Florida Volleyball’s Alec Rothe Guided by Faith
When someone types “Alec Rothe” into a search engine, they will see her decorated volleyball career: SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week, 2025 AVCA Southeast Region First Team member and 2024 SEC Freshman of the Week.
The search will also prompt hundreds of highlight clips of Rothe blocking an opponent’s top hitter or her swinging a light-speed kill from the front row. Fans will even see her high school Gatorade Player of the Year profile from her prep days.
Volleyball is the first thing that comes up when someone searches her name, but Rothe knows her identity goes beyond the sport, all thanks to her faith.
“One thing my faith has taught me about volleyball is that volleyball is not who I am,” she said. “It’s just a part of the gifts that God has given me.”
Freshman Year Struggles
That mindset is not how Rothe used to see herself.
As a high school senior heading into her freshman year at Florida, she had a small chip on her shoulder.
Rothe is known for her work ethic, and in high school, hard work directly correlated to success. She was the Ohio Volleyball Player of the Year in 2023 and in 2024, she was an AVCA 1st Team All-American, the No. 1 volleyball recruit and the Division 1 Player of the Year.
“I literally won every single award you could win in high school,” Rothe said. “In my mind, it was like, ‘If I do good in my season, I’m going to win this award.’”
That mindset later proved her wrong.
Rothe found herself not only in a different state, playing in a different volleyball world, but also transitioning into a different role. She committed to Florida as a middle, but also played as an outside and opposite hitter her freshman year.
The added responsibility of being versatile as a freshman created pressure for Rothe that only grew with high expectations for herself. She felt if she worked just as hard, or even more, she would see the same success as in high school – that was not the case.
While Rothe averaged a .292-hitting percentage and tallied 80 solo and assisted blocks, she had underwhelming games where she hit in the negatives.
Her inability to produce the results despite putting in her “P’s and Q’s” to do so confused her and led her to doubt and think negatively about herself.
“I worked so hard. I do this. I do that. I show up every day,” Rothe said, reflecting on that season. “I try to have a good attitude, but it’s so hard to do that when I know I’m constantly failing.”
Rothe added she had the worst anxiety she has had her freshman year. With her freshman season not going the way she wanted it to go and her being in a new state far from home, she felt distraught – then her mindset switched.
Reconnecting With Her Faith
Once she started recommitting to her faith, she met Kevin Sides, one of the leaders for Big Monday, a UF varsity athlete Christian group.
“I observed someone who wanted to be great, but was maybe a little bit impatient with the process of transitioning from high school club to Division 1 SEC-level,” he said.
Many college athletes share Rothe’s mindset: wanting to be the best.
Sides added that competing at an academically challenging university like Florida, while playing in a highly competitive athletic conference, pushes athletes to strive for greatness. They embrace the challenge, seeking success both in the classroom and in their sport.
For Rothe, her drive translated into growing her faith. Sides said Rothe is a consistent member of Big Monday from when she was a freshman, always interested and looking to get more involved.
Through increased involvement, Rothe began to rely less on herself for success and looked to God, which helped ease her self-doubt.
“When you look at the difference between freshman year Alec and junior year Alec, I’m no longer trying to play volleyball in my own strength,” she said.
Her persistent walk in her faith not only helped her develop a healthier mindset, but taught her what Sides said she struggled with early on: patience.
One of Rothe’s favorite Bible verses, and the one she looks to the most, is Psalm 46:10: ”He says, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’”
Patience for Rothe looks like slowing down her thinking on the volleyball court. Oftentimes, she caught herself thinking about the next play before it was over or thinking about the next game and whether she would play better.
After hearing the verse in church, she realized that, for her, it meant slowing her brain and heart down to exist in the moment
“Now, it’s above my bed, on my mirror, it’s everywhere,” she said. “It’s so easy for us as athletes to get caught up in trying to get to the next thing and get to the next level and reach our ceiling and hit a new weight, but it’s really important for us to be able to slow down.”
Psalm 46:10 not only guides how Rothe mentally approaches volleyball, but also how she physically plays.
Be Still in Game
Rothe is one of the best defensive players not just on the Gators, but in the SEC and the nation. She averages 1.26 blocks per set, ranking No. 49 in the country and fourth in the SEC. Against No. 6 Wisconsin, she had a season-high of 11 blocks.
To be an efficient blocker, Rothe understands how patience through her eyes and body leads to success. She works to master timing on kills, making sure not to go too early before the ball leaves the setter’s hands.
“If you go too early, you’re cooked,” she said. “A telltale sign that I’m not being still is when I’m jumping too quickly.”
Rothe’s offense is also guided by Psalm 46:10.
She mentioned that her freshman year she would envision herself getting blocked before she would attack. That mentality limited her offensive potential, leaving her accustomed to being blocked. Rothe averaged 1.33 kills per set with a .292 hitting percentage in her Gators debut season.
She uses the verse to stay in the present play, not dwelling on past mistakes or getting ahead and trying to predict the future. This season, she is averaging 2.51 kills a set on a .421 hitting percentage, sitting at No. 15 in the nation.
“It’s kind of interesting,” Rothe said about how Psalms 46:10 affects her play. “On one side of my game, it’s a physical thing, and on the other side of my game, it’s a mental thing.”
Despite her faith improving her individual game, she does not play for the awards or statistics. As Rothe began developing her faith, her mindset toward volleyball also changed.
Rather than measuring her success by her performance, she began to understand the game’s place in her life beyond the court.
“I also didn’t even realize that what I wanted was not even the reason I liked playing volleyball,” she said.
Forming Connections
That reason is the people. For Rothe, the connections she makes mean more to her than any stat line or award.
Because of volleyball, she has met some of her closest friends – Gators libero and defensive specialist Emerson Hoyle being one.
The two met during Rothe’s freshman year when Hoyle was a junior. Throughout the years of playing together, they began to bond off the court through faith.
As both began to take their journeys in their faith more seriously, so did their friendship. Hoyle and Rothe each made a commitment to their faith and one to each other to hold the other accountable in their journeys.
“[It] was the best decision we could ever make,” Hoyle said.
That sense of connection extends to everyone Rothe shares the court with.
Her faith shapes how she approaches her relationships with teammates. For Rothe, she takes her connections seriously by looking to treat her teammates as friends first.
“God is giving me a really special gift of human connection and making people feel loved and seen and valued before any performance thing comes into the picture,” she said.
A special gift she uses to bond even more with her teammates is joy. Rothe identifies the feeling as one of the fruits of the spirit she hopes to steward – and it is evident.
Any picture of Rothe online is going to be her smiling or celebrating with the highest emotions. Hoyle recalls one of Rothe’s most emotional moments this season came during the game against Kentucky on Oct. 4, when she was “fired up.”
That energy and joy give Hoyle and the rest of the team confidence during a set or match to play their absolute best.
“When you play with someone like that, you can’t help but smile,” Hoyle said. “Having a teammate who is so bubbly and joyful and filled with the spirit is powerful … We can do anything on the court. We can do anything together: the hard, the good, the ugly in between.”
Wrapping Up
Every morning, Rothe wakes up and prays. In every prayer, she thanks God for the breath in her lungs and for his guidance throughout the day.
She then follows with “Slow Me Down” by Charles Weems. He sings, “I don’t want to rush” and “I don’t wanna miss your presence,” lyrics Rothe reflects on to remind herself to be intentional throughout the day.
And every night, she closes her day with a devotional, or a deep expression of her faith, in her journal. Page by page, she recalls moments in her past: the challenges, the success and the growth.
Now, looking back, she sees more than a record of her journey. She sees the faith that carried her through it.
“When I look back through that journal, it’s like, wow,” she said. “God, you have been so faithful to me, in volleyball and in my life.”
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Volleyball
