{"id":428345,"date":"2026-09-06T23:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T23:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/428345\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T23:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T23:06:09","slug":"defense-shines-as-no-17-gators-sweep-north-texas-to-conclude-texas-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/428345\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense Shines as No. 17 Gators Sweep North Texas to Conclude Texas Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

DENTON, Texas \u2013 Defense was in the spotlight for the No. 17 Gators volleyball team on Sunday afternoon, as Florida defeated North Texas 3-0 (25-17, 28-26, 25-16) in front of a record crowd of 2,377 at The Super Pit.
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\nFlorida held its opponent to under .100 hitting for the third time this season, limiting the Mean Green to .038 hitting with the help of 12 total team blocks. Alec Rothe<\/a> led the way at the net with five blocks, while Jordyn Byrd<\/a> and Aniya Madkin<\/a> added four apiece. Three Gators tallied double-digit digs, including Lily Hayes<\/a> (12), Selena Leban<\/a> (10) and Taylor Parks<\/a> (10). UF finished with 47 digs to North Texas’ 32, while the Mean Green ended with just five total team blocks.
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\nRothe paced the offense as well, putting down 10 kills on a .538 hitting percentage. Leban and Chaney chipped in seven and six kills, respectively, as UF posted 44 kills as a team on a .276 clip. Parks ran the offense efficiently, setting 30 assists while adding a career-high five kills of her own. Florida held the advantage over North Texas in both kills (44-26) and assists (39-25).
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\nJahniya Jackson had the best offensive performance for UNT, recording nine kills and adding six digs. Loredana Jouonji added three blocks, and Alessandra Romo led the defense with 14 digs.
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\nSet One – UF 25, North Texas 17<\/p>\n


\n\tThe Gators got off to a quick start thanks to strong defense at the net, with back-to-back blocks by Rothe, assisted by Jordyn Byrd<\/a> on the second.
\n\tNorth Texas evened the set at 12 before a kill by Rothe and consecutive block assists from Brooklyn Briscoe<\/a> and Byrd began a 4-0 run, giving UF a 16-12 advantage.
\n\tFlorida wouldn’t allow the Mean Green within three for the rest of the frame, leading by as many as eight en route to the 25-17 set victory.
\n\tOffensively, Florida tallied 15 kills on .452 hitting, led by four kills each from Chaney and Parks.
\n\tUNT was held to -0.059 hitting.
\n\tByrd posted four blocks, with the Gators getting up for five total team blocks. <\/p>\n

Set Two – UF 28, North Texas 26<\/p>\n


\n\tTrailing 6-4, the Orange & Blue used a 4-0 run, capped off by an ace from Bella Lee<\/a>, to regain the lead at 8-6.
\n\tAfter a back-and-forth effort from both squads, UNT pulled ahead late in the set, 20-18. Florida put together a 3-0 spurt, featuring an Amaya Thomas<\/a> kill, to give the Gators the lead 21-20.
\n\tA Thomas and Parks block, followed by a Thomas solo block, put the set away for UF at 28-26.
\n\tRothe notched six kills in the set, while Parks contributed 15 assists.
\n\tHayes anchored the defense with seven digs as Florida hold the Mean Green to .179 hitting. <\/p>\n

Set Three – UF 25, North Texas 16<\/p>\n


\n\tNeither team was able to build a lead early, with the set knotted at eight. A 6-0 burst with kills by Logan King<\/a> and Madkin, as well as blocks from King, Madkin and Rothe, helped UF establish an advantage, 14-8.
\n\tThe UF lead would swell to as many as eight three times before the Gators claimed the biggest lead of the set off of a kill by Rothe to win the match, 25-16.
\n\tFor the second set of the match, Florida held the Mean Green to negative hitting at -0.030, helped by five total team blocks, four of which came from Madkin and three from Rothe. <\/p>\n

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\nQuotes from the Court
\nHead Coach Ryan Theis<\/a>
\n\u2026on the ability to show different lineups
\n“I think it’s an example of our depth. I’ve said several times, I wish we could play teams 12-on-12 because I think we’ve got a lot of depth this year, and you saw that today. We went to Kira [Hutson] and Amaya [Thomas] in the middle of two, Aniya [Madkin] in the third, and were still able to get out of here 3-0 after an extremely challenging week. We’re ready to go home.”
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\n\u2026on the message to Gator Nation ahead of Wednesday’s match with Miami \u00a0
\n“I’d love it if we could pack the Dome. Let’s fill it up!”
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\nNotables<\/p>\n


\n\tFlorida now leads the series history with North Texas, 2-0.
\n\tSunday’s result was the third sweep of the nonconference.
\n\tTaylor Parks<\/a> recorded a career-high five kills. \u00a0
\n\tThe Gators had three athletes record 10 or more digs for the first time since Nov. 7, 2025 vs. Texas.
\n\tFlorida held an opponent under .100 hitting percentage for the third time this season
\n\tUF has eclipsed 12 total team blocks three times in 2026.
\n\tLily Hayes<\/a> sits at 472 digs, continuing to close the gap on 500.
\n\tSunday’s attendance of 2,377 was a record for UNT volleyball.
\n\t44 kills are the most in a three-set match this season. <\/p>\n

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\nUp Next
\nAfter the four-match road trip, the No. 17 Gators return home for the ACC-SEC Challenge on Wednesday, Sept. 9, when in-state foe Miami visits the Stephen C. O’Connell Center for an 8 p.m. ET matchup on SEC Network.
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