Career Performances Help Lift No. 7 Gators to Gritty Victory at No. 12 Texas

Sunday, October 18

Austin, TX

8:30 PM

Florida Gators

15-2,6-1SEC

#12 Texas

9-7,5-3SEC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Florida	21	25	24	25	15	3
Texas	25	16	26	23	11	2

Gamebook

Taylor Parks tallied a career-high 59 kills at Texas on Oct. 18.

Taylor Parks recorded a career-high 59 assists on Sunday night. // Photo by Hannah White | UAA Communications

Career Performances Help Lift No. 7 Gators to Gritty Victory at No. 12 Texas

Sunday, October 18, 2026 | Volleyball

Box Score Gamebook

Florida earned their sixth ranked victory of the season with the win in Gregory Gymnasium.

By: Andrew Hile

AUSTIN, Texas – Career performances from Taylor Parks and Alec Rothe helped give the No. 7 Gators a thrilling 3-2 victory (21-25, 25-16, 24-26, 25-23, 15-11) over No. 12 Texas in a sold-out Gregory Gymnasium on Sunday night.

In an ESPN prime-time showdown, the Orange & Blue rose to the occasion. Parks directed the offense with a career-high 59 assists, helping the Gators (15-2, 6-1 SEC) to a .287 hitting percentage while also tallying three service aces. Rothe's career-high 17 kills matched Kamryn Chaney's 17 to lead the team, while Logan King posted 16 kills and Jordyn Byrd added seven. As a team, Florida outhit Texas (9-7, 5-3 SEC) .287-.256 and had more kills (72-62), assists (68-61) and service aces (7-4).

Florida was once again elite at the net, walling up for 13 team blocks and felling Longhorn attacks like timber. Rothe's eight paced the Orange & Blue, with Brooklyn Briscoe and King adding five apiece. In the back row, Lily Hayes' 22 digs were a season high, and King (12), Selena Leban (12) and Bella Lee (11) each surpassed 10. The Gators topped the Longhorns in digs (64-61) and blocks (13-8).

Texas was led by Torrey Stafford with 14 kills and 14 digs, while Cari Spears added 13 kills and three blocks. The defeat marked the first home loss of the 2026 campaign for Texas.

Set One - Texas 25, UF 21

Texas took an early three-point edge, 7-4, before a service error and Leban kill brough Florida within one, 7-6.
The Longhorns extended their lead to five at 13-8, but a quick 3-0 run that was capped by a King and Rothe block assist, pulled UF within two, 13-11.
Florida's defense once again helped pull the Gators back into the set after falling behind, 18-13. Back-to-back blocks and a kill from Jordyn Byrd forced a Texas timeout with UF trailing by two.
That was as close as the Gators would get, with Texas taking the opening frame, 25-21.
Chaney (5) and Rothe (4) recorded nine of Florida's 15 kills while Parks assisted on 14 balls.
Defensively, the Gators tallied four team blocks with Briscoe, King and Rothe each earning two.

Set Two - UF 25, Texas 16

Rothe began the second frame on fire, posting three kills in Florida's first five points as the Gators took a 5-1 lead.
The Longhorns evened the match at seven before a 6-1 spurt from the Gators, with an exclamation point from Rothe off of a Parks assist, opened up a 13-8 lead.
Back-to-back Parks dumps and a Texas attack error gave the Orange & Blue their biggest lead of the set at 21-12, before Briscoe snuck a ball over late in the set to make it 23-14 en route to the 25-16 win.
Florida's offense took center stage in set two, hitting .457 with six kills from Rothe, as Parks directed the Gators with 15 assists.
Hayes tallied six digs and Briscoe added a pair of blocks in the second, helping hold the Longhorns to .158 hitting.

Set Three - Texas 26, UF 24

The squads went back-and-forth to start set three, with neither team gaining more than a one-point advantage until the Gators put together a quick 5-0 burst, capped off by a Parks service ace, to take a 12-8 lead and force UT into a timeout.
Texas forced a Florida timeout after cutting the lead to one, 14-13, but a ball from Parks to Rothe helped halt momentum going into the media timeout.
The Gators gained a bit of breathing room following a Briscoe kill and UT attack error at 19-16.
UT took the lead, 23-20, following a 7-1 swing, but the Gators wouldn't go away, using a 4-0 response to take the lead, 24-23, after a block assist from Leban and Rothe. Texas held on for the 26-24 win.
Parks added 12 assists to her total while Chaney and Rothe both posted four kills.
Rothe tallied four blocks at the net to help the Gators to four team blocks.

Set Four - UF 25, Texas 23

It was a fast start for UF, claiming a 4-0 advantage following a King kill.
King tallied five kills through Florida's first 10 points, helping the Gators hold a 10-7 edge.
Texas took a 14-13 lead, but UF responded with five-consecutive points, the last of which from a Briscoe and Parks block, to reclaim a 18-14 lead.
Six unanswered points from the Longhorns put UT up 20-18, but the Gators wouldn't go down without a fight, later notching the set at 23 following kills from Rothe and Chaney.
The Gators took the set following consecutive errors from Texas, 25-23.
King's eight kills led the Florida offense as Parks contributed 12 assists.
Hayes anchored the back row with five of UF's 12 digs.

Set Five - UF 15, Texas 11

The teams found themselves even at four through the beginning of the frame before Texas used back-to-back kills to claim a 6-4 lead.
A Longhorn service error and well-placed swings from King and Byrd pushed the Gators in front, 7-6. King's service ace on the following play gave UF a two-point edge.
After Texas tied the period at eight, a 3-1 run from Florida with kills from Byrd, Leban and Rothe, put UF back in front, 11-9.
A powerful swing from Chaney off a King chase-down, gave the Gators momentum for good, as the Orange & Blue claimed the set and match win, 15-11.
The Gators hit .368 with nine kills in the final frame, led by three from King.
Chaney and Rothe ended the match with a block, giving the Orange & Blue their 13th of the match.

Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Ryan Theis
…on the grit to come back and defeat Texas on the road
"That's kind of what we said after the third set, we missed a few too many opportunities in the third. We had a lead, lost it, and so we were going to need some grit. That's exactly what they showed in four and five."

…on Taylor Parks' career night
"She leads. She keeps everybody calm, even if she's struggling with location or anything. You'd never know it, she's like a duck, right? It's constantly peddling, but on the surface, it looks calm, and that's Taylor."

…on the spark Logan King provided
"She got in a really good rhythm and got cookin'. She even took a rip at a back row ball in the fifth that normally would be tentative, but she was feeling it."

Notables

The Gators move to 16-12 all-time against Texas, including a 7-4 clip on the road.
Florida handed Texas their first home loss of the season.
UF improves to 2-1 in five set matches this season.
With the victory, UF has defeated six ranked opponents this season, the most since 2017 (7).
Sunday evening marked Florida's 162nd victory over a ranked opponent.
Florida is now 6-7 against teams ranked No. 12.
Taylor Parks recorded a career-high 59 assists.
Parks' 59 assists were the most by a Gator since Marlie Monserez tallied 63 at Ole Miss on Nov. 8, 2019.
Alec Rothe recorded a career-high 17 kills.
Logan King recorded her 50th block of the season.
King tallied her third double-double of the season.
The Gators surpassed 10 blocks for the ninth time this season.
Florida had four athletes with double-digit kills for the first time in 2026.

Up Next
Sunday's match against Texas concluded a four-match road trip and the Orange & Blue will return home next weekend to host LSU on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. ET and Ole Miss on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. ET. Both matches will be streamed on SEC Network+.

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