Florida Gators Volleyball
The Gators volleyball team celebrates a point in the team's victory over Sacramento State Thursday night. Photo courtesy of Emma Bissell.

Florida Volleyball Faces Two Top-25 Opponents at Home

Florida volleyball will continue to face ranked SEC opponents with matchups against No. 11 Tennessee and No. 13 Kentucky on November 3 and November 5.

Loss Against Arkansas

Florida suffered a 3-0 loss to the No. 8 Razorbacks on October 29. The Gators are 14-5 on the year and 6-4 in SEC Play. This was the first time Arkansas has won against Florida in Gainesville.

Florida started strong and immediately took the lead in the first set. It wasn’t long before Arkansas went on a run and kept a 6-point advantage which would help the Razorbacks win set 1, 25-19.

Despite losing the first set, Florida bounced back and took a 4-point lead in the second set. This success can be attributed to Kennedy Muff’s playmaking and service. Muff had 31 assists on the night. Muff has reached a career milestone of 4,000 career assists.

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Arkansas would take a 2-0 lead after a momentum shift winning Set 2, 25-20.

Set 3 was back and forth the entire time. Both teams traded points until Arkansas went ahead 15-13. Sofia Victoria and Kennedy Martin kept a spark going for the Gators as the set continued.

Victoria and Martin combined for 20 kills in the match. The Razorbacks would go on to win set 3 and complete the sweep, 25-23. The final set consisted of 20 ties and 9 lead changes. 

Tennessee and Kentucky

Tennessee travels to Florida on a 2-game win streak. The Vols are 18-3 on the year and 9-2 in conference play. Tennessee dominated Texas A&M on defense. Yelianiz Torres led the way for the Vols with 17 digs and received a SEC Defensive Player of the Week award.

A strong offensive performance from Morgan Fingall earned her SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week. Fingall led the team with 15 kills and provides momentum for Tennessee.

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Kentucky is another dominant SEC East team. The Wildcats haven’t lost since September and are 9-1 in SEC Play. Kentucky is an offensive powerhouse. Brooklyn DeLeye had 11 kills against LSU and leads the squad with 228 on the year. Eleanor Beavin balances out the Kentucky team with her consistency on defense. Beavin’s key digs in crucial moments have helped the Wildcats keep their 8-game win streak.

Kentucky will travel to South Carolina before coming to Gainesville to take on Florida.

Upcoming Match Times for Florida Volleyball

Florida will face off against Tennessee this Friday. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Exactech Arena. The Gators will turn around and play Kentucky on Sunday at 3 p.m.

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