Florida Volleyball Beats FAU, Remains Undefeated at Home

On paper, Florida volleyball put up a monster offensive performance in Friday’s match against the Florida Atlantic Owls – but the statistics can only tell so much.

The Gators stay undefeated at home with a four-set win over the Owls (23-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-18). After falling in the first set, Florida never looked back and won the next three decisively.

“They came out very strong and a lot of technique,” outside hitter Kamryn Chaney said. “They challenged us, and we just had to fight back.”

The match started ugly with Florida dropping its first set in over a week and ending its sweep streak of three. With 13 ties and eight lead changes, the No. 10 Gators struggled to keep up with the unranked Owls early on 

Historically, the Gators have held opponents to a .147 hitting percentage, ranking No. 27 in the nation in that category.

However, Florida Atlantic out-hit the Gators in the starting set, ending the set with .324 over Florida’s .300, forcing Theis to call two timeouts early. 

A large reason for FAU’s success was due to its passing and the middles. Florida Atlantic’s top player was Sequoia Layne, who is listed as a right side but played as a middle in the match. She ended the night with nine kills and two blocks.

Florida’s offense also started messy, totaling 12 errors in the first set, six of which came from attacks. 

Theis wanted the team to improve its efficiency following the Miami match. He specifically expressed his dissatisfaction with erroring over nine balls a set. The Gators ended the night with 31 errors.

“We shortened the game a little bit by making a few too many miscues,” he said. 

Despite a rocky start, Florida’s performance leveled out, even going above average statistically. The team ended up holding the Owls to below .155 on offense. 

After the first set, the Gators’ offense took off. Florida finished with its most efficient offense yet, hitting at .341 with 58 kills.

A big credit to the offense goes to Kamryn Chaney and Jordyn Byrd. Byrd quietly notched 10 kills, and six of those came from the fourth set alone. Her offensive aggression cleared a way for Florida to go on an offensive run to secure the win.

Chaney maintained offensive pressure throughout the match. She ended the night with 20 kills, tying with Selena Leban in the Minnesota matchup as the best individual kill performance in four sets. 

Theis called Chaney a closer, praising her ability to conserve energy and knowing the right moments to attack. For Chaney, her team pushes her to be decisive and keep attacking opponent defenses – and she listens.

“They make me feel so confident,” she said. “I’m just out there swinging.”

It’s a quick turnaround as the Gators face Troy University Sunday in Gainesville.

Category: Gators Volleyball, Volleyball