ARLINGTON, Texas — The No. 17 Florida volleyball team made history Thursday evening when the opening serve against No. 1 Nebraska was tossed in front of a packed crowd at AT&T Stadium during the Spikes Under the Lights match.
Florida became one of the first two teams to play collegiate or professional volleyball in an NFL stadium. The match was also 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.”
Florida volleyball challenges top-ranked Nebraska
The Gators pushed top-ranked Nebraska in both sets, combining for 18 ties and 10 lead changes across the match. Nebraska built a 16-13 lead midway through the opening set, but two kills and a service ace from Selena Leban brought Florida level at 17-17. The teams traded points to tie the score again at 19-19 before Nebraska secured a 21-19 victory.
The second set also began as a back-and-forth battle. Third-year player Logan King delivered consecutive kills assisted by Taylor Parks to give Florida a 12-9 advantage. Nebraska answered with a run to take a 17-14 lead, but the Gators stayed composed and pulled within one after a late swing by Jordyn Byrd. The Cornhuskers ultimately won the set 21-18.
King led Florida with nine kills on a .350 hitting percentage. She also recorded a solo block and a block assist for a team-high 10.5 points. Leban contributed five kills and an ace, while Parks directed the offense with 17 assists.
Lily Hayes paced the Gators defensively with six digs. King and Parks each added five of Florida’s 23 total digs. Florida finished with 3.5 team blocks, including 1.5 from King.
Florida volleyball’s next match
The Orange & Blue now turn their attention to the regular season. Stony Brook will visit the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Sunday, Aug. 30, for a 1 p.m. ET matchup. Florida will be seeking its seventh consecutive 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.
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