Gators Volleyball Heads to Knoxville
Looking to start a winning streak, Gators Volleyball will go head-to-head in an SEC match with No. 17 Tennessee in Knoxville on Wednesday. They took down Tennessee in four sets in their last matchup.
Florida has a 54-13 record over the Vols. The Gators also top Tennessee on the road with a 23-5 record
But Florida has struggled this season. The Gators are 4-2 in conference play, and they fell to Mississippi State in the SEC opener and to LSU in early October.
After the loss to LSU, the Gators fell out of the AVCA Top 25 Poll for the first time since Mary Wise took over in 1991. Florida has since bounced back by winning the following two games against Missouri and Vanderbilt. They are right back in the conversation and rank No. 26 by vote totals.
Coach Ryan Theis doesn’t seem worried about the AVCA rankings.
“We’ve got three or four pretty great wins on our resume,” Theis said on the “Ryan Theis Show” on WRUF. “Whatever votes and things that are happening aren’t going to change what we’re doing.”
Libero Lily Hayes was named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week following the Gators’ undefeated weekend. She posted 20 digs and seven assists against No. 25 Missouri and 16 digs in the Vanderbilt matchup on Sunday. Hayes leads the Gators and ranks seventh in the SEC with 3.65 digs per set.
“This might have been one of her best weekends of the year,” Thesis said.
Outside hitter Jordyn Byrd led the Gators in their match against the Tigers. She had 19 kills and 54 attacks during the annual Dig Pink match. Freshman opposite hitter Serbia Milica Vidačić trailed Byrd with 15 kills. Redshirt junior setter Alexis Stucky recorded a double-double, with 56 assists and a career-high 22 digs.
Byrd stood out again against Vanderbilt when the Gators took down the Commodores in a four-set win. She posted 13 kills and tied her career-high of three blocks. Middle blocker Jaela Auguste followed with nine kills and seven blocks.
The Gators will have to carry the winning momentum into Knoxville, Tennessee. The Vols have a 13-2 record this season and are 4-1 in the SEC. They are also coming off a three-set sweep over Ole Miss Sunday. To win, the Gators will have to face the curse of the second set. Florida has lost the second set in 12 of its 15 matches. It is 6-6 when losing. Staying consistent will be crucial for the Gators to notch a win against the Vols.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Volleyball, SEC
