Going into a match against its highest ranked opponent thus far, Florida knew taking down No. 3 Kentucky wouldn't be easy. The five-set thriller that ensued Sunday night proved just that.
In a hard-fought five-set battle, No. 7 Florida (12-1, 3-0 SEC) extended its win streak to 10, defeating No. 3 Kentucky (11-3, 3-1 SEC) 3-2 in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Sunday.
After a back-and-forth dogfight, the Gators took back ownership of the court in the fifth set. Lily Hayes opened the final set with an ace, and Florida logged a 6-0 scoring run behind three Kentucky unforced errors. Kills by Kamryn Chaney and Alec Rothe, along with an ace by Taylor Parks, swung the momentum in Florida’s favor in the final set as the Gators took a 15-8 fifth-set win to secure the upset.
“We knew it was going to be a fight,” Parks said. “We weren’t going to let them out-grit us.”
Bella Lee recorded an ace to give the Gators a five-point lead, 10-5, and Florida continued to capitalize on an exhausted Kentucky squad. The Wildcats struggled to secure kills through the Gators’ defensive walls, and Chaney buried a kill down the middle to cap off the win.
“They have not quit in a single set or match this year,” head coach Ryan Theis said. “These guys are fighters.”
Kentucky has one of the strongest offenses in the SEC, sitting second nationally with 14.82 kills per set, and their aggressive play became a problem for the Gators. The Wildcats’ Brooklyn DeLeye posted 22 kills in the match, attacking deep into the court where Florida struggled to defend.
In the fourth, DeLeye improved her hitting percentage from .233 to .309, nearly doubling her kills in the set. The Gators recorded 10 unforced errors compared to Kentucky’s four, allowing the Wildcats to capitalize on their mistakes.
At 15-13, Kentucky was on a 3-0 scoring run after an ace by Molly Tuozzo gave the Wildcats’ the lead. Fueled by Tuozzo, Kentucky extended its advantage to 17-13 after the libero recorded an ace and King logged an attack error. Florida tried to catch up at 17-15, but Kentucky wouldn't give up the lead easily.
The Wildcats built another 3-0 scoring run to take a 20-16 lead behind two unforced errors by Florida and a kill from Asia Thigpen. The Gators couldn't recover, and a service error from Parks gave the Wildcats the fourth set at 25-21.
Florida scrambled in the opening set as well. After trailing the first two points, a kill from Chaney made the Gators hungry for more. Parks was there when Florida needed her most, inching the Gators closer to equalizing after dumping it near the middle to take a 18-17 lead. Florida equalized at 20-20 with a block from Rothe and King, but that wasn't enough to build momentum to take the lead.
In the final stretch, the Gators couldn't hold off the Wildcats’ aggressive offense. Kentucky logged three kills in the final six points, two from Lizzie Carr and one from Morgan Gaerte, to take the first set 25-22.
The second opened with total dominance from the Gators. However, the Wildcats fought back, equalizing the set at 16 apiece. Despite subbing in Jordyn Byrd, the Gators couldn't keep up with Kentucky’s high-powered offense and found themselves trailing 20-17.
But a powerful block to the middle by Leban, King and Briscoe stopped Kentucky’s aggressive swing and changed the tone. After three consecutive kills, the Gators regained the upper hand at 23-22.
The programs traded blows as the set came to a close, and after six set points, a kill from Chaney gave the Gators a second-set victory.
With each team holding a set under its belt, both Kentucky and Florida felt the pressure entering the third set.
After keeping the frame close at 11-11, Florida took a four-point advantage thanks to Byrd’s power to the middle of the court. The opposite hitter did it again at 19-14, with the swing bouncing off of a Kentucky player and out of bounds.
At 21-15, Florida had built a gap behind two kills from Byrd and four unforced errors by Kentucky in the final eight points. But it was a deep kill from the middle by Rothe that made the O’Dome erupt in cheers as the Gators took the victory in the third set, 25-21.
Leading the match 2-1 against the No. 3 ranked team in the nation, Florida stepped into the fourth set with a newfound confidence. Florida welcomed the challenge, but couldn't build a commanding lead as their defense struggled against Kentucky’s aggressive kill leaders, DeLeye and Carr.
Kentucky kept the set tight until 16-13, with consecutive aces by Molly Tuozzo giving them a two-point lead.
At 24-19, the Wildcats had the fourth set in the bag. Florida tried to rebound with back-to-back kills from Chaney, who matched her season-high with 22 kills, but a Parks service error handed Kentucky the fourth-set win.
But in the all-deciding fifth set, Florida turned on the afterburners and pushed to a 15-8 victory.
“We’re only three matches in,” Theis said. “Its a great start [to conference play], but we got a long way to go.”
The victory marked the first time the Gators defeated a top-five ranked opponent in three years, with their last win coming 3-1 against No. 2 Stanford on Oct. 1, 2023. Sunday also marked Florida’s first win against Kentucky since 2021.
The Gators will travel to Columbia, Missouri, to take on the Tigers on Friday at 8 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.
