Thursday, August 27
Arlington, TX
8 PM
Florida Gators
vs
#1 Nebraska (Exh.)
Logan King paced the Gators with nine kills at Spikes Under the Lights. // Photo by Hannah White | UAA Communications
No. 17 Gators Make History at Spikes Under the Lights
Thursday, August 27, 2026 | Volleyball
Florida volleyball officially became a part of the first collegiate or professional volleyball match to take place in an NFL stadium.
ARLINGTON, Texas – The No. 17 Florida volleyball squad made history on Thursday evening when the opening serve of their Spikes Under the Lights match against No. 1 Nebraska was tossed in front of a packed house at AT&T Stadium.
With that first serve, Florida became one of the first two teams to play collegiate or professional volleyball in an NFL stadium and the match marked the first volleyball broadcast live on TNT.
"This was an unbelievable opportunity and we're so honored to have been invited and a part of it. It was pretty neat," head coach Ryan Theis said. "You never know how these are going to feel or look, and they did a great job. It was a great event."
The Gators pushed top-ranked Nebraska to the brink in both sets, with 18 ties and 10 lead changes across the match. The Cornhuskers opened up a 16-13 lead midway through the first set, but two kills and a service ace from Selena Leban evened the score at 17. The teams traded points to tie it again at 19 before Nebraska closed out a 21-19 win.
It was a back-and-forth affair to start the second set. Third-year Logan King used consecutive kills assisted by Taylor Parks to push Florida ahead 12-9. Nebraska responded with a run of their own, taking a 17-14 lead, but the Gators remained composed and came within one following Jordyn Byrd swing late in the set. The Cornhuskers ended up taking the set 21-18.
King paced the Gators offensively with nine kills on a .350 hitting percentage, adding a solo block and a block assist for a team-high 10.5 points. Leban added five kills and an ace, while Parks led the offense with 17 assists. Defensively, Lily Hayes led the team with six digs, and King and Parks each added five of Florida's 23 total digs. The Gators finished with 3.5 team blocks, King contributing 1.5 of those.
Up Next
The Orange & Blue now turn their attention to the regular season, as Stony Brook will visit the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Sunday, Aug. 30, for a 1 p.m. ET showdown. Florida will be seeking their seventh straight home-opening victory.
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Ryan Theis
…on what he saw from the Gators in their first match against another opponent
"I saw glimpses of really good stuff. We gave up point runs in both sets and you can't make that up against a team this good. Sustaining side out play, we've been working on it, we knew it's a challenge and we obviously did it against last year's best defensive team in the country. I thought we did a pretty good job of holding our own in this environment."
…on what he hopes to see from the Gators on Sunday against Stony Brook
"I liked the way our passers played. I thought Taylor set really well, so there's definitely some building blocks there.
FOLLOW FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL
FloridaGators.com
Instagram | Facebook | X
With that first serve, Florida became one of the first two teams to play collegiate or professional volleyball in an NFL stadium and the match marked the first volleyball broadcast live on TNT.
"This was an unbelievable opportunity and we're so honored to have been invited and a part of it. It was pretty neat," head coach Ryan Theis said. "You never know how these are going to feel or look, and they did a great job. It was a great event."
The Gators pushed top-ranked Nebraska to the brink in both sets, with 18 ties and 10 lead changes across the match. The Cornhuskers opened up a 16-13 lead midway through the first set, but two kills and a service ace from Selena Leban evened the score at 17. The teams traded points to tie it again at 19 before Nebraska closed out a 21-19 win.
It was a back-and-forth affair to start the second set. Third-year Logan King used consecutive kills assisted by Taylor Parks to push Florida ahead 12-9. Nebraska responded with a run of their own, taking a 17-14 lead, but the Gators remained composed and came within one following Jordyn Byrd swing late in the set. The Cornhuskers ended up taking the set 21-18.
King paced the Gators offensively with nine kills on a .350 hitting percentage, adding a solo block and a block assist for a team-high 10.5 points. Leban added five kills and an ace, while Parks led the offense with 17 assists. Defensively, Lily Hayes led the team with six digs, and King and Parks each added five of Florida's 23 total digs. The Gators finished with 3.5 team blocks, King contributing 1.5 of those.
Up Next
The Orange & Blue now turn their attention to the regular season, as Stony Brook will visit the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Sunday, Aug. 30, for a 1 p.m. ET showdown. Florida will be seeking their seventh straight home-opening victory.
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Ryan Theis
…on what he saw from the Gators in their first match against another opponent
"I saw glimpses of really good stuff. We gave up point runs in both sets and you can't make that up against a team this good. Sustaining side out play, we've been working on it, we knew it's a challenge and we obviously did it against last year's best defensive team in the country. I thought we did a pretty good job of holding our own in this environment."
…on what he hopes to see from the Gators on Sunday against Stony Brook
"I liked the way our passers played. I thought Taylor set really well, so there's definitely some building blocks there.
FOLLOW FLORIDA VOLLEYBALL
FloridaGators.com
Instagram | Facebook | X
Players Mentioned
OH
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L/DS
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OPP
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OH
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