Friday, December 5
Dallas, Texas
5 PM
Florida Gators
vs
Rice University
Florida is set to face No. 7 seed Rice at 5 p.m. inside Moody Coliseum.
Gators Open NCAA Tournament on Friday in Dallas
Thursday, December 4, 2025 | Volleyball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida volleyball team begins its NCAA post-season run Friday, Dec. 5 with a neutral-site matchup against No. 7 Rice inside Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Alex Glover (Analyst) and Chris Mycoskie (play-by-play) on the call.
The Gators, positioned in the lower-left quadrant of the bracket, will play in the evening's opening match. No. 2 seed and No. 7 ranked SMU will face Central Arkansas in the following match at 7:30 p.m. ET (or 30 minutes after the conclusion of Match 1). The winners of both matches will advance to the second round and meet on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. ET.
DALLAS, TEXAS FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS SCHEDULE (All times listed in Eastern)
No. 7 Rice: 21-9 overall | 15-1 American | RPI: 21 | AVCA Ranking: RV
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The Gators, positioned in the lower-left quadrant of the bracket, will play in the evening's opening match. No. 2 seed and No. 7 ranked SMU will face Central Arkansas in the following match at 7:30 p.m. ET (or 30 minutes after the conclusion of Match 1). The winners of both matches will advance to the second round and meet on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. ET.
DALLAS, TEXAS FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS SCHEDULE (All times listed in Eastern)
- First Round Matches | Friday, Dec. 5
- Match 1: No. 7 Rice vs. Florida - 5 p.m.
- Match 2: No. 2/7 SMU vs. Central Arkansas - 30 min. following Match 1
- Second Round Match | Saturday, Dec. 6
- Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2 - 8 p.m.
- The Gators travel to Dallas for postseason play for the first time since 2003, marking just the second postseason trip to the city in program history. Florida's last appearances came in the 2003 when the Gators defeated Hawai'i 3–1 in the National Semifinal to advance to the National Championship, ultimately falling in four sets to USC.
- Florida's region of the bracket is part of the larger quadrant anchored by No. 1 seed Pittsburgh, with Minnesota (4), Iowa State (5), Xavier (8), Purdue (3), and Baylor (6) all also placed in the same region.
- Since 1987, the program has not hosted the First & Second Rounds seven times: Dallas, TX (2025), Kansas, KS (2024) Omaha, NE (2020), Orlando, FL (2018), Cedar Falls, IA (2011), Tallahassee, FL (2004), Stetson, FL (1996)
- With the selection, Florida extends its streak to 35-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, the third-longest active streak in the nation (Penn State – 45, Nebraska – 44), and its first under Head Coach Ryan Theis.
- The Gators selection marks the 15th NCAA Tournament appearance for Theis (1 with Florida, 10 at Marquette and 4 at Ohio). He advanced to his third NCAA Regional Semifinal in the fall of 2024, adding to previous trips in 2022 and 2018. Overall, Theis owns an 11-14 record in NCAA Tournament play.
- Overall, UF has been in the NCAA Tournament 36 times since the program's inception in 1984
- Florida has made 30 Regional Semifinals and 17 Regional Championship appearances in program history
- The Gators carry an 84-35 (.717) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, with 83 wins under Legendary Mary Wise, which is tied for fifth in Division I history.
- Florida is 62-8 at home, 5-9 Away and 17-18 in neutral matches during NCAA Tournament play
No. 7 Rice: 21-9 overall | 15-1 American | RPI: 21 | AVCA Ranking: RV
- The Owls will be making their 9th NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Volpe. It is their first appearance since joining the American Conference in 2023 and their first since 2022.
- Rice secured the American regular season title after a 15-1 conference mark before advancing to the conference tournament, where the Owls fell to Tulsa in the championship match. Rice won 17 straight games this season, the longest streak in program history.
- All-Time Series Record 7-1 (0-0 under Theis)
- 3-set: 6-0; 4-set: 1-1; 5-set: 0-0
- Home: 2-1; Away: 4-0; Neutral: 1-0
- Last time out: 1996, W 3-0 (15-6, 15-3, 15-7)
- The Mustangs, making their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and their fifth in program history.
- The Mustangs will host the first and second rounds for the second time in program history.
- MU enters postseason play on a nine-match winning streak and with a 25-5 record in its second season in the Power Four. The Mustangs finished league play 17-3.
- All-Time Series Record: Will be program's first meeting
- The Sugar Bears are making its fourth-ever NCAA Tournament, first since 2017.
- The Sugar Bears earned the automatic bid for the ASUN after defeating Eastern Kentucky in the ASUN Championship Final.
- All-Time Series Record: Will be program's first meeting
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