Four-Match Road Swing for Gators Concludes Against No. 20 Baylor, North Texas

Saturday, September 5

Waco, TX

2 PM

Florida Gators

#20 Baylor

A group of athletes in orange and white Florida jerseys huddle on the volleyball court

Florida's match against No. 20 Baylor marks its third-straight against top-25 opponents. // Photo by Hannah White | UAA Communications

Four-Match Road Swing for Gators Concludes Against No. 20 Baylor, North Texas

Friday, September 4, 2026 | Volleyball

Florida will meet No. 20 Baylor on Saturday, Sept. 5, and North Texas on Sunday, with both matches at 2 p.m. ET.

By: Andrew Hile

#17 Florida vs. #20 Baylor/North Texas
Date/Time	Saturday, Sept. 5 \| 2 p.m. ET // Sunday, Sept. 6 \| 2 p.m. ET
Location	Waco, Texas \| The Ferrell Center // Denton, Texas \| The Super Pit
Match Notes	Florida Notes \| Baylor Notes \| North Texas Notes
Watch	ESPN+ (Saturday) \| ESPN+ (Sunday)
Live Stats	Baylor \| North Texas

WACO/DENTON, Texas – A four-match road trip will come to an end over the weekend, as No. 17 Florida volleyball is slated to face No. 20 Baylor and North Texas on Saturday, Sept. 5, and Sunday, Sept. 6, respectively.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ at 2 p.m. ET, with Lincoln Rose and Faith Lynch handling broadcast responsibilities against Baylor, and James Trietley and Hekma Harrison on the call for Sunday's North Texas match.

Series History with Baylor
Florida leads, 3-2.
3 sets: 2-1 | 4 sets: 0-1 | 5 sets: 1-0
Home: 2-2 | Neutral: 1-0 | Away: 0-0
Last: 2025 - W, 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 27-25, 22-25, 15-9), Home

Series History with North Texas
Florida leads, 1-0.
3 sets: 1-0 | 4 sets: 0-0 | 5 sets: 0-0
Home: 1-0 | Neutral: 0-0 | Away: 0-0
Last: 2024 - W, 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-18), Home

Florida Notables

Florida concluded the Big 10/SEC Challenge with a 1-1 mark, defeating No. 11 Minnesota, 3-1, before narrowly falling to a rested No. 5 Wisconsin squad in five sets, 2-3, the following night.
With a 3-1 victory over Minnesota on Sept. 1, Florida volleyball extended its streak of seasons with at least one top-25 victory in the nonconference to 13.
Alec Rothe helped anchor the Florida defense against No. 5 Wisconsin, recording a career-high 11 blocks, including a career-high 10 block assists, as well as a solo block. Rothe's 11 blocks are the seventh-most by an individual in the NCAA so far this season.
Against No. 11 Minnesota, Selena Leban's Florida-leading 20 kills matched a career-best for the third year.
In one a remarkable match-ending takeover, Kamryn Chaney was responsible for seven-consecutive points to end the match against No. 7 Minnesota. Trailing 21-18 in the fourth, Chaney engineered a 7-0 run personally by putting away six kills and recording a solo block to claim the victory.
Lily Hayes is sneaking up on her 500th career dig, currently holding 442.
Florida was picked to finish fourth in the SEC Preseason Poll, behind favorite Kentucky, Texas and Texas A&M. Jordyn Byrd and Alec Rothe were both named to the Preseason All-SEC Team.

Baylor Notables

Baylor enters Saturday's contest with a perfect 4-0 record, most recently defeating Florida's Sunday opponent, North Texas, 3-0.
In this week's AVCA/TARAFLEX Top 25 poll, Baylor improved one spot to No. 20.
The Bears are led by Ksenia Rakhmanchik on the offensive side of the net with 4.20 kills per set, in addition to 1.53 digs per set. Victoria Davis anchors the defensive effort with 1.40 blocks per set, with 21 total blocks on the season.
Baylor has one nonconference tournament title, winning the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic with a perfect 3-0 mark.
Rakhmanchik was named tournament MVP with 51 kills and was joined by Tori Davis (18 blocks) and Morgan Madison (39 digs) on the All-Tournament Team
Baylor was picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll.
Sophomore outside hitter Ksenia Rakhmanchik was named to the Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Team.
Florida setter Bri Denney makes her return to Waco after four seasons with the Bears.

North Texas Notables

North Texas holds a 3-1 record, most recently falling to No. 20 Baylor, 3-1 in Waco, Texas.
Jahniya Jackson's 46 kills pace the Mean Green's offensive effort, while Addison Achilles and Loredana Jouonji control the net with 20 and 19 blocks, respectively.
North Texas leads the American Athletic Conference defensively, holding opponents to .114 hitting percentage on average.
The Mean Green swept the ACU Invitational with wins over Abilene Christian, Lamar and CSU Bakersfield.
As a team, the Mean Green were tabbed to place sixth in the AAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Fifth year middle blocker Loredana Fouonji represents North Texas on the All-AAC Preseason Team.