{"id":408828,"date":"2026-09-24T01:27:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T01:27:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/408828\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T01:27:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T01:27:23","slug":"no-8-gators-handle-jacksonville-in-nonconference-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/408828\/","title":{"rendered":"No. 8 Gators Handle Jacksonville in Nonconference Finale"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE, Fla. \u2013 No. 8 Florida volleyball took care of business Wednesday evening inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, closing out the nonconference slate with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-13) victory over Jacksonville.
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\nThe Gators (9-1, 0-0 SEC) will enter Southeastern Conference play on a seven-match winning streak, marking their best start since the 2023 season.
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\nStrong serving helped propel Florida to the victory, as the Orange & Blue matched a season-high 11 service aces, led by a career-high four from Lily Hayes<\/a>. Offensively, Kamryn Chaney<\/a> and Logan King<\/a> paced the attack with nine and seven kills, respectively, while Taylor Parks<\/a> tallied 30 of UF’s 36 assists. As a team, the Gators outhit Jacksonville (6-7, 0-0 ASUN), .287-.112, while also recording more kills (39-27), assists (36-27) and aces (11-3).
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\nFlorida controlled the defensive side of the net as well, posting seven total team blocks to the Dolphins’ three, with three apiece from Brooklyn Briscoe<\/a> and Alec Rothe<\/a>. Bella Lee<\/a> and Selena Leban<\/a> anchored the defense with nine and eight digs, helping the Gators to a 39-30 digs advantage over JU.
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\nJacksonville was led by Abbie Tuyo’s nine-kill, five-dig effort, while Preseason Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Haley Yount added six kills and five digs.
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\nSet One – UF 25, Jacksonville 18<\/p>\n


\n\tIt was a quick start to the match for UF, with the Gators taking a 5-1 lead early, helped by a service ace from Hayes.
\n\tThe Dolphins evened the set at nine, but a 4-1 spurt with back-to-back Chaney kills pushed the Gators back in front, 13-10.
\n\tFlorida opened up the biggest lead of the set at the end, finishing on a 3-0 run with kills from Milicia Vidacic and Chaney to win the frame, 25-18.
\n\tJacksonville was held to .089 hitting, with Florida’s defense tallying two total team blocks and 17 digs.
\n\tParks directed the offense with 12 assists while Chaney put away six kills. <\/p>\n

Set Two – UF 25, Jacksonville 21<\/p>\n


\n\tFacing a 10-8 deficit, the Gators were boosted by a Brooklyn Briscoe<\/a> kill along with a Parks and Rothe block assist to tie the set.
\n\tJacksonville reclaimed a 14-12 advantage, but the Gators responded with a 4-1 burst to retake the lead, 16-15, following consecutive kills from King.
\n\tA 3-0 run from the Dolphins pushed Jacksonville in front once again, but Jordyn Byrd<\/a> put down a ball off an overpass and followed with a block assist alongside Briscoe to give UF a 19-18 edge.
\n\tThe Orange & Blue wouldn’t relinquish the lead again, using five straight points that featured two kills from Byrd and a Hayes ace to open up a 24-19 lead en route to the 25-21 set win.
\n\tKing and Byrd both posted four kills to lead the UF offense.
\n\tBriscoe, Byrd and Rothe each recorded two blocks, helping Florida to record four total team blocks, while Bella Lee<\/a> led the defense with six of UF’s 15 digs. <\/p>\n

Set Three – UF 25, Jacksonville 13<\/p>\n


\n\tThe Parks-Rothe connection was working early, with two straight kills from Rothe giving Florida an early 7-4 lead.
\n\tJacksonville responded with four points of its own to take the lead before Briscoe and King kills put the Gators back in front, 10-8.
\n\tBack-to-back service aces from Kira Hutson<\/a> gave the Orange & Blue some breathing room at 14-9.
\n\tA 9-1 run, with two aces from Hayes and one from both Olivia Klimis<\/a> and Parks, put the match away for good as UF opened up a 23-11 lead before claiming the set 25-13.
\n\tFlorida posted seven of its 11 service aces in the final frame.
\n\tOffensively, it was the best set for UF who hit .348 with 11 kills. <\/p>\n

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\nQuotes from the Court
\nHead Coach Ryan Theis<\/a>
\n\u2026on what the team is working on heading into SEC play
\n“Just consistency and sideout. Each match presents a challenge. Today we weren’t great in transition, so do we have to scrap everything and go back to transition? In reality it’s just making sure we’re siding-out and doing our stuff on defense as well.
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\n\u2026on Taylor Parks’<\/a> ability to lead the offense
\n“She’s our leader, she runs the show. Her and Lily [Hayes] do a really good job of handling first and second touches. Their job is to make other people look good and they’re good at it.”
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\nThird-Year Setter Taylor Parks<\/a>
\n\u2026on her chemistry with her teammates
\n“This is the best chemistry of the three teams I’ve been on here at Florida. I think it’s because we’re all so competitive and have our minds on the same goals, so we just mesh together very well. I love playing with each one of these girls individually.”
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\n\u2026on her mindset when leading the offense
\n“This year we’ve been making our offense more creative because we have threats on all parts of the court. We have so many amazing hitters, so it’s a very spread-out offense, we’re not going to the same person every time and being one-dimensional in that way. We’re running a lot of different routes, hitters swinging from different spots on the court and changing it up, and I think it makes it a lot harder for opponents since you never know who we’re giving it to or where they’ll be on the net.”
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\nNotables<\/p>\n


\n\tThe Gators improve to 20-0 all-time against the Dolphins.
\n\tFlorida has matched the best start since 2023 at 9-1. The 2023 squad began the season 10-1.
\n\tThe Gators will enter SEC play on a seven-match win streak.
\n\tWith the victory over Jacksonville, Florida has swept in-state competition during the nonconference, claiming wins over Miami, Florida Atlantic, Florida State and Jacksonville.
\n\tEleven service aces match a season-high for the Gators.
\n\tLily Hayes<\/a> matched a career-high with four service aces.
\n\tMilica Vidacic<\/a> recorded her first kill of the season.
\n\tOlivia Klimis<\/a> tallied her first service ace as a Gator.
\n\tFlorida held an opponent to under .200 hitting for the seventh time this season. <\/p>\n

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\nUp Next

\nThe Orange & Blue will open SEC play on Sunday, Sept. 27 when they travel to Norman, Okla., for a 3 p.m. ET matchup with Oklahoma on SEC Network+.
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