WACO, Texas – Cecilie Woie set a program record, Brianne Burkert earned her 14th and 15th career double-double and a number of Seminoles recorded career highs as No. 15 Florida State took down Illinois State and UC Santa Barbara in the second day of the Hampton Inn & Suites Waco North Baylor Invitational. As the only nationally ranked program in the tournament, the Seminoles went 3-0 against three evenly matched competitors over the weekend.
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 15th 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
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