The 17th-ranked Florida volleyball team earned its second win of the young 2026 season on Tuesday night with a four-set victory (27-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-21) over the 11th-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge.
Selena Leban led the Gators (2-0, 0-0 SEC) on offense with 20 kills on a .326 hitting percentage, matching her career best. The third-year standout also added eight digs, four aces, three assists and two blocks, while Kamryn Chaney supplied 14 kills and two blocks of her own.
As a team, Florida recorded 61 kills with a .245 hitting percentage, 54 assists and 11 service aces, while the Golden Gophers (1-2, 0-0 Big 10) tallied 52 kills, 50 assists and a .274 hitting percentage.
On defense, Lily Hayes recorded 21 of Florida's
53 digs, while Bella Lee contributed 11. At the net, the Gators recorded five total team blocks, with Leban and Chaney each registering a solo block and block assist; Minnesota tallied 11 total team blocks and 49 digs.
Along the way, Taylor Parks notched her 1,000th career assist, becoming the 18th Gators in program history to accomplish the feat. She ended her evening with 46 assists, four digs, three kills and two service aces.
The key moment came in the fourth set with Florida down 21-18, when Chaney put together one of the most impressive individual endings to a volleyball match in UF history. The fourth-year outside hitter strung together six kills and a solo block to secure the win with a 25-21 set victory, finishing the set hitting .500.
The Golden Gophers were led by Mckenna Wucherer with 21 kills and 10 digs, while Jordan Taylor led the defense with seven block assists.
Next up for the Orange and Blue are the fifth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, whom they face in the second game of the Big Ten/SEC Challenge on Wednesday night at the UW Fieldhouse in Madison, Wisconsin. First serve is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida grinds out win over Minnesota in Big Ten/SEC Challenge
