no different, as she added a team-leading seven to her stat line.
Propelling the Aggies’ powerful and versatile offense was senior setter Maddie Waak, who recorded a double-double with 32 assists and 10 digs.
Florida was led by redshirt sophomore outside Aniya Madkin who logged 10 kills and Auguste who followed with eight at a .538 clip. As a team, the Gators recorded more kills than Texas A&M in the third set, but were lacking in the first two sets, tallying only 21.
The Gators take on Ole Miss (12-13, 4-10 SEC) in Oxford, Mississippi, at Gillom Athletics Performance Center at 2 p.m. Friday for their final regular season match.
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).
