Florida Volleyball to Battle Rice in NCAA Tournament First Round
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida volleyball team will open its NCAA Tournament run against No.7 Rice on December 4 or 5,as announced during the tournament selection show on November 30. The Gators, aiming for their first national championship, earned an automatic bid after a strong season and will host the first and second round matchups.
This marks the beginning of a challenging path to the championship, with the tournament culminating in a December 21 final televised on ABC. Florida will need to navigate through a field of 64 teams, beginning with a Rice squad boasting a 21-9 record and a No. 21 RPI ranking. The winner of this contest will advance to face the victor of a match between SMU (25-5, RPI 8) and Central Arkansas (18-11, RPI 109), with that second-round game scheduled for december 5 or 6.
Florida holds a 7-1 all-time series record against Rice, with their last meeting occurring in 1996, a 3-0 Gator victory (15-6, 15-3, 15-7). This will be the first-ever meeting between Florida and SMU, as well as Florida and Central arkansas.
The complete 2025 DI women’s volleyball championship schedule is as follows:
* Selection show: november 30, 6 p.m. ET
* First and second rounds: December 4-5 or December 5-6
* Regionals: December 11 and 13 or December 12 and 14
* Semifinals: December 18
* National championship: December 21, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Fans can follow the Gators throughout the tournament on FloridaGators.com, Instagram (@GatorsVB), Facebook (Gator Volleyball), and X (@GatorsVB).
