diff --git a/scripts/setup-centos8.sh b/scripts/setup-centos8.sh
index 7fac916d4c628..adaa4bd2e8844 100755
--- a/scripts/setup-centos8.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup-centos8.sh
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ function install_velox_deps_from_dnf {
     libdwarf-devel curl-devel libicu-devel bison flex libsodium-devel
 
   # install sphinx for doc gen
-  pip3 install sphinx sphinx-tabs breathe sphinx_rtd_theme
+  pip3.9 install sphinx sphinx-tabs breathe sphinx_rtd_theme
 }
 
 function install_conda {