Florida volleyball is officially up against its worst start since 1990 following a five-set loss on its home court, marking only the third time in program history that Florida (5-5) has fallen to the Bulldogs (11-0).
Consistency has been a major issue for Florida since the beginning of the season, but Friday night, the Gators’ struggles to maintain their leads and stop their opponents’ runs were evident. Florida was unable to hand Mississippi State its first loss of the season and instead took its third loss to an unranked opponent so far this season.
Despite their struggles, the Gators celebrated some individual victories. Redshirt junior setter Alexis Stucky had a season-high 50 assists and tied her career high with 16 digs, while reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Jaela Auguste logged a career-high 16 kills and had a .500 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside Lauren Harden also tied her career high with nine kills and stepped up to make some important plays for Florida, including a kill that tied set four at 16.
The struggles for Florida came full force in set three when the Gators blew a 19-10 lead to lose the set, 25-23, and put them trailing 2-1 going into set four. However, Florida delivered, with sophomore defensive specialist Bella Lee logging two service aces, and strong swings from sophomore middle Jaela Auguste coming together to secure a 25-19 win.
The Gators rallied to force a set five but ultimately were unsuccessful despite their efforts. Freshman opposite Milica Vidacic showed her dominance in the set, getting two consecutive kills followed by a block assist to give Florida a shot at the win. She logged nine kills in the match and only three errors.
Overall, the Gators were plagued by attacking errors, charting 30 in the match. They nearly doubled the Bulldogs, who logged 18. In set two, Florida had a .138 hitting clip to Mississippi’s .619 hitting percentage. They had nine attacking errors in the set while the Bulldogs only logged one.
Redshirt sophomore Jordyn Byrd led the way in kills for Florida yet again, tallying 17 and three blocks. Florida had strong swings coming from all across the net, but the errors that accompanied them consistently curbed Florida’s scoring runs.
Florida was also met with tough opponents on the other side of the net. Freshman outside Lindsey Mangelson had 16 kills while junior outside Mele Corral-Blagojevich had 14 and applied service pressure to Florida throughout the match. She aced Florida twice and forced them out of system at crucial points throughout five sets.
The Gators showed promise in set one and applied some service pressure of their own, coming back from a 19-23 deficit to win behind sophomore setter Taylor Parks’ serving run. Good stretches like this happened for the Gators throughout five sets, but their inability to maintain and control unforced errors ultimately led to their collapse.
The Gators will continue their three-game homestand against Alabama at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Sunday at 1 p.m., looking to build on the individual victories that came from their conference opener.
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).
