Friday, September 26
Gainesville, Fla.
7 PM
Florida Gators
vs
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Mississippi State
Florida returns to the O'Dome after playing seven of its nine nonconference matchups on the road.
No. 19 Gators Open SEC Play with Three-Match Homestand
Thursday, September 25, 2025 | Volleyball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 19 Florida volleyball team (5-4, 0-0 SEC) is set to open Southeastern Conference play with a three-match homestand, kicking things off this weekend with a Friday night matchup against Mississippi State (10-0, 0-0 SEC), followed by a Sunday showdown with Alabama (8-2, 0-0 SEC). The Gators will then cap off the home stretch on Friday, Oct. 3, welcoming Auburn for the "Pack the Dome" matchup.
Friday, Sept. 26 vs. Mississippi State
The Gators are currently riding a seven-match win streak at home and boast an impressive 38-3 record in SEC openers, including an 8-0 mark against the Bulldogs. Head coach Ryan Theis holds a 13-4 conference-opener career-record, winning his last four.
Ranked No. 19 in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Week 4 Division I Top-25 Poll, Florida holds a 2-3 record against ranked opponents, highlighted by notable wins over then-No. 3 Pitt and No. 20 Baylor, while suffering losses to Stanford, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
On Mississippi State:
Click here to view the full 2025 schedule, featuring seven opportunities for Florida fans to watch the Gators in action at home inside the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, with exciting matchups against Auburn, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and more. Check out list of 2025 Florida volleyball home promotions.
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Friday, Sept. 26 vs. Mississippi State
- Venue: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
- Promotion: Blue Gator t-shirts for the first 250 UF students
- Broadcast: SEC+
- Talent: Tom Collett and Ainsley Clifford
- Listen: ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF
- Talent: Sky Lebron and Nick Cheronis
- LiveStats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=600750
- Venue: Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
- Promotion: Mario Day & Camper Reunion
- 500 "Super Gators" cream t-shirts
- Enter-to-win VIP Package
- Broadcast: SEC+
- Talent: Tom Collett and Ainsley Clifford
- Listen: ESPN 98.1 FM / 850 AM WRUF
- Talent: Sky Lebron and Nick Cheronis
- LiveStats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=600750
The Gators are currently riding a seven-match win streak at home and boast an impressive 38-3 record in SEC openers, including an 8-0 mark against the Bulldogs. Head coach Ryan Theis holds a 13-4 conference-opener career-record, winning his last four.
Ranked No. 19 in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Week 4 Division I Top-25 Poll, Florida holds a 2-3 record against ranked opponents, highlighted by notable wins over then-No. 3 Pitt and No. 20 Baylor, while suffering losses to Stanford, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
On Mississippi State:
- The Bulldogs are on their best season-opening streak since 2005, sitting at 10-0 under the leadership of Julie Darty Dennis, who is currently at 97 wins at MSU.
- Mississippi State is one of eight programs still undefeated in the country. They are joined by Texas as the only undefeated teams in the SEC.
- MSU is ranked second overall in the SEC in hitting percentage, while also ranking in the top ten for nearly every team statistic.
- Nine new faces join the Maroon and White for the 2025 season. Of these nine, five are transfers, while four are freshmen.
- Freshman Lindsey Mangelson currently leads the SEC in points per set and kills per set. She ranks in the top five nationally in both statistics.
- SEC Freshman of the Week: Mangelson claimed the title of SEC Freshman of the Week for the week of Sept. 1. She picked-up 72 attacks, 40 kills, and 47.5 points on the weekend.
- SEC Setter of the Week: Cayley Hanson earned the honor of SEC Setter of the Week for the week of Sept. 1. Hanson tallied 109 assists, 26 attacks, and 13.5 points in all nine sets played this weekend.
- She is fourth nationally and second in the SEC in assists per set.
- Three new coaches joined the Bulldogs during the off-season, including Lacey Jeffcoat, who is a former player for the Bulldogs. Michael Bouril (Purdue) and Ignacio Valdemoros from Eastern Illinois round out the new staff.
- The Crimson Tide, currently 8-2, are coming off a 1-3 loss at home against the UCF Knights and will host Auburn on Friday, Sept. 26 in their conference opener.
- Head coach Rashinda Reed enters her fourth season at the helm of Crimson Tide volleyball.
- Alabama finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with an 8-2 record after splitting its two matches at last week's Crimson Classic, defeating Memphis in four sets before falling to UCF in four.
- Alabama is sixth nationally and leads the SEC with 2.36 aces per set, with Hannah Parant third nationally and top in the conference with 0.78 aces per set.
- Alabama is bringing back several key players from their 2024 season, including junior Sophie Agee. She returns following a notable sophomore campaign, leading all Crimson Tide in kills (316), points per set (3.59), and points (355.0).
- Transfer from Towson, Victoria Barrett won Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year in 2024. This year, she has notched her 1,500th kill in a match vs. Wake Forest, where she finished with a team-leading 25.
Click here to view the full 2025 schedule, featuring seven opportunities for Florida fans to watch the Gators in action at home inside the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, with exciting matchups against Auburn, Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and more. Check out list of 2025 Florida volleyball home promotions.
FOLLOW FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL
FloridaGators.com
Instagram | Facebook | X
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