This tournament gave the Seminoles’ newcomers a chance to stand out, and they took the opportunity. Against UCSB, freshman middle blocker Taryn Knuth recorded 10 kills on 19 total attacks (.316 hitting percentage), while Tiana Jackson and Deja Williams – the other two freshman middle blockers – recorded three kills on four total attacks (.750). These three hitting percentages were the highest on the team.

Junior defensive specialist Logan Holanchock left her mark on the Seminoles’ defensive line in her debut with the team, recording 20 digs against Illinois State and seven against UCSB.

Illinois State

In its first five set match of the day, the Seminoles fought off a tough Illinois State team. Outhitting Florida State throughout the first four sets, the Redbirds were slowed only by the Seminoles’ nearly impenetrable defensive line. Senior libero Cecilie Woie put on a show in Waco, recording 40 digs throughout five sets – a new program record for Florida State in the rally scoring era.

In the fifth set, the Seminoles reaffirmed its ability to dominate its competition, gaining the lead early in the set and holding strong until the end to win 15-7, and take the match 3-2.

Santa Barbara

Despite taking the first set, the Seminoles appeared to be no match for a tough UC Santa Barbara team as the Gauchos came back to claim the second and third set. In the fourth, UCSB nearly claimed the match, leading up to the 11-10 mark. One of Kubura’s 14 kills on the match tied it up 11-11, and the Seminoles ran away with it to hold off a UCSB win.

The fifth set was just as tight as the previous four, but the Seminoles were able to gain an early lead and outhit the Gauchos to claim a 15-13 win and take the match 3-2. Junior setter Brianne Burkert recorded her 15^th career double-double and a career high number of digs,

Quoting head coach Chris Poole

“I’m really proud of this young team, we really played with a lot of heart this weekend. In each match we could have let down and given up but we didn’t. All of these girls showed a lot of character and determination all weekend.”

“It wasn’t always pretty, but we found a way to win each time. We have a lot of upside this season and I do believe we will continue to improve as the season progresses.”

Up next for the Seminoles

Florida State returns to Tallahassee to open its home slate against UNC Asheville on Friday, Sept. 1 at 1:00 PM in the first match of the Home2Suites by Hilton Tallahassee Seminole Invitational.

Notes

• Florida State improves to 5-3 all-time against Illinois State, and 1-2 against UC Santa Barbara.

• FSU is 69-11 in the 27 in-season tournaments that it has participated in since the arrival of head coach Chris Poole in 2008.
• Cecilie Woie set a new program record for digs in the rally scoring era, recording 40 digs against Illinois State.
  • The previous record was 37, set by Summer Weissing in 2006.
• Brianne Burkert recorded her 14^th career double-double against Illinois State with 56 assists and 15 digs, and her 15^th double-double against UCSB with 44 assists and 19 digs.
  • 56 assists is a new career high for Burkert; her previous was 38 (vs. Florida A&M, Sept. 9, 2016).
  • 19 digs is a new career high for Burkert; her previous was 16 (at Syracuse, Nov. 13, 2016).
• Natasha Calkins recorded a career high 22 kills against Illinois State (previous was 13 vs. Florida, Sept. 14, 2016)
  • Also recorded a career high 57 total attacks against UC Santa Barbara, a record she had just broken earlier in the day when she earned 51 total attacks against Illinois State.
• Milica Kubura recorded a career high 52 total attacks against Illinois State, her previous high was 49 (at Syracuse, Nov. 11, 2016).
  • Also tied her career high of six digs (last vs. NC State, Oct. 9, 2016).
• Bozena Culo recorded a career high 11 kills against Illinois State, her previous was 2 (two times, last vs. Florida, Sept. 14, 2016).
  • Also recorded a career high 45 total attacks against UC Santa Barbara, her previous was 9 (vs. Florida, Sept. 14, 2016).
• Madison Sulllivan recorded a career high 15 digs against UC Santa Barbara. Her previous was 14 (2x, last vs. Stanford, Dec. 9, 2016).

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FSU-Illinois Box Score | FSU-UCSB Box Score