Florida Volleyball Drops From AVCA Top 25 – Again

It’s déjà vu for Florida volleyball, which dropped out of the AVCA Top 25 once again Monday after a 1-1 week, receiving just 40 votes. The Gators were previously ranked 25th for their first week back on the list since missing a ranking for the first time since 1991 on Oct. 6. 

Both matches this past week were on the road. The win came Friday night against Georgia, as the Gators swept the Bulldogs with scores of 25-22, 25-20 and 25-19. This was Florida’s second straight sweep, previously taking down Arkansas 3-0 on Oct. 26. 

Middle blocker Jaela Auguste was the hero of the match for Florida, recording 14 kills, three service aces and two blocks. She notched a season-high 0.722 hitting percentage, tallying just one error on her 18 total attacks. 

On Sunday, Florida lost at South Carolina in four sets. The Gators are now 13-8 overall and 8-4 in SEC play, while the Gamecocks are 9-13 and 3-9. This ranks among the worst conference losses of the season for Florida, taking close losses in three sets and pulling out a convincing 25-18 win in the third set. 

Errors played a big role Sunday. Florida marked 23 on the attack, 15 in serving and three in blocks. The errors behind the line tied for the most all season for the Gators. 

Florida did have the edge in kills, recording 63 compared to the Gamecocks’ 52. Outside hitter Jordyn Byrd and middle blocker Alec Rothe split to load and tallied 13 to lead the match.

The Gators celebrate senior night Friday at 7 p.m. against No. 4 Texas, which was previously No. 2 but took its first two losses of the year this past week.

Category: Gators Volleyball, NCAA, SEC, Volleyball