Pair of Top 15 Showdowns Up Next for No. 7 Gators

Friday, October 2

Gainesville, FL

7 PM

Florida Gators

#11 Tennessee

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during the Gators' match against the Miami Hurricanes on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. / UAA Communications photo by Hannah White

Florida enters the weekend on an eight-match win streak. // Photo by Hannah White | UAA Communications

Pair of Top 15 Showdowns Up Next for No. 7 Gators

Thursday, October 1, 2026 | Volleyball

No. 11 Tennessee and No. 3 Kentucky are set to visit the Stephen C. O’Connell Center this weekend.

By: Andrew Hile

#7 Florida vs. #11 Tennessee \| #3 Kentucky
Date/Time	Friday, Oct. 2 \| 7 p.m. ET // Sunday, Oct. 4 \| 8:30 p.m. ET
Location	Gainesville, Fla. \| Stephen C. O'Connell Center
Match Notes	Florida Notes \| Tennessee Notes \| Kentucky Notes
Watch	SEC Network+ (10/2) \| ESPN (10/4)
Listen	98.1 WRUF
Live Stats	Tennessee \| Kentucky
Tickets	Purchase Tickets (UT) \| Purchase Tickets (UK)
Promotions 10/2	Pack the Dome \| Wear Blue \| First 1,000 Fans Get Blue Shirt \| Enter to Win Olivia Rodrigo Tickets
Promotions 10/4	Block Party \| Wear Orange \| First 750 Fans Get Alberta Block Set \| Enter to Win Four Legoland Tickets

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 7 Florida volleyball is primed for a pair of top 15 showdowns over the weekend, as the Gators welcome No. 11 Tennessee Friday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. ET, and No. 3 Kentucky Sunday, Oct. 4 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Friday's match against the Lady Vols (9-2, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) will be streamed on SEC Network+ with Tom Collett and Missy Whittemore on the call. Sky Lebron and Nick Cheronis will handle radio responsibilities on 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF.

On Sunday evening, the Gators (10-1, 1-0 SEC) and Wildcats (10-2, 2-0 SEC) will battle on ESPN with Kevin Barnett, Missy Whittemore and Jessica Eley on the broadcast, while Collett and Cheronis have the call on WRUF.

The weekend will begin with "Pack the Dome," when fans are encouraged to wear blue on Friday evening against Tennessee and the first 1,000 fans in the arena will receive a blue Florida volleyball T-shirt. Fans will also be able to enter to win Olivia Rodrigo tickets to her concert in Orlando, Fla.

Sunday's match against Kentucky is a "block party," with the first 750 fans in attendance receiving their own Alberta block set, plus one family of four can win tickets to Legoland.

Series History with Tennessee
Florida leads, 57-15
3 sets: 41-2 | 4 sets: 13-5 | 5 sets: 3-8
Home: 29-8 | Neutral: 1-2 | Away: 27-5
Last: 2025 - L, 1-3 (27-25, 25-27, 22-25, 19-25), Neutral

Series History with Kentucky
Florida leads, 53-24
3 sets: 37-12 | 4 sets: 9-4 | 5 sets: 7-8
Home: 26-12 | Neutral: 4-1 | Away: 23-11
Last: 2025 - L, 2-3 (16-25, 25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 6-15), Away

Florida Notables

The Gators have been dominant historically in SEC home openers, boasting a 37-5 mark since 1984.
Friday marks the fourth time in program history that the Gators open home SEC play against the Lady Vols, holding a 2-1 advantage in the three prior meetings.
No. 3 Kentucky is the highest-ranked opponent to visit the O'Connell Center since No. 1 Wisconsin rolled into Gainesville on Sept. 17, 2023.
Florida is ranked No. 7 in the Sept. 28 AVCA/TARAFLEX Top 25 poll, its highest ranking since finding themselves at No. 4 in the Sept. 25, 2023, AVCA poll.
With a 10-1 start, the Orange & Blue are off to their best start since the 2023 campaign. The 2023 squad also began the year 10-1.
The Gators' current eight-match winning streak is the longest since reeling off 10-straight from Oct. 18-Nov. 23, 2024.
Florida has established itself as one of the best defensive teams in the SEC, leading the SEC in blocks per set (2.79) and sitting second in opponent hitting percentage (.158).
Alec Rothe is ninth in the nation with a .463 hitting percentage, while also sitting 36th in blocks per set at 1.38.
Taylor Parks' 10.53 assists per set is 18th nationally.
Florida was picked to finish fourth in the SEC Preseason Poll, behind favorite Kentucky, Texas and Texas A&M. Jordyn Byrd and Rothe were both named to the Preseason All-SEC Team.

Tennessee Notables

The No. 11 Lady Vols enter Friday's contest with a 9-2 (0-1 SEC) record, most recently falling to then-No. 7 Texas in a five-set match, 3-2.
Tennessee already boasts ranked victories over No. 9 Penn State and No. 21 Indiana.
The Lady Vols were picked to finish fifth in the SEC, with setter Caroline Kerr earning Preseason All-SEC honors.
Kerr averages 10.57 assists, 2.61 digs and 1.06 kills per set and was an AVCA 2025 All-American.
The Tennessee offense gets production at a high-level. The Lady Vols enter the week with a 14.47 kills per set average and a .298 hitting percentage.
Kennedi Rogers leads the Lady Vols with 134 kills through 11 matches. Rogers leads the team in multiple offensive categories, including kills per set (4.47), points (151.5) and points per set (5.05).

Kentucky Notables

No. 3 enters Sunday's matchup with a 10-2 (2-0 SEC) mark, starting SEC play off with victories over Vanderbilt and No. 7 Texas.
The Wildcats boast top 25 victories over No. 3 Louisville, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 7 Texas, No. 13 Penn State and No. 18 North Carolina.
Kentucky is the Preseason SEC favorite, with Lizzie Carr, Brooklyn DeLeye, Morgan Gaerte, Kassie O'Brien and Molly Tuozzo all earning Preseason All-SEC nods.
DeLeye, O'Brien and Tuozzo are all returning All-Americans.
O'Brien leads the NCAA with 12.07 assists per set and is the only athlete averaging over 12 assists per set in the country.
Offensively, Kentucky leads the SEC and is second nationally with 14.68 kills per set. DeLeye and Gaerte both sit inside the top 50 of the NCAA in kills per set with 4.29 and 3.97, respectively.
UK has won 28-consecutive SEC regular season matches dating back to 2024.