Florida Volleyball Falls to No. 15 in AVCA Poll
Florida volleyball came in at No. 15 in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Week 3 Division I Top 25 Poll.
UF was previously No. 11, but the voting committee decided to drop Florida four spots after No. 25 North Carolina swept it Tuesday. However, the Gators didn’t fall far due to a thrilling victory over No. 20 Baylor in five sets sunday. UF’s currently amid a 554-week streak of being featured in the poll, dating back to Aug. 19, 1996 — former coach Mary Wise’s sixth season at UF.
Last week, the Gators fell to No. 25 North Carolina in three sets, 23-25, 18-25, 21-25, in the ACC-SEC challenge. Florida’s downfall was its 19 errors — 11 being service issues. Alongside errors, Florida’s serving stalled out, with only one ace in all three sets. UNC outpaced the Gators in kills with 40 and aces with five.
“It’s tough to win on the road twice and I thought we did a nice job defensively,” coach Ryan Theis said. “But [I] was disappointed in our serve game tonight.”
The Gators rebounded by defeating No.20 Baylor in five sets, 25-20, 22-25, 27-25, 22-25, 15-9. It was Florida’s seventh straight win at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, and its second win against a ranked opponent this season.
Additionally, it was a big night for multiple Gators. Redshirt junior setter Alexis Stucky reached 2,000 career assists and capped the evening off with her third double-double of the season with 45 assists and 10 digs. Redshirt sophomore outside hitters Aniya Madkin and Jordyn Byrd were also strong, as Madkin notched her Gator career-high in kills in 15 and Byrd recorded 21 kills.
Florida’s remaining schedule features six AVCA ranked opponents, the first being its last non-conference matchup against No. 7 Wisconsin Sunday. In SEC play, the Gators will face No. 2 Texas, which received three first-place votes, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 22 Missouri and No. 24 Tennessee, which just broke into the Top 25.
The No. 15 Gators (5-2) are next back in action against Theis’ previous school. After Mary Wise concluded a 34-year career at Florida this offseason, UF hired Theis from Marquette, where he coached for the past 11 years. The Gators will face the Golden Eagles(5-2) Friday. First serve is at 7 p.m. EST.
Category: Gators Volleyball, Volleyball
