Florida Libero/Defensive Specialist Lily Hayes (13) celebrates after scoring a point Sunday against the Georgia Bulldogs at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville. [Alexis Moxley/WRUF]

No. 4 Florida Volleyball Secures Share of SEC Regular-Season Title

No. 4 Florida volleyball won a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season title Sunday in the O’Connell Center by defeating Georgia in four sets (25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19).

It marks Florida’s 26th SEC championship, the most in conference history, and its first since the 2022 season.

The Gators (21-2, 12-1 SEC) closed out the regular-season home schedule undefeated and celebrated seniors Bri Denney, Aniya Madkin, Kamryn Chaney, Jordyn Byrd and Kira Hutson.

Florida opposite hitter Logan King (8) prepares to spike the ball Sunday against the Georgia Bulldogs at the O’Connell Center. [Alexis Moxley/WRUF]

Florida’s biggest challenge of the match was finding ways to stop Georgia’s biggest offensive weapon, senior outside hitter Bianna Muoneke. She ranks third nationally and second in the SEC with 5.04 kills per set.

The Gators defense held Muoneke to 19 kills in the match.

The opening set showcased a back-and-forth battle between the Gators and Bulldogs (15-8, 7-6), with both teams trading kills early.

Florida’s biggest weakness in the set was serve receive, as it battled through four lead changes and 13 ties.

The Gators forced Georgia to use both time outs late in the set, but the Bulldogs kept battling back and responded with a three-point run to tie the set at 19-19.

Florida pulled away, closing the set 25-22 with kills from Alec Rothe and Chaney.

Junior opposite hitter Logan King led the Gators offense with six kills followed by Chaney with five.

The teams battled again in the second set with 15 ties and eight lead changes.

The Gators kept the pressure on the Bulldogs to force a late time out in the second set after going up 19-16.

Georgia responded after the timeout, causing Florida to drop its first set since facing Texas in October.

The Bulldogs recorded five aces in the set compared to the Gators zero.

Florida knew it couldn’t afford to lose focus after dropping a set.

“Every single game in the SEC is a challenge, so we have to just make sure that we control what we can control on our side,” Chaney said.

Florida outside hitter Kira Hutson (12) prepares to spike the ball Sunday against Georgia at the O’Connell Center. [Alexis Moxley/WRUF]

Florida came out strong in the third set, opening the set with a kill from Brooklyn Briscoe before going on a 4-0 scoring run.

The Gators took control in the third set, not giving up their lead and forcing Georgia to use both timeouts.

King clinched the third set for the Gators with an ace. Florida had 12 kills in this set compared to the Bulldogs’ nine.

The Gators secured the match in the fourth set after another back-and-forth battle.

Florida pulled out the win, 25-19 with a block assist from King and Rothe. The Gators recorded 20 kills in the fourth set. King contributed double digits for the Gators with 16 kills and 13 digs in the match.

The Gators improved to 70-12 all-time against Georgia.

Junior setter Taylor Parks set a season high in assists in a four-set match, recording 47 assists to surpass her previous record of 46 against Minnesota earlier this season.

Florida looks to extend its eight-match win streak and claim an outright SEC title on the road. The Gators’ next match up is in Starkville to take on Mississippi State (17-7, 7-6) Friday at 8 p.m.

“We’re not about trying to share the conference championship at this point,” coach Ryan Theis said. “We don’t want somebody else hanging a banner, so Friday we’re playing for a banner for just the Gators.”

The Gators earned UF’s first conference title of the athletic season and secured a Florida SEC title for the 49th consecutive season, the longest streak in the league.

Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Volleyball