Coming off back-to-back wins over then-No. 11 Tennessee and then-No. 3 Kentucky, the Gators carried their momentum on the road to Columbia, Missouri, looking to remain perfect in conference play and pick up an 11th straight win. They did just that on Friday, taking down Missouri and proving they can remain consistent and compete with the top teams in the conference.
Florida (13-1, 4-0 SEC) ultimately finished the Tigers (8-8, 1-3 SEC) in a clean three-set sweep at the Hearnes Center for its 11th consecutive victory.
The Gators recorded a .519 hitting percentage in the match, their first time hitting above .500 since August 2022. Florida consistently found ways to capitalize on attacking opportunities, and Missouri finished with a .149 hitting percentage.
With 34 assists against the Tigers, setter Taylor Parks reached 500 assists on the season. She became the 18th member of the 1,000-assist club in Sept. 2026, and the Clearwater native has continued to cement herself as a cornerstone of Florida’s offense.
Alec Rothe also established herself as Florida’s biggest weapon early on. A close kill to the middle at 3-1 was just the beginning, as the middle blocker kept a 1.000 clean hitting percentage through the first set and recorded five kills.
But in the second set, Florida’s middle struggled to find opportunities. The Gators initially trailed as Missouri’s Kimani Johnson recorded three kills. The Tigers’ offense suddenly woke up, pushing to 15 points with 12 kills.
But momentum shifted when Brooklyn Briscoe rose to take a kill to the deep middle, giving the Gators the lead for the first time in the second set, 15-14.
Missouri remained in striking distance with libero Ainoah Cruz proving to be a defensive powerhouse. She recorded nine digs in the match, two of which came in the second set. However, the Gators fought back and tied it again, 19-19, with an ace from Parks.
At 24-24, the Gators flipped the script, recording two consecutive kills — one by Selena Leban and one by Kamryn Chaney.
Missouri’s Paige Felder committed an unforced error to seal the set, putting Florida ahead 2-0 in the match.
Everything seemed to go Florida’s way in the third set, and it didn’t struggle to close out the sweep
Recording 17 kills, the Gators had their most balanced offensive performance yet. Leban, Brookly Briscoe and Chaney logged three kills each, and Parks orchestrated the offense.
She assisted on 13 of those kills and recorded two of her own. Chaney closed out Florida's dominant final set with a kill to win 25-13 and seal a 4-0 start to conference play.
Riding the longest win streak in the SEC, the Gators will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, on Sunday to face Vanderbilt. First serve against the Commodores is set for 2 p.m. ET
Contact Sofia Alamo at salamo@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @alamosofiaa.
Sofia Alamo is a sophomore sports journalism student in her fourth semester at The Alligator. She is the volleyball beat reporter. She enjoys spending time with family and watching sports with friends.
