UF sophomore middle blocker Alec Rothe (25) and her teammates celebrate after a kill in the Gators' 3-0 win against the Norfolk State Spartans at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville on Sunday. [Alyvia Logan/WRUF]

Florida Volleyball Sweeps Norfolk State in Home Opener

The Florida Gators are surrounded by many moving pieces, such as a new head coach and new faces on the court, but they all remain with the same goal — a national championship.

In Sunday’s volleyball home opener, the Gators (2-1) faced Norfolk State (0-4) and did not let their foot off the gas, as Ryan Theis’ team swept the Spartans 25-18, 25-13, 25-12.

Florida volleyball coach Ryan Theis watches from the sidelines during the third set in the Gators’ 3-0 win against the Norfolk State Spartans at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Sunday. [Alyvia Logan/WRUF]

“It’s really fun,” Theis said. “I played away here [O’Connell] in 2014 as the visiting coach [Marquette] and haven’t seen the environment since. I don’t fully know what to expect other than as the clock ticked down the upper deck got more and more full. Great to see so many familiar faces and so many people in orange and blue.”

Gators fans showed out at the O’Connell Center and were in for a show. Florida put on an offensive clinic with a season-high hitting percentage of .414, led by Jordyn Byrd with 12 kills, followed by Alec Rothe (7) and Aniya Madkin (6).

The Gators tied their season high service aces with eight in the match, while Alexis Stucky and Ella Vogel each record two.

This fall I have the pleasure of being one of the beat reporters for Gators Volleyball.

I am here at the O’Connell center with live coverage for the Gators (1-1) home opener vs Norfolk State (0-3) pic.twitter.com/j7VPJv3Xql

— Jelianys (@Jelianys_11) August 31, 2025

The Gators kept their momentum going after defeating Pitt on their second game of the season. They did that and showed their roster depth despite the injuries.

Florida next plays at 6 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN+, ESPN 98.1-FM /850-AM WRUF) at the Yuengling Center in Tampa against USF (0-2).

Florida sophomore middle blocker Jaela Auguste (4) goes for a kill in the Gators’ 3-0 win against the Norfolk State Spartans at the O’Connell Center on Sunday. [Alyvia Logan/WRUF]

Category: Gator Sports, Gators Volleyball, NCAA, SEC, University of Florida, Volleyball