Volleyball Begins Regular Season at FGCU Invitational

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida State volleyball team begins its regular season this weekend as it travels to Fort Myers for the FGCU Invitational. FSU will face No. 24 BYU on Friday at 2 p.m. before facing VCU at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Noles will face the host, FGCU, on Sunday at 1 p.m. The match against FGCU can be seen on ESPN+. There is currently no streaming option for the games against BYU and VCU

Seminoles Begin Lindsay Allman Era in Fort Myers

For the first time since 2008, the Noles will have a new leader as Lindsay Allman begins her first season as the Seminoles head coach.
The Noles will begin the season against No. 24 BYU on Friday before playing VCU on Saturday and FGCU on Sunday.
This is the first time since 2020 that FSU will open a season against a ranked opponent.
BYU finished 2025 22-9 and 10-8 in the Big 12 and entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed but fell to Cal Poly in the first round.
VCU finished 2025 16-13 and was 12-6 in the A-10 but lost in the A-10 Championship Game in five sets to second-seeded Loyola Chicago.
FGCU was 19-9 last season and 13-3 in the Atlantic Sun but was upset in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Sun Tournament by North Florida.

Series history

The Noles and Cougars will meet for the first time since 2014 when the teams met in the Sweet 16. Before 2014, the teams met five times between 1979-89.
FSU and VCU have met just three times prior to Saturday and it will be the first meeting since 2021. FSU leads the all-time series 3-0.
FSU and FGCU have met just twice before in 2021 and 2013 with FSU winning both matchups.

Filimaua Returns After Record Season

Kyleene Filimaua is back for her fourth season in the Garnet and Gold and is coming off her best season as a Nole.
In her first full season as an outside hitter, Filimaua led the team with 443 kills and 42 aces while also adding 270 digs.
Her 443 kills were the eighth most in FSU history in the rally scoring era and her 4.35 points per set were the ninth-most in FSU history.
Filimaua tallied 13 double doubles last season and was second on the team in digs.
Filimaua ranked fifth in the ACC in total kills and sixth in the ACC in points per set last season.
Filimaua was FSU's lone representative on the Preseason All-ACC Team.

Kpea Returns After an Impressive Freshman Season

Nenu Kpea had a great start to her career in the Garnet and Gold and is looking to take another step in year two with Florida State
Kpea has played in all 117 sets for the Noles in her freshman campaign and recorded 195 kills and 117 blocks.
Her 117 blocks ranked in the top 10 for most by a FSU freshman and was just the fourth FSU freshman in the last 10 season to have over 100 blocks.

Ewing Set to Hold Down the Middle again for the Noles

In her first season with the Noles, Delaney Ewing was very productive in the middle for the Noles.
Ewing played in every match for the Noles in 2025 and led the team with 121 block and 1.06 blocks per set.
Ewing added 143 kills and hit .312.
In her first game as a Nole in 2025, Ewing hit 1.000 with seven kills against UIC.

Noles Add Transfer Setter Duo in Lilo and Kieffer

For the second consecutive season, the Seminoles brought in two setters from the transfer portal to lead the offense.
Emma Lilo comes from Oregon State where she was a two-year starter for the Beavers.
Lilo tallied over 1,100 assists in her two seasons at Corvallis and had 47 aces and 319 digs.
Her 718 assists in her freshman season were the 7th-most ever by an Oregon State freshman.
Kieffer spent three seasons at Alabama and played in 58 matches for the Crimson Tide.
In three seasons, Kieffer tallied 1,280 assists, 43 aces and 354 digs.
Kieffer was a AVCA First Team All-American in her senior year of high school in 2022.

Noles Bring in Maile Chan from Wisconsin

FSU brought in the former top-ranked libero from the state of Oregon in Maile Chan in the transfer portal.
Chan spent her last two seasons at Wisconsin where she played in 38 sets for Wisconsin in two seasons.

Noles Expecting Big Jump From Whalen and Mason

Head Coach Lindsay Allman is expecting to see a big jump from Lexie Mason and Payton Whalen in their sophomore campaigns this season.
Both Mason and Whalen rotated at the opposite position in their freshman seasons.
Mason played in 88 sets and tallied 108 kills for the Noles while also adding 38 blocks.
Whalen moved to the outside position this past offseason after playing in 91 sets and had 87 kills for FSU in 2025.

Noles Add Bailey Higgins from Beach Volleyball Program

Coach Allman added what she believes will be a very key piece to the 2026 roster in Bailey Higgins.
Higgins has played two seasons with the Florida State Beach Volleyball team.
In 2026, Higgins went 31-3 and earned All-Big 12 honors.
Higgins has not played in an indoor match since her senior year of high school.

Filimaua Doubles up with Beach Season

Higgins isn't the only one doubling up with the indoor and beach seasons as Kyleene Filimaua has spent three seasons with the beach volleyball program.
Filimaua has a 27-11 record with the beach program and went 18-4 in 2026 along with earning Second Team All-ACC honors for the indoor team last season.

Allman Brings on Former MLV Coach Ángel Pérez to staff

Lindsay Allman named Ángel Pérez as the associate head coach on June 2, 2026.
Pérez has a distinguished background as he spent the last three seasons as the head coach of the Columbus Fury in the MLV.
Pérez, a Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, native, had a great run as the leader of the Las Pinkin de Corozal in Puerto Rico's Women's Superior Volleyball League. Pérez led the team to championships in 2022 and 2023 and was named the league's Manager of the Year in back-to-back seasons.
Pérez was one of the most decorated Puerto Rican volleyball players as he had professional stints in France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Romania and Slovenia. As a member of the Puerto Rican National Team, he helped them to a silver finish at the 2007 NORCECA Championship and a bronze finish at the 2010 Pan-American Cup. Perez served as the team captain from 2013-18.
Pérez played one season of college volleyball at BYU before returning to Puerto Rico to play at Polytechnic University from 2002-06.

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Volleyball Begins Regular Season at FGCU Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Maile Chan

Delaney Ewing

Kyleene Filimaua

Bailey Higgins

Nenu Kpea

Emma Lilo

Lexie Mason

Payton Whalen

Florida State University Athletics

Volleyball Begins Regular Season at FGCU Invitational

Next Event

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Players Mentioned

Maile Chan

Delaney Ewing

Kyleene Filimaua

Bailey Higgins

Nenu Kpea

Emma Lilo

Lexie Mason

Payton Whalen

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