Friday, October 9
Columbia, MO
8 PM
Florida Gators
at
Missouri
Photo by Gabriel Gonzalez | UAA Communications
Four Match SEC Road Trip for No. 5 Gators Begins at Missouri, Vanderbilt
Thursday, October 8, 2026 | Volleyball
The Gators will hit the road for four consecutive matches, beginning Friday at Missouri.
| #5 Florida at Missouri | RV Vanderbilt | |
| Date/Time | Friday, Oct. 9 | 8 p.m. ET // Sunday, Oct. 11 | 2 p.m. ET |
| Location | Columbia, Mo. | Hearnes Center // Nashville, Tenn. | Memorial Gymnasium |
| Match Notes | Florida Notes | Missouri Notes |
| Watch | ESPNU (10/9) | SEC Network+ (10/11) |
| Live Stats | Missouri | Vanderbilt |
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 5 Florida volleyball is set to begin a four-match road trip over the weekend, when they travel to Columbia, Mo., and Nashville to matchup with Missouri and Vanderbilt.
The Gators (12-1, 3-0 SEC) will begin the weekend on Friday, Oct. 9 at Missouri where they'll meet the Tigers (8-7, 1-2 SEC) at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Anne Marie Anderson and Nicole Branagh will handle broadcast responsibilities in the Hearnes Center.
On Sunday, the Orange & Blue will meet Vanderbilt, who is receiving votes in the Oct. 5 AVCA Top 25 poll, at 2 p.m. ET on SEC Network+. On the broadcast for Sunday's match will be Andrew Allegretta and Dawn Davenport.
Series History with Missouri
Florida leads, 15-5
3 sets: 41-2 | 4 sets: 13-5 | 5 sets: 3-8
Home: 29-8 | Neutral: 1-2 | Away: 27-5
Last: 2025 - W, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 28-26), Home
Series History with Vanderbilt
Florida leads, 1-0
3 sets: 0-0 | 4 sets: 1-0 | 5 sets: 0-0
Home: 1-0 | Neutral: 0-0 | Away: 0-0
Last: 2025 - W, 3-1 (25-19, 16-25, 25-17, 25-18), Home
Florida Notables
- When Florida defeated No. 3 Kentucky on Oct. 4, the Gators put an end to the Wildcats' 29-match SEC regular season winning streak, also snapping their own five-match skid against UK.
- The victory over the No. 3 Wildcats gave the Gators their highest ranked victory since defeating No. 2 Stanford, 3-0, on Aug. 29, 2023.
- Logan King was named the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Oct. 5. Logan King co-led the Gators with 12 blocks over the weekend, averaging 1.50 per set. She tallied five blocks against the Lady Vols, then matched a career high with seven against the Wildcats, including six block assists and a solo stop, both of which also matched career bests.
- King is the first Gator to earn multiple SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors in a single season since Elli McKissock, who won the award on Nov. 8 and Nov. 22, 2021. King also won the award on Sept. 21.
- Dating back to 2017, every national champion has averaged a hitting percentage of .280, held their opponents to .186 or lower, averaged at least 18.0 points per set and had a hitting percentage of at least .100 higher than their opponents.
- With a .291 hitting efficiency, 18.28 points per set and an opponent average hitting percentage of .158, the Gators join Nebraska, Pitt, Louisville, Tennessee, Kansas and Michigan State as top 25 teams to meet the threshold.
- Florida's 12-1 start marks the best start for the program since the 2017 season. The 2017 squad began their season 14-0.
- The Gators' current 10-match win streak matches the longest since reeling off 10-straight from Oct. 18-Nov. 23, 2024.
- Alec Rothe leads the SEC and is seventh nationally with a .449 hitting percentage.
- Taylor Parks is 32nd in the NCAA in assists per set, averaging 10.30.
- Missouri enters Friday's contest with an 8-7 (1-2 SEC) mark, holding a victory over RV Vanderbilt, 3-1.
- Missouri is battle tested, already matching up against three top 25 teams in No. 1 Nebraska, No. 5 Louisville and No. 25 Oregon.
- The Tigers were picked to finish ninth in the SEC and are led by Paige Felder with 2.55 kills per set and 164.5 total points.
- MU has finished .500 or better in each of its three conference slates under head coach Dawn Sullivan, posting a combined 28-21 record in that three-year span. The Tigers join Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee as the only programs to end .500 or better in each of the last three seasons in the SEC.
- Ainoah Cruz leads the SEC with 264 total digs and is second with 4.55 digs per set.
- Vanderbilt owns an 11-2 (2-2 SEC) mark and owns a ranked win over No. 18 UNC. They're slated to matchup with Auburn on Friday.
- The Commodores were picked to finish 10th in the SEC, while Reese Animashaun, Samantha Wunsch and Maya Witherspoon are all averaging over 3.00 kills per set.
- Avery Scroggins leads the NCAA with 11.79 assists per set.
- Vanderbilt has a potent offense, leading the SEC in hitting percentage (.312) and assists per set (13.61), while sitting in second in kills per set (14.48).
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