Florida Volleyball Heads to AT&T Stadium for Historic Spikes Under the Lights
On the schedule, Florida volleyball’s match against Nebraska is just an exhibition and does not affect the team’s chances at a national title.
However, it can be argued it’s one of the biggest matches for the Gators this season, and it is not because Nebraska is the projected No.1 seed.
“It’s the thing you dream of as a kid,” UF outside hitter Aniya Madkin said.
The Florida and Nebraska game Thursday is the first round of two in the single-day event called Spike Under the Lights. At the first of its kind, the event features four of some of the country’s top volleyball programs: Florida, Nebraska, Penn State and Southern Methodist University.
The highlight of the event is not solely because of the elite competition. The tournament will take place in AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. The showcase marks the first time a women’s volleyball match will take place inside an NFL stadium.
Spike Under the Lights also comes three years after the Nebraska volleyball team broke the all-time attendance record for a women’s sporting event, racking up 92,003 fans in the school’s football stadium. Collegiate volleyball games averaged about 5,000 fans a game that same season.
These two events reflect a larger trend in women’s volleyball: growing viewership. Coach Ryan Theis noticed the trend throughout his 18 years as a head coach, adding that increased match attendance has also translated to increased televised games.
“Three thousand people for a volleyball match used to be a big deal,” Theis said. “From that aspect, it’s [the growth of volleyball] been great to see over the course of the last 25 to 30 years.”
With more eyes on the game, younger girls are getting more exposure to the volleyball world. As a player from a small town in Mississippi, Madkin played with a crowd of “minimal people.” Now, she is excited to be part of an event that could be the first time some people experience elite-level volleyball.
The extra eyes on the game also benefits the Gators. Besides fan exposure, the event also creates another kind of platform: recruitment. Theis called Texas, specifically Dallas, a “recruiting hotbed,” well known for the city’s Major League Volleyball Team, the Pulse. Former Gator Isabel Martin won a national championship with the Pulse last season.
Theis felt grateful for the opportunities available for his team and hopes, if the event becomes annual, be invited for seasons to come.
“All these events and these showcases are great to display the sport of volleyball and the Florida Gators,” he said. “We’ll hope to win some matches and continue to be invited.”
In addition to the sheer scale and impact of the event, money is on the line. The Gators will be competing in a $1 million prize pool, the largest awarded in women’s collegiate sports. The four participating teams are to be paid $200,000 for their appearance. The additional $200,000 will be distributed based on performance during the showcase, with the largest portion going to the winning team.
The record-breaking prize pool represents a shift in the world of amateur sports, further blurring the line between professional and collegiate leagues.
That debate, however, is not a concern for the Gators. Theis explained the focus of the money is not on the money for themselves, but in turn how the team can elevate and maintain the premiere program they are creating at Florida. Madkin agreed, more so focused on the additional reps and getting better.
“I literally don’t even know what it [the prize money amount] is,” she said. “If there’s a ball and there’s a court, we’re just going to play volleyball.”
Regardless of the money and of the larger platform, the Gators still have a game they want to win. They play the Cornhuskers in the first round at 8 p.m. ET on TNT. Florida last played Nebraska in 2018 and won 3-1 to trail 4-9 in the all-time series.
A lot can change in eight years. The Cornhuskers have All-American outside hitter Harper Murray. The senior leads the team in nearly every stat: points per set (4.21), kills per set (3.54) and total points (451), outscoring the team’s next best player by 83 points.
And that team’s next best player is senior middle Andi Jackson, a two-time All-American who won the AVCA Middle Blocker of the Year last season. The powerhouse duo is what has made Nebraska volleyball a nationally acclaimed program and a challenging competitor.
With Theis calling Nebraska “a juggernaut,” the team’s strategy is to play aggressively and compete.
“We’re going to have to serve it well, play good defense,” he added. “Any time we get an opportunity with the green light offensively, we’ve got to go for the kill.”
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Volleyball
