Florida State University Athletics
Volleyball Gears Up for Key ACC Matchups
10/4/2022 11:22:11 AM | Women's Volleyball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State volleyball team will continue their ACC season with two key matchups at home this week. The Seminoles will face rival Miami on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. on the ACC Network before taking on Duke Friday night at 6:30 p.m. on ACC Network Extra. Admission to all home matches is free and the doors to Tully Gym will open one hour before first serve.
With ACC play full underway, the Seminoles sit at 2-2 and tied for sixth in the conference standings. The NCAA released the first RPI of the season, and the Seminoles came in at 42. A couple of wins this weekend would help the Seminoles both on the conference and national stage. Miami comes into the match tied with the Seminoles for sixth in the ACC standings and ranked 46th in the RPI. Duke is ranked 60th in the RPI. Against the Hurricanes, the Noles will be looking to get a monkey off their back as Miami holds a three-match winning streak against the Seminoles. FSU has dominated Duke in recent history taking the last nine matches against the Blue Devils.
New Blood
The Noles have added three new key pieces to the 2022 squad. Freshman Audrey Rothman, senior Andjelija Draskovic and graduate student Emily Ryan have all had immediate impacts for the Noles.
The 2021 USA Today Girls Volleyball Player of the Year has been as good as advertised. Rothman has tallied 79 kills and also leads the team in digs with 86 and has nine aces this season as well.
The setter and middle duo of Draskovic and Ryan has been phenomenal for the Noles this season. Draskovic, a transfer from UMBC, has a team-high 357 assists, and Ryan is second on the team in kills with 125 and leads the team in blocks with 52.
How ‘Bout Those Middles
With one of the tallest teams under Head Coach Chris Poole, the Seminole middle blockers dominated in the Noles’ five-set win over North Carolina last Sunday. Emily Ryan, Khori Louis and Emma Clothier combined for 35 kills against the Tar Heels and the three averaged to hit .371.
Spreading the Wealth
The Noles have several athletes who are factors at the net. The Noles have six athletes with more than 75 kills through 15 matches this season. FSU is the only team in the conference to accomplish this feat. Athletes who have tallied more than 75 kills included Audrey Koenig (158), Emily Ryan (125), Emma Clothier (107), Khori Louis (102), Audrey Rothman (79) and Sydney Conley (79).
The Best Birthday Present
Senior setter Andjelija Draskovic made history on her 22nd birthday in the Garnet and Gold. On Sept. 8 against Nebraska-Omaha, Draskovic reached 1,000 career assists at the Division I level. Draskovic tallied 846 assists last season at UMBC and currently has 357 assists in 15 matches. this season. Draskovic became the 20th Seminole setter to tally 1,000 career assists. Draskovic is 380 assists from cracking the top 15 list for total career assists in program history.
Serving Up Aces
Sophomore Audrey Koenig has been a great surprise for the Noles behind the service line this season. A 2021 ACC All-Freshman Team selection, Koenig leads the team in aces with 18 and is averaging 0.36 aces per set which ranks 10th in the ACC. This comes after Koenig rarely served last year for the Seminoles and did not record a single ace during the 2021 season.
Starting Quick
The Noles have gotten off to great starts in the majority of their matches this season. The Noles have been the first team to 15 in 29 out their 53 sets this season. The Noles are 22-7 in sets where they are the first team to reach 15 points.
Scouting the Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes enter Wednesday’s match with a 9-6 overall record and a 2-2 record in ACC play. The Hurricanes split two matches last week with a 3-1 win over North Carolina and a four-set loss to NC State. The Hurricanes are led by Head Coach Jose “Keno” Gandara who is in his 10th season at the helm. Miami finished the 2021 season 25-5 after losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Florida.
The Hurricanes have a lot of diversity on their team with four athletes notching over 100 kills this season. Leading the way is outside hitter Angela Grieve who has tallied 167 kills this season. In her last three matches, the 2021 Second Team All-ACC honoree has dominated with 54 kills. Senior setter Savannah Vach is one of the top setters in the conference as she is currently second in the ACC with 593 assists.
Scouting the Blue Devils
The Duke Blue Devils sit at 10-5 but are 1-3 in ACC play with losses to Syracuse, Boston College and Pitt while defeating Virginia. Duke is led by Jolene Nagel who is in her 24th season as the head coach for the Blue Devils and is the winningest head coach in the program’s history.
This season, Duke is led by senior outside hitter Gracie Johnson who is second in the conference with 4.21 kills per set. Johnson also leads the team with 34 service aces. Setting Johnson up for success in setter Devon Chang. Chang is third in the conference with 555 assists and 10.09 assists per set.
Last Time Out
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – It was all but easy, but the Florida State volleyball team (10-5, 2-2) used a dominating fifth set to defeat North Carolina (9-6, 1-3) 3-2 (25-17, 25-27, 25-22, 24-26, 15-5) Sunday afternoon at Carmichal Arena in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Noles have now won three-straight matches against the Tar Heels dating back to the 2021 spring season.
“I am so proud of our players today. We’ve been struggling with injuries, and it has caused some chaos. I was so proud of the players who came off the bench today and made a great impact. We were a completely different team than we were on Friday, but it’s a good win and we will keep working,” Head Coach Chris Poole said.
The Noles dominated set one with a 25-17 victory. The Noles hit .500 in the set and pulled away after the Tar Heels took an early lead.
The Tar Heels jumped out all over the Seminoles taking a 20-12 lead, but the Seminoles then went on a 9-1 run behind the serving of Emma Clothier to tie the set at 21. The two teams traded points, but UNC would come out on top to even the match.
The Noles took complete control in the third set as middle blockers Emily Ryan and Khori Louis began to flex their muscle. FSU took an 18-12 lead and defended a fierce rally from UNC to take the set 25-22.
FSU had their chance to end the match in set four reaching set point at 24-23, but UNC used a 3-0 run to send the match into a fifth set.
It was all Seminoles in set five as they jumped all over the Tar Heels. The Noles led 8-3 then scored the final six points to take the match.
It was a huge day for both Louis and Ryan at the net. The duo each tallied 12 kills and combined for 16 blocks. Ryan hit .500 while Louis hit .348. Audrey Koenig led the way for the Noles with 15 kills on 28 attempts. Andjelija Draskovic tallied 36 assists while Melanie Cuervo saw her first action of the year at setter and recorded 17 assists.
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