AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn volleyball made No. 4 Florida work in the final two sets Friday night, but the Gators’ attack proved too much in a 25-17, 25-20, 25-23 sweep at Neville Arena.
Florida hit .209 as a team, while Auburn hit .100 and committed 20 attack errors. Gators opposite Logan King led all players with 17 kills at .317, including seven in a first set Florida controlled from an early 7-2 lead.
King, a redshirt sophomore from Newmarket, Ontario, is in her first season at Florida after transferring from Long Beach State, where she earned back-to-back Big West Freshman of the Week honors to open 2025. Setter Taylor Parks, a junior from Clearwater, Florida, had 39 assists, 7 blocks (3 solo) and 5 kills on 9 errorless swings. A longtime Gators fan who attended UF camps as a child, Parks made the 2024 SEC All-Freshman Team and helped the U.S. win gold at the 2025 U21 Pan American Cup, where she was named best server.
Auburn’s best push came in the third set. After falling behind 5-0 and later 9-2, the Tigers used an 8-1 run, highlighted by 3 straight blocks from Grace Havlicek and Kate Mansfield, to take a 17-16 lead. A block by Emma Moore and Mansfield made it 21-18, but Florida closed the set on a 7-2 run. King’s kill ended the match, and Auburn lost a challenge on the final play.
Havlicek, a junior middle blocker, finished with 7 blocks, her most in SEC play. She recorded 110 blocks last season, seventh-most in program history. Mansfield, a junior from Plano, Texas, who transferred from Cal and led the SEC in blocks per set for much of last season, added 6. Auburn out-blocked Florida 12-10 and had 52 digs, its most in a three-set match this year.
Belle Patrick, a junior outside hitter from Cary, North Carolina, led Auburn with 10 kills, her fourth straight double-digit match, though she hit .075. The Virginia Tech transfer was named to the 2024 ACC All-Freshman Team and had a career-high 20 kills against ETSU in August. Setters Carson Eickenloff (14 assists, 10 digs), an Ole Miss transfer from Dallas, and Shanelle Puetz (11 assists, 10 digs) each recorded double-doubles.
Coach Brent Crouch said the Tigers must “clean up a lot of things on the attack” and cited inconsistent passing from the hitters.
Auburn hosts Oklahoma, making its first visit to the Plains, Sunday at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
