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CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Closing out the 2019 regular season with a convincing road win on Wednesday afternoon, Florida State (19-9, 12-6 ACC) defeated Miami (10-15, 6-11 ACC) by the score of 25-16, 25-11, 15-25, 25-14. It was the first win on the road in Coral Gables for the Seminoles since 2016.
Payton Caffrey led the FSU offense with 17 kills and a .410 hitting percentage, as the senior has only committed one attacking error in her last 71 attacks. Freshmen in the front row powered the blocking front for the Seminoles as Emma Clothier and Jessica Nunge had eight and six blocks, respectively.
“Awesome win today on the road,” said FSU head coach Chris Poole. “We have played really in most of the last two matches, and that is encouraging heading into the postseason.”
It was back and forth in the early going of the first set, before Florida State used an 8-1 scoring run, including kills by Caffrey and a block from Jasmyn Martin and Clothier, to break out to a 15-8 lead. After the media timeout, the Noles used a pair of aces from Caffrey and a block by Morgan Chacon and Clothier to extend the lead to 20-9. Kills from Chacon and Martin, along with a block involving Taryn Knuth and Nunge secured the 25-16 win for FSU in the first set.
The Seminoles controlled the second set, jumping out to a 10-4 lead after blocks from Clothier, Martin and Nunge, as well as kills from Caffrey. Aces from Lily Tessier and Madison Sullivan, along with Kills by Knuth and Caffrey, gave Florida State control of the set at 20-7. Miami scored four in a row to cut the lead to nine, but FSU used a pair of aces by Adrian Ell and a block from Nunge and Knuth to close out the set with a 25-11 win.
Miami bounced back to begin the third set, staking an 8-2 lead before extending its lead to eight at 14-6. Kills by Caffrey and Martin made it 15-10 Miami, but Miami tallied four in a row to lead by nine at 19-10. The Seminoles got kills from Martin and Chacon down the stretch, but the Hurricanes took the third set, 25-15.
Kills from Knuth and Lauryn Burrows, along with three kills in a row by Caffrey, opened a 10-5 lead in the fourth set for Florida State. The Seminoles carried that momentum to lead by nine at 19-10 after a service ace by Taylor Roberts, kills by Martin and a block from Martin and Knuth. Another kill by Caffrey and a block from Martin and Clothier closed out the win, 25-14.
Martin finished with 11 kills and five blocks, while Chacon added seven kills and 15 digs. Roberts recorded a team-high 17 digs and Tessier tallied 25 assists in the win.
The Seminoles will await their placement in the 2019 NCAA Championships, which will begin next weekend. The NCAA Selection Show will air on Sunday, December 1 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
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