Florida volleyball earned its second straight conference win on Sunday, improving to 4-2 in SEC play.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2025/10/12/box_score_vs._vanderbilt.pdf>
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida volleyball earned its second straight conference win, defeating Vanderbilt in four sets (25-19, 16-25, 25-17, 25-18) on Sunday afternoon inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The Gators held the Commodores to a season-low .106 hitting percentage while hitting .252 as a team, which was guided by setter Alexis Stucky’s 33 assists.
Outside hitter Jordyn Byrd finished with a match-high 13 kills, middle blocker Jaela Auguste finished one shy of double-digits with nine. Aniya Madkin added eight kills and Alec Rothe hit .462 to finish with seven. Freshman Milica Vidacic (5) and Stucky (4) combined for nine to round out Florida’s 46 total kills
Defensively, the Gators posted a four-set high 13.0 blocks, led by Auguste’s seven. Vidacic and Rothe each contributed four, while Byrd tied her career high three. Stucky and Madkin added two apiece.
In the backcourt, freshman libero Lily Hayes anchored the defense with a match-high 16 digs, with redshirt freshman Ella Vogel chipping in nine. Stucky recorded seven digs, while six other Gators added to their 47: Kira Hutson (6), Emily Canaan (3), Byrd (3), Auguste (1), Vidacic (1) and Bella Lee (1).
From the service line, the Gators tallied seven aces to the Commodores nine, with Hayes having a career-high four to lead the way for Florida. Stucky matched her season-high two and Hutson added one to the stat line.
Vanderbilt’s Jacquelyn Moore led the way offensively for the Commodores with 11 kills.
Records:
Florida (9-6, 4-2 SEC)
Vanderbilt (5-10, 1-5 SEC)
Series record:
Florida leads 1-0 (1-0 under Theis)
3-set: 0-0 | 4-set: 1-0 | 5-set: 0-0
Home: 1-0 | Away: 0-0 | Neutral: 0-0
How It Happened
Set 1
* After trading early points, Vanderbilt attacking errors allowed Florida to surge ahead to a 10-5 lead, as kills from Madkin and Rothe gave the Gators a 15-8 advantage heading into the media timeout. Following the break, the Commodores settled in and went on a 5-0 scoring run to inch back within two (15-13) and force a Florida timeout, where they responded with a 10-5 scoring run to come away with a 25-19 opening-set win.
* Set 1 Team Stats | .171 Hitting %| 11 Kills | 10 Assists |15 Digs | 4.5 Blocks | 2 Aces
* Vanderbilt’s Team Stats | .000 Hitting %|10 Kills | 10 Assists | 10 Digs | 1.0 Blocks |2 Aces
Set 2
* Florida fell to an early 3-8 deficit and used a timeout after the Commodores went on a 5-0 scoring run. Kills from Auguste and Rothe as well as an ace from Hutson brought the Gators back within three (9-12), but Vanderbilt continued to maintain control behind four service aces to come away with a 25-16 win and even the match at 1-1.
* Set 2 Team Stats | .115 Hitting %| 9 Kills |8 Assists | 9 Digs | 1.0 Block | 2 Aces
* Vanderbilt’s Team Stats | .310 Hitting %|13 Kills |13 Assists |11 Digs | 2.0 Blocks | 5 Aces
Set 3
* Florida jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third set thanks to a pair of Vanderbilt attack errors and a service ace from Hayes. A block from Auguste and Vidacic, followed by back-to-back kills from Byrd extended the lead to 8-4. Kills from Madkin and Vidacic helped push the Gators’ lead to 15-9. Out of the media timeout, back-to-back kills from Auguste and a service ace from Stucky made it 20-13 and forced a Vanderbilt timeout. Despite a late push from the Commodores, points from Auguste and Rothe sealed the 25-17 set-three win and a 2-1 match lead.
* Set 3 Team Stats | .300 Hitting %| 12 Kills | 10 Assists |12 Digs | 4.5 Blocks | 2 Aces
* Vanderbilt’s Team Stats | .067 Hitting %| 10 Kills | 10 Assists |12 Digs | 1.0 Blocks | 0 Aces
Set 4
* Florida carried its momentum into the fourth set, as a 4-0 scoring run with Hayes behind the service line allowed for an early 11-7 lead and force Vanderbilt to call a timeout. Out of the break, a block from Madkin followed by kills from Auguste and Byrd made the Commodores use their final timeout after falling to a 15-8 deficit. Auguste kept the momentum with two blocks and a kill, but Vanderbilt fought back with a 4-0 scoring run to inch within seven (19-12) and force Florida to call a timeout. Out of the huddle, Byrd and Stucky steadied the Gators with points to push the score to 21-12, as Rothe closed out the match with a kill to give the Gators a 25-18 fourth-set win.
* Set 4 Team Stats | .429 Hitting %| 14 Kills |11 Assists | 11 Digs |3.0 Blocks |1 Ace
* Vanderbilt’s Team Stats | .091 Hitting %| 10 Kills | 10 Assists | 11 Digs | 0.0 Blocks | 2 Aces
Hear from Head Coach Ryan Theis:
“Two wins in a row, we’ve been struggling to get that so it was nice to do it and nice to be at home. Hopefully we can carry the momentum into a big week.”
On going against a new Vanderbilt volleyball program…
“It’s so neat to see. I love that Vanderbilt added volleyball, Nashville is a great volleyball town. Anders, their coach, is an awesome guy and is a perfect fit. He’s going to have them competitive really quick.”
Notables
* The Gators sit 5-2 in four-set matches this season
* Florida is now 6-1 when playing at home
* UF improves to 6-2 in Sunday matches
* The Gators are now 3-1 in October play
* Two players either set or tied career highs:
* Ella Vogel: 2 assists
* Lily Hayes: 4 aces | 4.0 points
* Two players either set or tied season highs:
* Alexis Stucky: 2 aces (tied)
* Jordyn Byrd: 3.0 blocks (tied)
* The Gators 13.0 blocks is a four-set team high
* Jaela Auguste’s 7.0 blocks tied for an individual four-set high
* One Gator recorded double-digit kills
* Jordyn Byrd: 13
* One Gator finished with double-digit digs:
* Lily Hayes: 16
Up Next
Florida faces a challenging week ahead with two ranked matchups, both set for national television. The Gators travel to Knoxville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, Oct. 15, for a midweek showdown against No. 17 Tennessee at Food City Center’s Thompson-Boling Arena. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. Florida then heads to Lexington, Kentucky, to take on No. 3 Kentucky on Sunday, Oct. 19, inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. That match is set for 3 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.
at No. 17 Tennessee
Date & Time: Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Thompson-Boiling Arena at Food City’s Center in Knoxville, Tennessee
Broadcast: SEC Network https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/d4a5dbc6-e99e-4eaf-ba23-8a84f1621c84
LiveStats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=602848&vislive=fla
Series Record 56-14 (0-0 under Theis)
3-set: 41-2; 4-set: 13-4; 5-set: 2-8
Home: 29-8; Away: 26-5; Neutral: 1-1
at No. 3 Kentucky
Date & Time: Sunday, Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. ET
Venue: Historical Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky
Broadcast: ESPN https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/7e8a8eba-9954-4c2a-b183-26ba4dcfe27f
LiveStats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=601272&vislive=fla
All-Time Series Record 53-23 (0-0 under Theis)
3-set: 37-12; 4-set: 9-4; 5-set: 7-7
Home: 26-12; Away: 23-10; Neutral: 4-1
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