Friday, December 5
Dallas, Texas
5 PM
Florida Gators
3
vs
0
Rice University
The Gators advanced to the Second Round after taking down the Owls, 27-25, 25-23, 25-19.
After Overcoming Early Trouble, Florida Sweeps No. 7 Rice to Advance to Second Round
Friday, December 5, 2025 | Volleyball
DALLAS, TX – The University of Florida volleyball team opened the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a First Round sweep over No. 7 seed Rice on Friday on neutral territory inside the Moody Coliseum, advancing to the Second Round of the Tournament for the 31st time in program history.
After trailing 20-10 in the opening set, the Gators went on a 16-5 scoring run to fight back and come away with a 27-25 win. Florida continued its momentum with a 25-23 second-set win before securing the sweep with a 25-19 third-set win.
The Gators paced the stat sheet in all categories and held the Owls to a .153 hitting percentage while registering a .240 clip.
Outside hitters Jordyn Byrd and Aniya Madkin led Florida's offense with 18 and 13 kills, respectively. Middle blockers Jaela Auguste (9) and Alec Rothe (6) pitched in a combined 15, as setter Alexis Stucky dished out 41 assists and added 11 digs to register her 14th double-double of the season, 24th of her career.
The Laramie, Wyoming native also reached a career milestone in the sweep, surpassing 3,000 career assists. She ranks No. 9 in program history with 3,007 total assists.
At the net, the Gators out blocked the Owls 9.0-7.0, with Stucky having a team-high five. Auguste and Rothe both finished with four, while Byrd totaled two.
Florida's defense was evenly shared with six Gators pitching in four or more digs to the stat line. Freshman libero Lily Hayes paced the backcourt with 12 digs, while Kira Hutson and Emily Canaan finished shy of double digits with nine apiece. Ella Vogel added eight and Byrd tied her career-high four, while four additional names combined for six of the team's 59: Bella Lee (2), Rothe (2), Taylor Parks (1) and Madkin (1).
Behind the service line, Vogel dropped three aces and Hutson and Stucky each registered one. Not making it on the stat sheet, Parks aggressive serving was a key contributor to Florida's first-set comeback.
Rice's Taylor Preston led the Owls offense with 12 kills.
Records:
Florida (16-11 9-6 SEC)
No. 7 seed Rice (21-10, 15-1 AAC)
All-Time Series record:
8-1 (1-0 under Theis)
3-set: 7-0, 4-set: 1-1; 5-set: 0-0
Home: 2-1; Away: 4-0; Neutral: 2-0
How It Happened
Set 1
Set 2
Set 3
Hear from Head Coach Ryan Theis:
"Clearly a slow start sparked by a sweet point run by Taylor Parks. That was a pretty impressive serve run to get us back in it, and then we rode the momentum from there. So good rounded effort I thought, Stucky put hitters in some pretty good positions and I thought Jordan finished some volleys."
On what the overall message was to the team that helped spark that kind of run…
"We said sure slow start, yeah that happened. It's just volleyball, lets not let it consume us and these guys did a really good job after that setting in."
Notables
Florida returns to tournament play tomorrow, Sat. Dec 6. The Gators will face the host-team SMU at 8:00 p.m. ET inside the Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs are the No. 2 seed in the lower left region of the bracket and are ranked No. 7 in the newest AVCA national rankings.
2025 DI women's volleyball championship schedule
All times listed in ET
FloridaGators.com
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After trailing 20-10 in the opening set, the Gators went on a 16-5 scoring run to fight back and come away with a 27-25 win. Florida continued its momentum with a 25-23 second-set win before securing the sweep with a 25-19 third-set win.
The Gators paced the stat sheet in all categories and held the Owls to a .153 hitting percentage while registering a .240 clip.
Outside hitters Jordyn Byrd and Aniya Madkin led Florida's offense with 18 and 13 kills, respectively. Middle blockers Jaela Auguste (9) and Alec Rothe (6) pitched in a combined 15, as setter Alexis Stucky dished out 41 assists and added 11 digs to register her 14th double-double of the season, 24th of her career.
The Laramie, Wyoming native also reached a career milestone in the sweep, surpassing 3,000 career assists. She ranks No. 9 in program history with 3,007 total assists.
At the net, the Gators out blocked the Owls 9.0-7.0, with Stucky having a team-high five. Auguste and Rothe both finished with four, while Byrd totaled two.
Florida's defense was evenly shared with six Gators pitching in four or more digs to the stat line. Freshman libero Lily Hayes paced the backcourt with 12 digs, while Kira Hutson and Emily Canaan finished shy of double digits with nine apiece. Ella Vogel added eight and Byrd tied her career-high four, while four additional names combined for six of the team's 59: Bella Lee (2), Rothe (2), Taylor Parks (1) and Madkin (1).
Behind the service line, Vogel dropped three aces and Hutson and Stucky each registered one. Not making it on the stat sheet, Parks aggressive serving was a key contributor to Florida's first-set comeback.
Rice's Taylor Preston led the Owls offense with 12 kills.
slap happy 🤩 pic.twitter.com/D4Jfz1b8Gc
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) December 6, 2025
Records:
Florida (16-11 9-6 SEC)
No. 7 seed Rice (21-10, 15-1 AAC)
All-Time Series record:
8-1 (1-0 under Theis)
3-set: 7-0, 4-set: 1-1; 5-set: 0-0
Home: 2-1; Away: 4-0; Neutral: 2-0
How It Happened
Set 1
- Florida grabbed the opening two points, but Rice responded with a 4-0 scoring run to gain a 6-3 lead. A kill from Madkin ended the rally, but attacking errors allowed the Owls a six-point advantage (11-5) before stretching their lead to 20-10. Florida started to find its rhythm with a 3-0 scoring run behind attacks from Byrd and Madkin to inch back within seven (13-20) and forced Rice to call a timeout. Out of the huddle, a kill from Byrd sent Parks to the service line where the sophomore served six straight to rally back within one (20-21), as the Gators fought off two set points before an ace from Hutson helped give the Gators a 27-25 set-one win.
- Set 1 Team Stats | .179 Hitting %| 17 Kills |16 Assists | 28 Digs |2.0 Blocks | 1 Ace
- Rice Stats | .145 Hitting %| 15 Kills | 15 Assists | 29 Digs | 2.0 Blocks | 1 Ace
WON'T BACK DOWN.
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) December 5, 2025
10-1 run for the Gators to bring it within one ‼️
Gators 20 | Owls 21 pic.twitter.com/c7a0ROPBFV
Set 2
- The Gators carried its momentum into set two with an early 7-3 lead after Byrd recorded three-straight attacks. An ace from Stucky extended Florida's lead to six (16-10), but Rice responded with an 11-5 scoring run to tie it up at 21-21. With the race to 25 inching near, the teams exchanged points until a block from Stucky and Rothe followed by a kill from Byrd sealed the 25-23 second-set win.
- Set 2 Team Stats |.250 Hitting %| 17 Kills |17 Assists | 19 Digs |4.0 Blocks | 1 Ace
- Rice Stats | .195 Hitting %| 13 Kills | 13 Assists |18 Digs | 2.0 Blocks | 1 Ace
STAYIN' UP 😤 pic.twitter.com/2DB1IhBN9J
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) December 5, 2025
Set 3
- After battling point-for-point, the Gators fell to a 5-8 deficit at the start of the third set. Kills from Auguste and Madkin followed by an ace from Vogel inched Florida back within one, but went into the media timeout trailing by two (13-15). Following the break, Rice continued to lead by three until back-to-back blocks from Auguste and Stucky followed by a solo from Byrd helped Florida gain a 19-18 lead and force an Owls timeout. Out of the huddle, a second ace from Vogel gave the Gators breathing room and push to a 25-19 third-set win.
- Set 3 Team Stats | .345 Hitting %| 14 Kills | 14 Assists |12 Digs | 3.0 Blocks |3 Aces
- Rice Stats | .107 Hitting %| 9 Kills | 8 Assists | 9 Digs |3.0 Blocks | 1 Ace
GATORS GET THE SWEEP 🧹#NCAAWVB x 🎥 ESPN+ / @GatorsVB pic.twitter.com/aXZZBQM42c
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 5, 2025
Hear from Head Coach Ryan Theis:
"Clearly a slow start sparked by a sweet point run by Taylor Parks. That was a pretty impressive serve run to get us back in it, and then we rode the momentum from there. So good rounded effort I thought, Stucky put hitters in some pretty good positions and I thought Jordan finished some volleys."
On what the overall message was to the team that helped spark that kind of run…
"We said sure slow start, yeah that happened. It's just volleyball, lets not let it consume us and these guys did a really good job after that setting in."
PLAYER OF THE MATCH @JordynByrd_14
— Gators Volleyball (@GatorsVB) December 6, 2025
Court side with J. Byrd post victory over Rice to advance to the second round of the @NCAAVolleyball Tournament
📺 https://t.co/sqqByvlXFD (ESPN+) pic.twitter.com/JBssDxuAWg
Notables
- The Gators improve to 28-0 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
- In the NCAA Tournament, Florida holds an 85-35 record and is 1-0 under Coach Theis.
- UF stretches to 6-3 in three-set matches this season and 56-15 in NCAA play.
- Florida sits 3-2 in neutral-site matches during the 2025 campaign and evens its record to 18-18 in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Gators remain undefeated against AAC opponents with a 2-0 record
- When playing on a Friday, Florida's record is 5-4.
- In the month of November, UF holds a 3-4 record.
- Coach Theis holds an overall 12-14 NCAA Tournament record and is 9-6 in the First Round.
- One Gator either set career highs:
- Jordyn Byrd: 4 digs (tied)
- One player either set season highs:
- Alexis Stucky: 5 blocks (tied)
- Alexis Stucky recorded her 14th double-double of the season, 24th of her career, with 41 assists and 11 digs.
- Two names recorded double-digit kills:
- Jordyn Byrd:18
- Aniya Madkin: 13
- Two Gators finished with double-digit digs:
- Lily Hayes: 12
- Alexis Stucky: 11
- Alexis Stucky ranks 9th for career assists in Program history with 3007
Florida returns to tournament play tomorrow, Sat. Dec 6. The Gators will face the host-team SMU at 8:00 p.m. ET inside the Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs are the No. 2 seed in the lower left region of the bracket and are ranked No. 7 in the newest AVCA national rankings.
2025 DI women's volleyball championship schedule
All times listed in ET
- Selection show: 6 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30
- First and second rounds: Dec. 4-5 or Dec. 5-6
- Regionals: Dec. 11 and 13 or Dec. 12 and 14
- Semifinals: Thursday, Dec. 18
- National championship: 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 21 | ABC
FloridaGators.com
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