Florida Volleyball Season Ends in NCAA Tournament Round Two
Florida volleyball saw its season come to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The unseeded Gators dropped the match to the two seed SMU in three sets, with scores of 25-11, 25-21 and 26-24.
Florida was one of four SEC teams remaining, leaving just Texas (1), Kentucky (1) and Texas A&M (3). The Mustangs now advance to its first regional semifinals in program history, where they will face three-seed Purdue.
In round one, each team swept their opponent, with Florida facing Rice and SMU facing Central Arkansas. The Mustangs achieved the highest hitting percentage in any three-set match in NCAA Tournament history, recording a 61.8% clip.
The Gators started slow, down 4-0 and 12-2, and never recovered. Outside hitter Jordyn Byrd was held to a 0% hitting clip in the first set, while the Gators hit 2.8% compared to SMU’s 48.3%. Florida ended with 25 attack errors and a 0.156 hitting percentage, its third lowest this season.
Byrd and middle blocker Jaela Auguste recorded 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Contributing to Florida’s 44 team kills, outside hitter Aniya Madkin followed with 11.
The second set was a different story with 11 ties and five lead changes. The Gators held close, even holding a lead of four before dropping the set 25-21. The third set was similar, as Florida held another four point lead and once had set point but saw its season end after SMU closed out the 26-24 set on a 3-0 scoring run.
Injuries plagued this match for SMU, as pin hitter Jadyn Livings went down with a leg injury in the first set, and freshman middle blocker Maggie Croft had a severe nose bleed in the second. Recording her first career serve and appearance, freshman middle blocker Brooke Gilmour had to temporarily fill in for Croft. Croft was able to reenter the match, finishing with a team-high nine blocks.
Florida setter Alexis Stucky led the match with 40 assists, bringing her season total to 1,062 and career total to 3,047. Mustangs setter Averi Carlson, who was selected seventh by the Atlanta Vibe in the 2025 Major League Volleyball Draft on Nov. 24, recorded 38.
The Gators finished their first season under the leadership of first-year coach Ryan Theis 16-12.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Volleyball, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Volleyball
