Florida State University Athletics
Volleyball Gears Up for Showdown with the Gators
9/12/2022 4:05:05 PM | Women's Volleyball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State volleyball team (7-2) will be looking for back-to-back victories over the No. 15 Florida Gators Tuesday night at Exatech Arena in Gainesville, Fla. First serve is set for 6 p.m. on ESPNU with Sam Gore (Play-by-Play) and Missy Whittemore (Color) on the call.
Nole Notes
• Head Coach Chris Poole is in his 15th season as the leader of the Seminoles.
• The Noles were picked to finish fifth in the ACC by the coaches.
• The Noles got off to its best start through eight games since 2014 with a 7-1 start.
• The Noles will look to beat the Gators in back-to-back seasons for the first time
since the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
• Poole will be looking for his 32nd win over an AVCA Top 25 team against the Gators.
• The Noles split two matches at the Omaha Invite with a sweep over Nebraska-Omaha and a five-set loss to Creighton.
• This is the first time the Noles have played back-to-back ranked nonconference opponents since 2019
• Audrey Koenig currently leads the team with 92 kills.
• Sydney Conley had a great two games at the Omaha Invite tallying 17 kills in two matches including a 10-kill match against Creighton. Conley had 26 kills in the first seven games.
• The Noles are ranked fourth in the ACC and 31st in the nation in opponent hitting percentage, holding teams to an impressive .149 hitting percentage.
• Audrey Koenig, Khori Louis and Emily Ryan were each named to the Seminole Volleyball Invitational All-Tournament Team.
• Audrey Rothman was named the ACC Freshman of the Week on Aug. 29.
• Rothman comes to campus as one of the top recruits in school history. Rothman was named the USA Today Girls Volleyball Player of the Year and the Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year.
• Sophomore Khori Louis tied her career high with 15 kills against Dayton.
• The Noles added four transfers to this year’s team: Andjelija Draskovic (UMBC), Emily Ryan (UCLA), Alejandra Perez (Stetson) and Melanie Cuervo (Lynn University).
• Draskovic and Ryan have been main contributors for the Noles this season. Ryan leads the team with 34 blocks and is second on the team in kills with 80.
• Draskovic surpassed the 1,000 career assist mark on Sept. 8 against Nebraska-Omaha. Draskovic accomplished this feat on her 22nd
• Florida will be the second ranked opponent the Noles have faced this season. The Noles will also play No. 4 Louisville, No. 7 Pitt and No. 5 Georgia Tech twice.
Scouting the Gators
Mary Wise once again has a great squad as the 16th-ranked Florida Gators will come into this rivalry showdown with a 6-2 record. The Gators have dropped games to No. 12 Stanford and No. 4 Minnesota. The Gators have beaten one power five conference team in Virginia, who they swept. Wise is in her 32nd season as the head coach of the Gators and is one of the top coaches in the game. In 2021, the Gators were eliminated in the Sweet 16 by Louisville. The Gators are led by 6-5 outside hitter Marina Markova. Markova is a transfer from Syracuse and last year recorded 52 kills in nine sets against the Noles. Florida State beat Syracuse in both matches. As a team, the Gators are hitting .275 and are holding teams to a .129 hitting percentage which ranks ninth in the nation. The Gators are also 21st in the nation in blocks per set at 2.72.
Last Time Out
Noles Drop Five-Set Thriller to No. 17 Creighton
OMAHA, Neb. – The Florida State Seminoles (7-2) fell to the No. 17 Creighton Bluejays (6-2) in five sets (19-25, 25-19, 27-29, 27-25, 12-15) on Friday night at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb.
“That was a disappointing loss. I loved our fight,” Head Coach Chris Poole said. “We proved that we can play with this caliber of a team, and we are going to move on and learn from this.”
It was back and forth to begin set one, but Creighton took the lead at the 9-8 mark and held their advantage for the rest of the set. The Noles kept the deficit at three to four points for most of the set but were unable to mount a comeback against the Bluejays, falling 25-19. Audrey Rothman led the offensive attack with four kills and Emery Dupes added six digs.
Florida State came out strong in the second set, taking an early 5-1 lead. Creighton would fight back though, tying things up at 13. The Noles responded with a crucial six-point run to set up their 25-19 set two victory. FSU posted a match-high .364 hitting percentage while holding the Bluejays to .143.
The third set started similarly to the second as the Noles got out to a 13-7 lead, but the pesky Bluejays wouldn’t go away, tying the set at 17. It was a nail-biter down the stretch as there were eight ties and three lead changes, but the Bluejays would prevail with a 29-27 win.
FSU had their backs against the wall in the fourth set as they found themselves down 24-25. The Noles rallied for three-straight points to take the set thanks in part to kills from Rothman and Sydney Conley in the closing points.
The fifth and final set was a close fight in the beginning as the teams were knotted up at six. The Bluejays found their stride though and went on a six-point run to take a 12-6 lead. Florida State made a comeback attempt with a four-point run to cut the deficit to two but fell short in the end, losing the set 12-15 and dropping the match 2-3.
Audrey Koenig led the Seminoles in kills with 17 and Emily Ryan tied her career mark with 12. Dupes and Rothman both posted career-highs in digs with 31 and 26.
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