No. 5 Gators Battle Hard but Come Up Short Against No. 4/18 Tennessee in SEC Quarterfinals

Last Updated: November 23, 2025By


SAVANNAH, Ga. – After winning the opening set, the No. 5 Florida volleyball team was defeated by No. 4/18 Tennessee in four sets, 27-25, 25-27, 22-25, 19-25, in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Volleyball Tournament Presented by Allstate on Sunday night at Enmarket Arena.

The Gators out-hit the Lady Vols with 62 kills to their 57, but recorded more errors to finish with a .179 hitting percentage compared to Tennessee’s .262 clip.

Setter Alexis Stucky tied her career-best 56 assists to pilot Jordyn Byrd, Aniya Madkin and Jaela Auguste to double-digit kills, while having nine digs to finish just shy of a double-double. Byrd led the way offensively with 21 kills and Madkin hit a team-high .302 to finish with 18, while Auguste added 10.

Alec Rothe matched her career-high seven blocks to lead the way for Florida defensively at the net, as both teams finished with ten blocks. The sophomore also added eight kills to her stat line. Byrd followed with four blocks and Auguste and Madkin finished with two each.

Freshman libero Lily Hayes led the Gators backcourt with 17 digs, while Kira Hutson also registered double digits with 12. Senior Emily Canaan finished with eight, while Ella Vogel (5), Madkin (4), Auguste (3), Rothe (1) and Taylor Parks (1) combined for 14 of Florida’s 62 total digs.

Behind the service line, Stucky recorded two of the Gators three aces and Canaan had one.

Tennessee had three players finish in double digits offensively with All-SEC First Team honoree Hayden Kubik leading the way with 15 on a .220 hitting clip.

Records:

#5 Florida (15-11, 9-6 SEC)

#4/18 Tennessee  (20-6, 10-5 SEC)

 

SEC Tournament Series Record:

4-3 (0-1 under Theis)

3-set: 3-1, 4-set: 0-1; 5-set: 1-1

Home: 2-1; Away: 1-0; Neutral: 1-2

 

All-Time Series record:

57-15 (1-1 under Theis)

3-set: 41-2; 4-set: 13-5; 5-set: 3-8

Home: 29-8; Away: 27-5; Neutral: 1-2

 

How It Happened

Set 1

  • An attack from Byrd put Florida first on the board, but Tennessee scored three-straight to be the first to five (5-2). The Gators responded with a 4-0 scoring run behind an attack and blocks from Rothe with Byrd and Hutson on the sides to push ahead by one (6-5), as the teams exchanged points throughout the frame until the Lady Vols took a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. Following the break, Florida continued to trail 17-20, but a Tennessee service error kick started a 4-0 scoring run from the Gators that saw back-to-back kills from Byrd followed by an attack from Auguste to push ahead 21-20 and force a Lady Vols timeout. Out of the huddle, the teams traded points before Tennessee strung together two for a 24-23 advantage, but a block from Byrd and Rothe and a kill from Madkin helped Florida fight off two set points before back-to-back attacks from Madkin and Auguste sealed the comeback 27-25 opening-set win.   

  • Set 1 Team Stats | .220 Hitting %|19 Kills | 19 Assists |21 Digs |4.0 Blocks |0 Aces

  • Tennessee Stats | .214 Hitting %| 14 Kills |13 Assists |18 Digs |5.0 Blocks |  0 Aces

Set 2

  • After falling to a 7-9 deficit, three-straight blocks from Rothe and Stucky gave the Gators an 11-9 lead and forced a Lady Vols timeout. Out of the huddle, Rothe kept the momentum going to help extended Florida’s lead to four (15-11), as Tennessee attacking errors allowed the Gators an 18-12 advantage. The Lady Vols used their second timeout and rallied back with a 7-3 scoring run to inch back within two (21-19) to force a Florida timeout. Heading into the final moments of set two, attacks from Auguste and Byrd kept the Gators in the lead by one, but back-to-back Tennessee blocks handed them a 24-23 lead where Florida fought off two set points before falling 25-27.

  • Set 2 Team Stats | .143 Hitting %| 15 Kills | 14 Assists | 13 Digs |5.0 Blocks |0 Aces

  • Tennessee Stats | .143 Hitting %| 13 Kills |12 Assists |17 Digs |3.0 Blocks | 0  Aces

Set 3

  • A kill from Rothe gave Florida a 5-3 lead, but service errors allowed Tennessee to come back within one before the Gators scored three-straight to head into the media timeout with a 15-12 advantage. Following the break, Canaan dropped an ace and Madkin put one down to go ahead by five, but the Lady Vols scored three-straight to creep back within one (18-17) and force a Florida timeout. Out of the huddle, Tennessee went on a 4-1 scoring run to take a 23-19 lead, but the Gators kept the fight with attacks from Byrd and Madkin before falling 22-25 in the third set.

  • Set 3 Team Stats |.238 Hitting %|14 Kills | 14 Assists |15 Digs | 0.0 Blocks |1 Ace

  • Tennessee Stats | .342 Hitting %| 17 Kills | 17 Assists |17 Digs |1.0 Blocks | 0 Aces

Set 4

  • After falling behind by four (5-9), back-to-back kills from Byrd followed by back-to-back aces from Stucky notched it up at 9-9. Tennessee regained a two-point lead, but kills from Auguste and Byrd tied it back up at 14-14 before heading into the media timeout down by one. Following the break, the Lady Vols were the first to score and remained ahead by two heading into the final moments of the set, as their .367 hitting percentage allowed for a 6-1 scoring run to come away with a 25-19 fourth-set win.

  • Set 4 Team Stats | .103 Hitting %| 14 Kills |14 Assists | 13 Digs |1.0 Blocks | 2 Aces

  • Tennessee Stats | .367 Hitting % | 13 Kills | 12 Assists |12 Digs |1.0 Blocks | 2 Aces

Hear from Head Coach Ryan Theis:
“We out-killed them, evened in aces and in blocks, but there were too many unforced errors. Tennessee played cleaner than us. We gave up leads in the second and the third and missed opportunities post 20 to try and win those sets, then it’s a different match, but definitely missed some opportunities today.”

Notables

  • The Gators are now 7-5 in four-set matches this season and 10-3 in the SEC Tournament

  • Florida moves to 2-2 in natural-site matches in the 2025 campaign

  • When playing on a Sunday, UF sits 7-5

  • The Gators hold a 3-3 record in the month of November

  • Two Gators tied their career highs:  

  • Two Gators tied their season-highs:

  • Three Gators either tied or set individual four-set highs:

  • Three Gators recorded double-digit kills:

  • Two Gators recorded double-digit digs:

  • Alexis Stucky ranks No. 9 for career assists in Program history with 2,976

Up Next
The Gators return home to await their fate in the 2025 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Selections are scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN. Matches begin with the first round on Thursday, Dec. 4 and continue through the national championship on Sunday, Dec. 21 in Kansas City, Missouri.
 
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