Florida Volleyball Faces North Carolina in SEC-ACC Showdown

The No. 12 Florida Gators volleyball team faces off against the North Carolina Tar Heels at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the SEC-ACC Showdown at the Net. 

The two-day event features all 16 SEC and 16 of the 18 ACC teams playing against one another. 

The event marks Florida’s first time playing in Chapel Hill, N.C. since 1993, when the Gators won 3-1 in what was then-coach Mary Wise’s third year at the helm. Safe to say, some things have changed. The two teams have not played each other since 2017, and Florida leads the all-time matchup 12-1.

Florida (4-1) is on a four-game win streak, with its only loss coming in the first match of the season against No. 6 Stanford. The team’s most recent win was a sweep of Ohio State on Sunday, Florida’s first win at the Buckeyes (1-3).

Setter Taylor Parks earned her first double-double of the season and fifth of her young career, notching 35 assists and 10 digs for UF. Outside hitter Kira Hutson earned a career high in aces with four, adding half of the team’s eight aces to Ohio State’s two. 

Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Jordyn Byrd has been a standout, leading the team with 75 kills and 79 points. In three of Florida’s five games, including the Gators’ comeback win against then-No. 3 Pitt, Byrd has paced the Gators’ offense. 

The Tar Heels (4-0) are also on a four-game win streak. Junior setter Zoe Behrendt has led the way with 87 assists, and outside hitter Safi Hampton, who leads the team with 47 kills and 50.5 points, has been UNC’s primary scoring option.

The contest will mark the end of a three-game road trip for the Gators. Florida’s next game this week will be Sunday at 1 p.m., venturing back to the O’Connell Center against No. 20 Baylor.

Tuesday’s SEC-ACC matchup can be streamed on ACC Network.

Category: Gators Volleyball, SEC, Volleyball