Florida Volleyball Powers Past Ole Miss in SEC Finale

OXFORD, Miss. — Florida wrapped up its regular-season SEC schedule with a much-needed victory Friday afternoon after defeating Ole Miss in four sets (25–20, 19–25, 25–19, 25–21) at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center. The win pushed the Gators to 14–10 overall and 9–6 in SEC play.

Florida’s attack was balanced, with three players reaching double-digit kills. Jordyn Byrd and Aniya Madkin each finished with 11, and middle blocker Jaela Auguste added 10 kills on an efficient .400 hitting percentage. Fellow middle Alec Rothe narrowly missed double figures, contributing nine kills while hitting .381. The Gators finished with 51 kills overall and supplemented their offense with a season-high nine service aces in a four-set match, four of them coming from outside hitter Kira Hutson, who tied her career high.

Defensively, Florida controlled the net with nine team blocks. Auguste and Rothe each tallied four, helping slow down a potent Ole Miss offense. In the back row, libero Lily Hayes anchored the defense with 14 digs, while senior Emily Canaan chipped in nine. Florida also benefited from strong two-setter play: Alexis Stucky posted 23 assists before giving way to Taylor Parks, who contributed 22 assists along with three kills, three digs and three blocks. Stucky’s performance vaulted her into the top 10 all time in assists in Florida program history with 2,877 assists and counting.

Ole Miss (12-14, 4-11) , meanwhile, was led by a standout performance from freshman outside hitter Melia Johnson, who posted a match-high 16 kills on .367 hitting. Junior outside hitters Shayla Meyer and Gabi Placide added 14 and 13 kills, respectively, with Meyer also recording 11 digs for her fourth career double-double. Despite solid individual efforts, the Rebels struggled to maintain consistency in key stretches, especially late in sets three and four.

Florida opened the match strong, hitting .357 in the first set and maintaining control throughout a comfortable 25–20 win. But momentum swung sharply in the second set when the Gators committed eight attacking errors and hit only .130, allowing the Rebels to even the match. The third frame marked a turning point: Florida rediscovered its rhythm, hitting .333 with 14 kills and four aces to reclaim the lead.

The deciding fourth set featured 13 ties and saw neither team lead by more than two until Florida broke loose late. With the score knotted at 21–21, the Gators closed on a decisive 5–0 run fueled by Hutson’s serving pressure to seal the match. Though Florida hit just .093 in the final set, timely blocking and clean side-out play proved enough to outlast Ole Miss.

Friday’s win was significant for a Florida team that had entered the match 0–3 in November. It also continued the program’s long-running dominance in the series; the Gators haven’t lost to Ole Miss since 1989. Even more importantly, the victory positions Florida for a likely No. 5 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming SEC Volleyball Tournament.

The tournament will be held from Friday-Nov. 25 in Savannah, Ga., after a 20-year hiatus deciding the first SEC Tournament champion since 2005. If Florida’s seeding holds, the Gators will start the tournament with a first-round bye and play their first match of the postseason on Saturday. The SEC bracket will be announced Sunday.

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