2013 Volleyball - Year In Review

2013 Volleyball - Year In Review

Coaching Staff
Chris Poole, Head Coach
Ryan McGuyre, Associate Head Coach
Caitlin Quinn, Strength and Conditioning
Gokhan Yilmaz, Associate Head Coach

Click here for team picture

Click here to see individual photos
2013 Women's Volleyball


2013 Florida State Signees/Newcomers

Izzy Carmona, 6-3, RSH, Titusville

Hailey Luke, 6-0, S, Altamonte Springs


2013 Roster - By Name

L
T                                             PY
R No Name                  Pos     Hgt   Cl   Ltr  Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 12 Sarah Burrington      MB      6-5   Fr-R      Ruskin (Riverview)
*  7 Izzy Carmona          RSH     6-3   Fr        Titusville (Holy Trinity Academy)
*  9 Caroline Dadowski     L       5-5   So   *    Pittsburgh, Pa. (Mount Lebanon)
* 13 Laura Dadowski        L       5-6   So   *    Pittsburgh, Pa. (Mount Lebanon)
* 11 Aurora Davis          DS      5-9   Sr        Groveland (South Lake/State College of Florida)
* 35 Mara Green            MB-RSH  6-1   So   *    McDonough, Ga. (Eagle's Landing Christian Ady)
*  3 Hailey Luke           S       6-0   Fr        Altamonte Springs (Lake Brantley)
* 24 Olivera Medic         OH      6-1   Sr   *    Subotica, Serbia (Western Wyoming CC)
*  8 Leah Mikesky          OH      6-1   Fr-R      Schulenburg, Tex. (Schulenburg)
*  2 Katie Mosher          L-DS    5-9   Jr-R **   Fort Myers (Bishop Verot)
* 14 Ashley Neff           MB      6-3   Sr   ***  Kennesaw, Ga. (North Cobb)
* 23 Elise Walch           RSH     6-5   Sr   **   Stuart (Martin County/Wisconsin)
*  5 Nicole Walch          OH      6-2   So   *    Stuart (Martin County)
* 10 Sarah Wickstrom       S       5-11  Jr   **   Stuart (Jensen Beach)

2013 Roster - By Number

L
T                                             PY
R No Name                  Pos     Hgt   Cl   Ltr  Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*  2 Katie Mosher          L-DS    5-9   Jr-R **   Fort Myers (Bishop Verot)
*  3 Hailey Luke           S       6-0   Fr        Altamonte Springs (Lake Brantley)
*  5 Nicole Walch          OH      6-2   So   *    Stuart (Martin County)
*  7 Izzy Carmona          RSH     6-3   Fr        Titusville (Holy Trinity Academy)
*  8 Leah Mikesky          OH      6-1   Fr-R      Schulenburg, Tex. (Schulenburg)
*  9 Caroline Dadowski     L       5-5   So   *    Pittsburgh, Pa. (Mount Lebanon)
* 10 Sarah Wickstrom       S       5-11  Jr   **   Stuart (Jensen Beach)
* 11 Aurora Davis          DS      5-9   Sr        Groveland (South Lake/State College of Florida)
* 12 Sarah Burrington      MB      6-5   Fr-R      Ruskin (Riverview)
* 13 Laura Dadowski        L       5-6   So   *    Pittsburgh, Pa. (Mount Lebanon)
* 14 Ashley Neff           MB      6-3   Sr   ***  Kennesaw, Ga. (North Cobb)
* 23 Elise Walch           RSH     6-5   Sr   **   Stuart (Martin County/Wisconsin)
* 24 Olivera Medic         OH      6-1   Sr   *    Subotica, Serbia (Western Wyoming CC)
* 35 Mara Green            MB-RSH  6-1   So   *    McDonough, Ga. (Eagle's Landing Christian Ady)

2013 Conference Awards

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katie Mosher             Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 2nd Team

Ashley Neff              Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 1st Team

Elise Walch              Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 2nd Team

Nicole Walch             Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference - 2nd Team

All-Conference -  4

2013 All-Americans

Name                     Organization
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashley Neff              Volleyball Magazine - 3rd Team 
                         American Volleyball Coaches Assoc - Honorable Mention 

Elise Walch              American Volleyball Coaches Assoc - Honorable Mention 

Nicole Walch             American Volleyball Coaches Assoc - Honorable Mention 

All-Americans -  3

2013 Schedule and Results

DATE
POST
GAME
BOX
SCORE
LOC
OPPONENT
SCORE
08/30
Postgame
Box
N
Illinois
Long Beach State Invitational, Long Beach, Calif.
L 0-3
08/30
Postgame
Box
N
Kentucky
Long Beach State Invitational, Long Beach, Calif.
W 3-0
08/31
Postgame
Box
A
Long Beach State
Long Beach State Invitational
W 3-2
09/06
Postgame
Box
H
Ohio State
Seminole Invitational
L 1-3
09/07
Postgame
Box
H
Western Kentucky
Seminole Invitational
W 3-1
09/07
Postgame
Box
H
Florida Gulf Coast
Seminole Invitational
W 3-0
09/12
Postgame
Box
N
Siena College
Texas A&M Tournament, College Station, Tex.
W 3-0
09/12
Postgame
Box
A
Texas A&M
Texas A&M Tournament
L 0-3
09/14
Postgame
Box
N
Michigan
Texas A&M Tournament, College Station, Tex.
W 3-2
09/17
Postgame
Box
A
Florida
L 0-3
09/21
Postgame
Box
A
Auburn
W 3-2
09/28
Postgame
Box
A
Syracuse
W 3-1
09/29
Postgame
Box
A
Boston College
W 3-0
10/04
Postgame
Box
A
Georgia Tech
L 1-3
10/05
Postgame
Box
A
Clemson
W 3-2
10/11
Postgame
Box
H
Maryland
W 3-0
10/13
Postgame
Box
H
Pittsburgh
W 3-0
10/16
Postgame
Box
H
Miami
W 3-1
10/20
Postgame
Box
A
Notre Dame
W 3-0
10/25
Postgame
Box
A
Duke
L 2-3
10/26
Postgame
Box
A
Wake Forest
W 3-1
11/01
Postgame
Box
H
North Carolina
W 3-2
11/03
Postgame
Box
H
North Carolina State
W 3-0
11/08
Postgame
Box
A
Virginia
W 3-1
11/09
Postgame
Box
A
Virginia Tech
L 1-3
11/13
Postgame
Box
A
Miami
W 3-1
11/17
Postgame
Box
H
Notre Dame
W 3-0
11/22
Postgame
Box
H
Wake Forest
W 3-0
11/24
Postgame
Box
H
Duke
W 3-0
11/27
Postgame
Box
H
Clemson
W 3-0
11/29
Postgame
Box
H
Georgia Tech
W 3-0
12/05
Postgame
Box
N
Georgia Southern
NCAA, Gainesville, Fla.
W 3-0
12/06
Postgame
Box
A
Florida
NCAA
W 3-2
12/13
Postgame
Box
N
Wisconsin
NCAA, Sweet 16, Columbia, Mo.
L 1-3
EOY Stats Ref

                Overall   Home    Away   Neutral
------------------------------------------------
FSU record is   26- 8    12- 1    10- 5     4- 2
vs ACC          17- 3    10- 0     7- 3     0- 0


2013 Atlantic Coast Conference Results
 1  Duke                 18- 2    28- 5 
 2  Florida State        17- 3    25- 8 
 3  North Carolina       16- 4    27- 5 
 4  Miami                12- 8    19-12 
 5t North Carolina State 11- 9    20-12 
 5t Pittsburgh           11- 9    19-14 
 5t Syracuse             11- 9    16-16 
 5t Virginia             11- 9    18-14 
 9  Virginia Tech        10-10    22-12 
10  Clemson               9-11    15-16 
11  Notre Dame            7-13    13-18 
12  Georgia Tech          6-14    12-20 
13t Wake Forest           5-15    16-16 
13t Maryland              5-15    13-19 
15  Boston College        1-19     9-23 


2013 Season Statistics

|--------ATTACK----------| |-----SET-----| |--------SERVE--------| |---RECEPT---| |--DIG---| |------BLOCKING------| Name GP MP MS K K/G E TA Pct A A/G TA SA SA/G SE TA Pct RE TA Pct DIG D/G BS BA Tot B/G BE BHE Pts Pts/G ================================================================================================================================================================== Nicole Walch 125 34 34 447 3.58 158 1072 0.270 14 0.11 101 26 0.21 46 387 0.881 43 682 0.937 297 2.38 7 54 61.0 0.49 3 3 507.0 4.06 Elise Walch 118 32 32 330 2.80 104 775 0.292 4 0.03 31 3 0.03 5 54 0.907 1 6 0.833 60 0.51 1 71 72.0 0.61 8 0 369.5 3.13 Ashley Neff 125 34 27 225 1.80 60 456 0.362 5 0.04 29 0 0.00 0 2 1.000 0 6 1.000 17 0.14 27 147 174.0 1.39 16 0 325.5 2.60 Sarah Burrington 124 34 26 226 1.82 57 494 0.342 8 0.06 63 7 0.06 13 196 0.934 0 3 1.000 47 0.38 15 134 149.0 1.20 15 1 315.0 2.54 Olivera Medic 121 33 31 197 1.63 92 611 0.172 28 0.23 161 22 0.18 38 505 0.925 31 764 0.959 386 3.19 3 48 51.0 0.42 7 1 246.0 2.03 Izzy Carmona 85 30 8 168 1.98 55 414 0.273 2 0.02 15 0 0.00 0 0 0.000 0 2 1.000 19 0.22 4 67 71.0 0.84 12 0 205.5 2.42 Mara Green 56 21 8 77 1.38 31 202 0.228 4 0.07 13 4 0.07 6 92 0.935 0 7 1.000 38 0.68 2 32 34.0 0.61 7 0 99.0 1.77 Leah Mikesky 47 18 4 71 1.51 41 212 0.142 3 0.06 24 8 0.17 10 122 0.918 5 203 0.975 77 1.64 2 18 20.0 0.43 2 0 90.0 1.91 Hailey Luke 126 34 2 10 0.08 6 35 0.114 605 4.80 1548 25 0.20 13 487 0.973 0 1 1.000 175 1.39 0 1 1.0 0.01 0 34 35.5 0.28 Sarah Wickstrom 126 34 32 4 0.03 3 15 0.067 854 6.78 1891 31 0.25 20 519 0.961 0 2 1.000 233 1.85 0 0 0.0 0.00 3 14 35.0 0.28 Katie Mosher 118 32 0 2 0.02 1 14 0.071 103 0.87 409 15 0.13 19 414 0.954 23 629 0.963 506 4.29 0 0 0.0 0.00 0 2 17.0 0.14 Laura Dadowski 66 28 0 0 0.00 0 1 0.000 5 0.08 14 5 0.08 7 106 0.934 2 15 0.867 17 0.26 0 0 0.0 0.00 0 0 5.0 0.08 Caroline Dadowski 7 7 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.000 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 1 9 0.889 1 2 0.500 1 0.14 0 0 0.0 0.00 0 0 0.0 0.00 Aurora Davis 2 2 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.000 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 1 4 0.750 0 0 0.000 1 0.50 0 0 0.0 0.00 0 0 0.0 0.00 Team 2 3 4 11 17 0.0 ============================================================================================================================================== FSU 126 34 34 1757 13.94 610 4304 0.266 1635 12.98 4303 146 1.16 179 2897 0.938 117 2339 0.950 1874 14.87 61 572 633.0 5.02 73 55 2250.0 17.86 Opp 126 34 34 1558 12.37 707 4457 0.191 1444 11.46 4486 118 0.94 229 2574 0.911 146 2709 0.946 1667 13.23 46 401 447.0 3.55 42 33 1922.5 15.26

Illinois 3, Florida State 0
08/30/2013, Long Beach State Invitational, Long Beach, Calif.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

No. 18 Seminoles Fall in Season Opener to Illinois.

Florida State swept by fellow 2011 NCAA National Semifinal participant in three sets; loses first season-opening match since 2002.

LONG BEACH, CA – The 18th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team suffered a season-opening 3-0 (18-25, 23-25, 23-25) loss at the hands of Illinois on Friday afternoon at the Long Beach State Mizuno Invitational at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.

The Seminoles (0-1) were done in by the enormous hitting of Illinois outside hitter Jocelynn Birks, who recorded 22 kills, a .333 hitting percentage and two service aces in just three sets of action. The Illini (1-0) were able to compile a .282 hitting percentage, a quality mark against one of the nation’s best blocking units over the last four seasons.

Illinois presented a tough challenge for Florida State right in the opening set, expanding an 18-17 lead to a 25-18 win in the first frame after winning seven of the final eight points. Junior outside hitter Liz McMahon finished with five kills, one block and a late service ace in the frame. Florida State received some quality serving from senior Olivera Medic, as she recorded consecutive service aces midway through the set to keep things close. The Illini’s offensive execution was superior in the first frame as it totaled 17 kills compared to Florida State’s six.

Both teams tussled hard in the second set, with senior Elise Walch sparking the Seminole offense with six kills in the frame. However, too much top-notch hitting from Birks foiled Florida State’s defensive plan as she recorded nine kills in the second set and 16 overall heading into the intermission.

Every time Illinois tried to break free in the second set, Florida State clawed back and tied it at 19-19 on a kill by Medic. Both teams went back and forth as Elise Walch kept the Seminoles in it with responding kills to tie the set at 21-21. A two-point run by the Illini off a kill from Birks and a setting error by Florida State gave it a 23-21 lead, and a kill by Maddie Mayers ended the frame to put the Seminoles in a 2-0 hole.

Another competitive set occurred in the third, but Illinois wound up with the sweep after Birks ended the match with a kill. Florida State had the chance to take control of the set after leading 14-9 on a ball-handling error from the Illini, but the opposition went on a 5-0 run punctuated by a kill from McMahon. Trailing 21-20 with both teams trading points, redshirt freshman Sarah Burrington and Elise Walch combined on a block to create yet another tie in the set at 21-21.

As was the case in the previous sets, whichever team could go on a late run had the upper edge. Tied at 21 in the third, Illinois used a kill and a block by Maddie Mayers to create match point at 24-21. Nicole Walch then produced consecutive kills, but Birks’ match-ending kill highlighted a superb performance from the Illini.

Seminole libero Katie Mosher finished the match with 12 digs, giving her 1,111 for her career to make her just the seventh student-athlete in school history with over 1,100 career digs.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 3 Hailey Luke                3  1  0   2  0.500  17  0  1   0   2  0  0   0   0   1.0
 5 Nicole Walch               3  8  7  30  0.033   1  0  1   1  12  0  0   0   0   8.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               2  1  1   4  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  4   2   0   3.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  1  1   6  0.000   1  0  0   0   0  0  2   0   0   2.0
23 Elise Walch                3  9  4  22  0.227   0  0  0   0   2  0  3   0   0  10.5
24 Olivera Medic              3  9  2  23  0.304   0  2  0   1   6  0  0   1   0  11.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   1  0  2   3  12  0  0   0   0   0.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   1  0.000  15  1  0   0   4  0  0   0   0   1.0
13 Laura Dadowski             1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                3  5  1   8  0.500   0  0  0   0   0  0  5   0   0   7.5
35 Mara Green                 1  1  0   3  0.333   0  1  0   0   3  0  0   0   0   2.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 35 16  99  0.192  35  4  4   5  41  0 14   3   0  46.0
   Opp                        3 49 18 110  0.282  45  5  4   4  44  1 13   1   1  61.5


  1 2 3
Florida State
18
23
23
Illinois
25
25
25

Florida State 3, Kentucky 0
08/30/2013, Long Beach State Invitational, Long Beach, Calif.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Salvage Day With Win Over No. 17 Kentucky.

No. 18 Florida State volleyball sweeps nationally-ranked Kentucky in the nightcap after being defeated by Illinois in season-opening contest earlier on Friday.

LONG BEACH, CA - The 18th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team salvaged its first day of the season as it defeated No. 17 Kentucky, 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-20), on Friday evening at the Long Beach State Mizuno Invitational at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.

The nationally-ranked victory for the Seminoles (1-1) was a positive way to end the first day after falling to perennial Big Ten power Illinois earlier in the day in three sets. Florida State's win over the Wildcats (0-1) was its 23rd Top 25 win in program history, its fifth win against a Top 25 Kentucky squad and the 18th-highest ranked victory in school history.

"We're still learning a lot about ourselves," head coach Chris Poole said. "In the first match there was a lot of mistakes, and that can be typical when you replace four starting seniors with four or five kids who have not been on the court a whole lot. The second match we played better but not to our fullest potential. We're happy to beat a very good Kentucky team, and we showed a lot more consistency and ball control in this second match."

Florida State got after Kentucky by covering ground extremely well, as the Wildcats were held to just a .143 hitting percentage. While the Seminoles only produced a .212 attacking clip, they used 11 team blocks to their advantage as Ashley Neff (five blocks), Olivera Medic (four blocks) and Sarah Burrington (four blocks) were forces at the front of the net. Neff added nine kills and a .471 hitting percentage.

Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch and Medic paced Florida State's hitting with 10 kills apiece. Senior Elise Walch added six kills with just one attack error, while Medic added 11 digs to notch the team's first double-double of the season. Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher led all players with 15 digs versus Kentucky.

Against the Wildcats, the Seminoles staved off two set points against them in the first set and came away with a 27-25 win in the opening frame. A kill by Kentucky's Whitney Billings gave it a 24-23 set-point advantage, but Mara Green recorded a substantial kill to tie the set. Green then recorded a blocking error on another Billings kill to create the second set point, but Burrington broke through with a big kill.

Following a kill by Medic that made it 26-25, Burrington recorded a set-ending solo block off the attack of Kentucky's Sara Schwarzwalder to give Florida State its first set win of the season.

The second set proved to be another nail-biter. The Seminole offense came to life as Nicole Walch produced six kills while Neff added three kills and three blocks. With the set tied at 17-17, the Seminoles won back-to-back points on kills by Medic and Elise Walch. Later, Nicole Walch came through with another big kill to make it 23-21, and four rallies later Medic put away the set with a nice cross-court kill.

Medic would finish off Kentucky in the third and final set to clinch the victory for Florida State.

The Seminoles were done in by the enormous hitting of Illinois outside hitter Jocelynn Birks in the earlier match, as she recorded 22 kills, a .333 hitting percentage and two service aces in just three sets of action. The Illini (1-0) were able to compile a .282 hitting percentage, a quality mark against one of the nation's best blocking units over the last four seasons.

Illinois presented a tough challenge for Florida State right in the opening set, expanding an 18-17 lead to a 25-18 win in the first frame after winning seven of the final eight points. Junior outside hitter Liz McMahon finished with five kills, one block and a late service ace in the frame. Florida State received some quality serving from Medic, as she recorded consecutive service aces midway through the set to keep things close. The Illini's offensive execution was superior in the first frame as it totaled 17 kills compared to Florida State's six.

Both teams tussled hard in the second set, with Elise Walch sparking the Seminole offense with six kills in the frame. However, too much top-notch hitting from Birks foiled Florida State's defensive plan as she recorded nine kills in the second set and 16 overall heading into the intermission.

Every time Illinois tried to break free in the second set, Florida State clawed back and tied it at 19-19 on a kill by Medic. Both teams went back and forth as Elise Walch kept the Seminoles in it with responding kills to tie the set at 21-21. A two-point run by the Illini off a kill from Birks and a setting error by Florida State gave it a 23-21 lead, and a kill by Maddie Mayers ended the frame to put the Seminoles in a 2-0 hole.

Another competitive set occurred in the third, but Illinois wound up with the sweep after Birks ended the match with a kill. Florida State had the chance to take control of the set after leading 14-9 on a ball-handling error from the Illini, but the opposition went on a 5-0 run punctuated by a kill from McMahon. Trailing 21-20 with both teams trading points, Burrington and Elise Walch combined on a block to create yet another tie in the set at 21-21.

As was the case in the previous sets, whichever team could go on a late run had the upper edge. Tied at 21 in the third, Illinois used a kill and a block by Maddie Mayers to create match point at 24-21. Nicole Walch then produced consecutive kills, but Birks' match-ending kill highlighted a superb performance from the Illini.

Mosher finished the day with 27 digs, giving her 1,126 for her career to make her just the seventh student-athlete in school history with over 1,100 career digs.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3 10  5  30  0.167   0  0  1   0   8  0  1   0   0  10.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  21  0  1   0   4  0  0   0   0   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                3  9  1  17  0.471   0  0  0   0   0  2  3   2   0  12.5
23 Elise Walch                3  6  1  16  0.313   0  0  0   0   2  0  1   0   0   6.5
24 Olivera Medic              3 10  7  30  0.100   2  0  2   1  11  1  3   0   0  12.5
35 Mara Green                 3  2  1  10  0.100   0  0  0   0   2  1  1   1   0   3.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   2  0  1   1  15  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  0   0  0.000  16  0  0   0   6  0  0   0   0   0.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  5  3  10  0.200   0  0  0   0   1  1  3   1   0   7.5
13 Laura Dadowski             1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   1  0  0   0   0   0.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 42 18 113  0.212  41  0  5   2  50  5 12   4   0  53.0
   Opp                        3 42 24 126  0.143  40  2  9   0  47  1 12   0   2  51.0


  1 2 3
Florida State
27
25
25
Kentucky
25
23
20

Florida State 3, Long Beach State 2
08/31/2013, Long Beach State Invitational, Long Beach, Calif.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Walch's Big Performance Powers Noles.

Sophomore outside hitter posts career-high 21 kills to help No. 18 Seminoles defeat 49ers in five sets.

LONG BEACH, CA - Behind a superb offensive effort led by sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch, the 18th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team defeated Long Beach State, 3-2 (15-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-18, 15-12), to finish the Long Beach State Mizuno Invitational late Saturday night at the Walter Pyramid.

Walch delivered a career 21 kills, the highest total by a Seminole since former AVCA Second-Team All-American Jekaterina Stepanova terminated 21 kills at Dayton on Sept. 9, 2011. Walch recorded a .325 hitting percentage and fittingly ended the match with a kill in the fifth set while the Seminoles (2-1) clung to a 14-12 lead.

Senior Elise Walch, Nicole's sister, was also a big part of Florida State's quality day on the attack. The Stuart, Fla. native added 15 kills, one shy of her career-best at Florida State, while hitting .400 and adding five digs.

The win was Florida State's first-ever victory over Long Beach State, entering the tournament with an 0-5 series record versus the 49ers (1-1).

"We played with incredible heart tonight in a great volleyball atmosphere," head coach Chris Poole said. "We were not perfect and have work to do but I'm really proud of how the team battled all weekend."

Having a strong weekend for the Seminoles (2-1) was redshirt freshman middle blocker Sarah Burrington. Against the 49ers, the Ruskin, Fla. native had nine kills and a .533 attack percentage while adding seven blocks. Senior Ashley Neff added six kills and recorded five blocks, as Florida State held the overall edge in blocking at 13-11.

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher was steady once again in the back row, recording 14 of Florida State's 53 digs. The Fort Myers, Fla. native now has 1,140 career digs, just ten shy of tying FSU volleyball great Nancy Gaspadarek for sixth place.

The setter play for the Seminoles was impressive, with junior Sarah Wickstrom (32 assists) and Hailey Luke (26 assists) combining for 58 assists.

The fifth and final set was highlighted by offensive execution, as the Seminoles recorded a .455 hitting percentage which did not include any attack errors. A service ace by Luke gave Florida State its first lead of the set at 5-4, and from there the Seminoles never looked back. Burrington and Nicole Walch were responsible for the next four points to make it 9-5, but Long Beach State's Alex Reid found her touch and cut its deficit to 12-11.

Staying poised, Nicole Walch responded with a kill, and an attack error by Long Beach State set up Walch's match-winning kill.

The Seminoles hung with the 49ers early in the first set, as Izzy Carmona's kill off a set from Luke tied the match early at 8-8. However, Long Beach State used a few small runs punctuated by a few kills from Haleigh Hampton to eventually pull away and win the first frame convincingly 25-15.

Nicole Walch's seven kills led Florida State's offense in the second set as the Seminoles won 25-23. Wickstrom paced the attack with nine assists. Trailing 16-15, Florida State strung together four consecutive points as a block by Olivera Medic and Burrington capped the run. However, the 49ers stayed relentless and tied the set late at 23-23 on a Florida State service error. A well-placed kill by Elise Walch down the line put Florida State at set point, and Laura Dadowski subbed in and recorded a big service ace to tie the match.

Long Beach State led for the majority of the third set, breaking a 7-7 tie on a kill by Chisom Okpala and never trailing the rest of the way. Nicole Walch tried to keep Florida State in the frame with her three kills and two blocks. Down 22-16, the Seminoles went on a 4-0 run which included consecutive blocks from Neff, but Hampton came back by playing a hand in two blocks of her own to finish the set.

The Seminoles won fourth set by hitting .345, while Long Beach State was held to a .077 clip as it struggled for offensive rhythm in the frame.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               5 21  8  40  0.325   0  1  0   5   8  1  5   0   0  25.5
 7 Izzy Carmona               2  3  3   7  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   3.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            5  0  0   0  0.000  32  0  0   0   9  0  0   2   1   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                5  6  3  16  0.188   0  0  0   0   2  0  5   0   0   8.5
23 Elise Walch                5 15  3  30  0.400   0  0  2   0   5  0  3   0   0  16.5
24 Olivera Medic              5 10  4  31  0.194   0  2  3   3   5  0  2   0   0  13.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               5  0  0   0  0.000   3  1  1   0  14  0  0   0   0   1.0
 3 Hailey Luke                5  0  0   0  0.000  26  1  0   0   6  0  0   0   2   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           5  9  1  15  0.533   0  0  0   0   1  1  6   0   1  13.0
13 Laura Dadowski             3  0  0   1  0.000   0  1  0   1   2  0  0   0   0   1.0
35 Mara Green                 3  3  0   4  0.750   0  0  0   0   1  0  1   1   0   3.5
   Team                                                      1                  
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        5 67 22 144  0.313  61  6  6  10  53  2 22   3   4  86.0
   Opp                        5 60 22 146  0.260  56 10  5   6  45  2 18   1   0  81.0


  1 2 3 4 5
Florida State
15
25
20
25
15
Long Beach State
25
23
25
18
12

Ohio State 3, Florida State 1
09/06/2013, Seminole Invitational, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Fall to Ohio State in Home Opener.

No. 15 Florida State volleyball has home win streak of 24 consecutive regular-season matches snapped by the 23rd-ranked Buckeyes.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The 15th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team suffered a rare loss in Tully Gym, falling to No. 23 Ohio State, 3-1 (29-27, 24-26, 14-25, 20-25), in front of a capacity crowd of 1,250 at the Four Points by Sheraton Seminole Invitational on Friday night.

Ohio State used a suffocating defense that made it very difficult for the Seminoles (2-2) to find holes to attack. Florida State recorded a .158 attack percentage in the loss, which is its second straight defeat at Tully Gym after falling to Purdue in the NCAA Second Round to end the 2012 season.

"I think the girls came out and almost started relaxing too much," head coach Chris Poole said. "Our minds started drifting, we started letting them dictate the pace of the game, and even though we fought really hard the first two, that third set really set the tone for the rest of the match. We never really could get ourselves back into it."

Leading the undefeated Buckeyes (5-0), whom also defeated No. 16 Western Kentucky earlier in the day, was senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Leary. The Parma, Ohio native blasted Florida State with 27 kills, the most by an FSU opponent since former Miami All-American Lane Carico tallied 29 kills on Nov. 26, 2011.

The difficult early-season schedule for a team that lost four invaluable seniors proved tough on Friday night. Ohio State recorded a .281 hitting percentage with three student-athletes totaling double-digit kill figures. Ohio State added 10 team blocks and kept many rallies alive in their favor by tipping Florida State's attack repeatedly.

Senior right-side hitter Elise Walch was a consistent force again, totaling 12 kills in 27 attacks for a .296 hitting percentage. The Stuart, Fla. native added four blocks, while senior Ashley Neff and redshirt freshman middle blocker Sarah Burrington each had seven blocks to lead the team.

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher recorded 22 digs in the match, moving her into sixth place on the career digs list with 1,162 as she passed Florida State great Nancy Gaspadarek. Mosher is now 24 digs away from the fifth-place spot owned by all-around great Maggie Philgence.

It was exhausting enough for Florida State to outlast Ohio State in the opening set, a thrilling 29-27 win for the Seminoles. Having set point and a 24-22 lead, Florida State surrendered consecutive kills by Kylie Randall to knot the frame at 24-24. Over the next four rallies, Florida State and Ohio State traded points as Elise Walch capped it with a big kill to tie things at 26-26.

A service error by Ohio State tied the set once again at 27-27, and senior Olivera Medic took over with back-to-back service aces to give Florida State the opening frame.

The second set was close midway through, as Elise Walch's kill off a nice set from junior Sarah Wickstrom tied the frame at 16-16. Ohio State would go on to win four of the next five points, but Florida State managed to stay within striking distance and even tied the set on an attack error from Andrea Kacsits. A timeout by the Buckeyes prompted two straight points for Ohio State, but Florida State stayed relentless and used an attack error by Erin Sekinger to tie the set at 24-24.

Randall would finish off Florida State in the second set with consecutive kills to tie the match at 1-1.

The Buckeyes stepped up defensively in the final two sets, holding the Seminoles to a -.121 hitting percentage in the third and .200 in the fourth. Ohio State led the whole way to take the third set handily, then pulled away late in the fourth as Leary's kill ended the match. The loss snapped Florida State's 24-match win streak at home in regular-season contests.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               4  9  8  30  0.033   0  0  0   0   6  0  1   0   0   9.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            4  0  0   0  0.000  27  0  0   0   4  0  0   0   0   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                4  7  3  20  0.200   0  0  0   0   1  2  5   0   0  11.5
23 Elise Walch                4 12  4  27  0.296   0  0  0   1   0  0  4   1   0  14.0
24 Olivera Medic              4  9  5  25  0.160   0  2  3   1   9  0  2   0   0  12.0
35 Mara Green                 3  3  3  10  0.000   0  1  0   0   2  0  2   0   0   5.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               4  0  0   1  0.000   2  1  0   3  22  0  0   0   0   1.0
 3 Hailey Luke                4  0  0   0  0.000  18  1  0   0   7  0  0   0   0   1.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               1  1  0   2  0.500   0  0  0   0   0  0  2   0   0   2.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               2  2  0   9  0.222   1  0  2   0   1  0  1   0   0   2.5
12 Sarah Burrington           4  5  2  14  0.214   0  0  0   0   3  0  7   0   0   8.5
13 Laura Dadowski             3  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
   Team                             1                                           
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        4 48 26 138  0.159  48  5  5   5  55  2 24   1   0  67.0
   Opp                        4 66 23 153  0.281  62  5 10   5  55  3 14   0   0  81.0


  1 2 3 4
Ohio State
27
26
25
25
Florida State
29
24
14
20

Florida State 3, Western Kentucky 1
09/07/2013, Seminole Invitational, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Top No. 16 Hilltoppers.

No. 15 Florida State volleyball uses best offensive day of the season to get past Western Kentucky.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Behind a season-best .320 attack percentage, Florida State got a key 3-1 (20-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-23) win against No. 16 Western Kentucky in its first match of the day on Saturday afternoon at the Four Points by Sheraton Seminole Invitational in Tully Gym.

Nicole Walch wore down the Hilltoppers (4-3) with 14 kills and a .375 hitting percentage, and also affected the outcome with five crucial service aces. Walch's five aces are the most by a Seminole since Visnja Djurdjevic tallied six against North Carolina on Nov. 6, 2011.

Ashley Neff put together a fine offensive effort, recording 11 kills and a .444 attack percentage as she worked well with junior setter Sarah Wickstrom. Neff added four blocks, while fellow middle blocker Sarah Burrington matched Neff's total for the second straight match with four blocks of her own. Burrington also recorded seven kills and continues to gain a good rhythm with freshman setter Hailey Luke.

Elise Walch added 10 kills and a .421 attack percentage, being used as Florida State's primary option in the first few sets to keep it in the match.

Western Kentucky held the lead or tied throughout the entire first set, dominating the Seminoles (3-2) with a .382 hitting percentage as it posted a 25-20 win. Although the rough start had the possibility of spiraling downward for the Seminoles, Florida State picked up its pace of play in set two and shut down the Hilltopper hitters to a .000 attack percentage.

Florida State's presence on the block that started in set two carried all the way toward the end of the match. In the third set, the Seminoles built a 17-10 lead on an attack error by Western Kentucky's Noelle Langenkamp, then would extend it to 23-13 on a few service aces from Nicole Walch. Holding a 24-15 set-point advantage, Elise Walch and Burrington combined on a block off the attack of Haley Brodway to take the third set.

The fourth set proved to be much tighter, with Florida State relinquishing an early lead and trailing 19-16 behind a kill from Boyan. Three consecutive points were won by Florida State, including another Hilltopper attack error, to tie the set at 19-19. An important kill by Neff finally gave the Seminoles the lead again at 22-21, and a cross-court kill by Nicole Walch ended the match.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               4 14  2  32  0.375   2  5  2   2   5  1  1   0   0  20.5
 7 Izzy Carmona               1  1  1   4  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   1.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            4  0  0   0  0.000  20  0  0   0   3  0  0   0   0   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                4 11  3  18  0.444   0  0  0   0   2  1  3   2   0  13.5
23 Elise Walch                4 10  2  19  0.421   1  0  0   0   1  0  3   0   0  11.5
24 Olivera Medic              4  6  4  24  0.083   1  0  5   1  13  0  0   0   0   6.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               4  0  0   1  0.000   4  0  2   0  17  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                4  1  0   3  0.333  19  0  1   0   9  0  0   0   1   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           4  7  2  16  0.313   0  0  0   0   1  1  3   1   0   9.5
13 Laura Dadowski             1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  1   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
35 Mara Green                 3  4  0   8  0.500   0  0  1   0   4  0  2   0   0   5.0
   Team                                                      1                  
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        4 54 14 125  0.320  47  5 12   4  55  3 12   3   1  68.0
   Opp                        4 42 23 129  0.147  38  4  7   5  52  2  4   2   2  50.0


  1 2 3 4
Western Kentucky
25
15
15
23
Florida State
20
25
25
25

Florida State 3, Florida Gulf Coast 0
09/07/2013, Seminole Invitational, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Bounces Back With Two Wins.

No. 15 Florida State volleyball tops No. 16 Western Kentucky, then sweeps Florida Gulf Coast in the nightcap.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The 15th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team wrapped up the Four Points by Sheraton Seminole Invitational by getting two important victories, defeating 16th-ranked Western Kentucky, 3-1, followed by a 3-0 sweep over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday night at Tully Gym.

The Seminoles (4-2) had their attacking game clicking on all cylinders on Saturday, totaling a .320 percentage against Western Kentucky followed by a season -best .379 mark versus the Eagles (0-5). Overall, Florida State combined to hit .344, led by sophomore Nicole Walch's 23 kills and 3.29 kills per set.

Senior middle blocker Ashley Neff combined for 19 kills in the two-match affair, registering a strong .483 hitting percentage as she was the beneficiary of strong play from junior setter Sarah Wickstrom. Sophomore Mara Green had some quality floor time as well, putting down 13 kills along with a .619 hitting percentage.

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher added 24 digs in two matches to increase her career total to 1,186 for fifth-place on the school's all-time list. Her final dig against FGCU moved her past Seminole legend Maggie Philgence, and she is now 26 short of passing Jenna Romanelli for fourth place.

Florida State's afternoon win against Western Kentucky was its 24th Top 25 victory in school history, as well as its second of the season. In the 2011 and 2012 seasons, the Seminoles have posted school records of five AVCA Top 25 wins each and will have more opportunities this season to eclipse that mark.

Nicole Walch wore down the Hilltoppers (4-3) with 14 kills and a .375 hitting percentage, and also affected the outcome with five crucial service aces. Walch's five aces are the most by a Seminole since Visnja Djurdjevic tallied six against North Carolina on Nov. 6, 2011.

Neff put together a fine offensive effort, recording 11 kills and a .444 attack percentage as she worked well with Wickstrom. Neff added four blocks, while fellow middle blocker Sarah Burrington matched Neff's total for the second straight match with four blocks of her own. Burrington also recorded seven kills and continues to gain a good rhythm with freshman setter Hailey Luke.

Elise Walch added 10 kills and a .421 attack percentage against WKU, being used as Florida State's primary option in the first few sets to keep it in the match.

Western Kentucky held the lead or tied throughout the entire first set, dominating the Seminoles with a .382 hitting percentage as it posted a 25-20 win. Although the rough start had the possibility of spiraling downward for the Seminoles, Florida State picked up its pace of play in set two and shut down the Hilltopper hitters to a .000 attack percentage.

Florida State's presence on the block that started in set two carried all the way toward the end of the match. In the third set, the Seminoles built a 17-10 lead on an attack error by Western Kentucky's Noelle Langenkamp, then would extend it to 23-13 on a few service aces from Nicole Walch. Holding a 24-15 set-point advantage, Elise Walch and Burrington combined on a block off the attack of Haley Brodway to take the third set.

The fourth set proved to be much tighter, with Florida State relinquishing an early lead and trailing 19-16 behind a kill from Boyan. Three consecutive points were won by Florida State, including another Hilltopper attack error, to tie the set at 19-19. An important kill by Neff finally gave the Seminoles the lead again at 22-21, and a cross-court kill by Nicole Walch ended the match.

Redshirt freshman Leah Mikesky helped the Seminoles with eight kills against FGCU in the second match, while Florida State sided out on 75 percent of the Eagles' serves. Only two lead changes occurred in the match, with the Seminoles defeating FGCU soundly and holding the Eagles to a .202 hitting percentage.

No. 23 Ohio State is the champion of the Four Points by Sheraton Seminole Invitational with a 3-0 record. Florida State finished second at 2-1, while Western Kentucky finished third. The winner of Sunday's match between Florida A&M and FGCU will be fourth.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3  9  2  20  0.350   1  1  2   0   7  0  1   0   1  10.5
 7 Izzy Carmona               3  6  2  12  0.333   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   2   0   6.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               3  8  5  21  0.143   0  0  1   0   7  0  0   0   0   8.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   1  0.000  21  4  1   0   7  0  0   0   0   4.0
14 Ashley Neff                3  8  2  11  0.545   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   2   0   8.0
35 Mara Green                 3  9  0  13  0.692   0  0  0   0   3  0  2   0   0  10.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  1  0   2  0.500   1  3  0   0   7  0  0   0   0   4.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  0   0  0.000  20  0  0   0   3  0  0   0   0   0.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  3  0   7  0.429   0  0  0   0   0  0  3   0   0   4.5
13 Laura Dadowski             3  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   1  0  0   0   0   0.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 44 11  87  0.379  43  8  4   0  35  0  6   4   1  55.0
   Opp                        3 32 14  89  0.202  31  0  6   8  27  0 10   0   1  37.0


  1 2 3
Florida Gulf Coast
17
13
20
Florida State
25
25
25

Florida State 3, Siena College 0
09/12/2013, Texas A&M Tournament, College Station, Tex.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Split First Day of Texas A&M Invitational.

No. 16 Florida State volleyball defeats Siena in three-set sweep but falls to host Texas A&M in nightcap.

COLLEGE STATION, TX - The 16th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team split its first day at the Texas A&M Invitational, defeating Siena, 3-0 (25-18, 25-9, 25-17), before falling to host Texas A&M, 3-0 (25-27, 25-27, 22-25), on Thursday evening at Reed Arena.

The Seminoles (5-3) were powered by a standout performance from freshman right-side hitter Izzy Carmona in their win over Siena. Carmona delivered her first double-digit kill match as a Seminole, finishing with 10 kills, a .375 hitting percentage and three blocks. Sophomore Mara Green added six kills and a .545 hitting percentage, while senior Ashley Neff totaled seven kills and seven blocks.

Versus Texas A&M, Florida State had its offense out of rhythm as it mustered a .194 hitting clip. Sophomore Nicole Walch led the Seminoles with 14 kills while senior Olivera Medic produced 11 kills, 15 digs and a .290 hitting percentage. Junior Sarah Wickstrom recorded 25 assists and 11 digs. Both Wickstrom and Medic notched double-doubles on the evening, the third time it has happened this season for the Seminoles.

With 21 digs in the nightcap versus the Aggies (7-1), redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher now has 1,216 digs to move into fourth in school history. The Fort Myers, Fla. native is already the school's single-season record holder for digs in a season, recording 604 in Florida State's 2011 NCAA National Semifinal run.

Neff also made some personal history, reaching her 478th career block to move past Aisha Thornton (1996-99) for seventh in school history. The Kennesaw, Ga. native also has 411 block assists, sitting fourth in program history.

Against the Aggies, the Seminoles fell in a competitive first set by a 27-25 score. Florida State got behind late and trailed 24-21, but fought back with kills by Nicole Walch and Green to cut the deficit to 24-23. Nicole Walch then delivered another kill to tie the set at 24-24, then one more to make it 25-25. However, a block by Texas A&M's Jazzmin Babers and Emily Hardesty ended the set to give the Aggies an early 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately for Florida State, it was déjŕ vu in the second set as it fell once again 27-25. This time, the Seminoles had a set point opportunity at 25-24 but could not convert, allowing a kill by Jazzmin Babers to tie the set, then surrendering consecutive kills to Sierra Patrick to fall in the second frame. Through two sets, Nicole Walch led Florida State with 10 kills while Katie Mosher had racked up 15 digs. The momentum for the Aggies carried over into the third frame as they finished the sweep of the Noles.

Florida State ran out to an early 11-4 lead over Siena in the first set in its first match, but had to sustain a comeback by the Saints (1-7) as they eventually cut their deficit to 17-15 off a kill from Meghann Wright. Following an FSU attack error that made it 17-16, Neff sparked a three-point run with a kill and a block to help the Seminoles to a 20-16 advantage. Neff later delivered another kill for a set point at 24-18, and Green finished the job with a kill of her own to give Florida State the first set.

Carmona helped shoulder the offensive load in the second set, driving home four kills as Florida State won thoroughly, 25-9. The nine points allowed to Siena were the lowest points surrendered to the opposition in a regular set since winning the opening set at Clemson on Oct. 21, 2012 by the same score. The key to the set was a dominant 9-0 run midway through, highlighted by a kill from Texas native Leah Mikesky to put the Noles ahead 21-6. Nicole Walch ended the frame with an emphatic kill to put Florida State closer to its third 3-0 sweep of the season.

Florida State took the third set handily, defeating Siena 25-18. Carmona paced the offense once again with three kills and added two blocks in the frame, while Wickstrom recorded seven assists. Green completed the 3-0 sweep with a kill to end the match.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  0   1  0.000  10  2  1   0   6  0  0   0   0   2.0
 5 Nicole Walch               3  9  7  28  0.071   0  0  2   2   7  0  1   0   0   9.5
 7 Izzy Carmona               3 10  4  16  0.375   0  0  0   0   0  0  3   0   0  11.5
12 Sarah Burrington           3  2  1   7  0.143   0  0  0   0   0  0  1   0   0   2.5
24 Olivera Medic              1  0  0   2  0.000   0  1  0   0   1  0  1   0   0   1.5
35 Mara Green                 3  6  0  11  0.545   1  1  0   0   4  0  2   0   0   8.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   1  0.000   3  0  0   0   9  0  0   0   0   0.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               3  4  5  10 -0.100   0  2  1   1   7  0  0   0   0   6.0
 9 Caroline Dadowski          1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   1   1  0  0   0   0   0.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  22  1  0   0   6  0  0   0   0   1.0
13 Laura Dadowski             2  0  0   0  0.000   1  1  0   0   2  0  0   0   0   1.0
14 Ashley Neff                3  7  1  11  0.545   0  0  0   0   0  1  6   0   0  11.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 38 18  87  0.230  37  8  4   4  43  1 14   0   0  54.0
   Opp                        3 18 19  83 -0.012  18  4  8   8  27  0  8   0   0  26.0


  1 2 3
Florida State
25
25
25
Siena College
18
9
17

Texas A&M 3, Florida State 0
09/12/2013, Texas A&M Tournament, College Station, Tex.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Split First Day of Texas A&M Invitational.

No. 16 Florida State volleyball defeats Siena in three-set sweep but falls to host Texas A&M in nightcap.

COLLEGE STATION, TX - The 16th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team split its first day at the Texas A&M Invitational, defeating Siena, 3-0 (25-18, 25-9, 25-17), before falling to host Texas A&M, 3-0 (25-27, 25-27, 22-25), on Thursday evening at Reed Arena.

The Seminoles (5-3) were powered by a standout performance from freshman right-side hitter Izzy Carmona in their win over Siena. Carmona delivered her first double-digit kill match as a Seminole, finishing with 10 kills, a .375 hitting percentage and three blocks. Sophomore Mara Green added six kills and a .545 hitting percentage, while senior Ashley Neff totaled seven kills and seven blocks.

Versus Texas A&M, Florida State had its offense out of rhythm as it mustered a .194 hitting clip. Sophomore Nicole Walch led the Seminoles with 14 kills while senior Olivera Medic produced 11 kills, 15 digs and a .290 hitting percentage. Junior Sarah Wickstrom recorded 25 assists and 11 digs. Both Wickstrom and Medic notched double-doubles on the evening, the third time it has happened this season for the Seminoles.

With 21 digs in the nightcap versus the Aggies (7-1), redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher now has 1,216 digs to move into fourth in school history. The Fort Myers, Fla. native is already the school's single-season record holder for digs in a season, recording 604 in Florida State's 2011 NCAA National Semifinal run.

Neff also made some personal history, reaching her 478th career block to move past Aisha Thornton (1996-99) for seventh in school history. The Kennesaw, Ga. native also has 411 block assists, sitting fourth in program history.

Against the Aggies, the Seminoles fell in a competitive first set by a 27-25 score. Florida State got behind late and trailed 24-21, but fought back with kills by Nicole Walch and Green to cut the deficit to 24-23. Nicole Walch then delivered another kill to tie the set at 24-24, then one more to make it 25-25. However, a block by Texas A&M's Jazzmin Babers and Emily Hardesty ended the set to give the Aggies an early 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately for Florida State, it was déjŕ vu in the second set as it fell once again 27-25. This time, the Seminoles had a set point opportunity at 25-24 but could not convert, allowing a kill by Jazzmin Babers to tie the set, then surrendering consecutive kills to Sierra Patrick to fall in the second frame. Through two sets, Nicole Walch led Florida State with 10 kills while Katie Mosher had racked up 15 digs. The momentum for the Aggies carried over into the third frame as they finished the sweep of the Noles.

Florida State ran out to an early 11-4 lead over Siena in the first set in its first match, but had to sustain a comeback by the Saints (1-7) as they eventually cut their deficit to 17-15 off a kill from Meghann Wright. Following an FSU attack error that made it 17-16, Neff sparked a three-point run with a kill and a block to help the Seminoles to a 20-16 advantage. Neff later delivered another kill for a set point at 24-18, and Green finished the job with a kill of her own to give Florida State the first set.

Carmona helped shoulder the offensive load in the second set, driving home four kills as Florida State won thoroughly, 25-9. The nine points allowed to Siena were the lowest points surrendered to the opposition in a regular set since winning the opening set at Clemson on Oct. 21, 2012 by the same score. The key to the set was a dominant 9-0 run midway through, highlighted by a kill from Texas native Leah Mikesky to put the Noles ahead 21-6. Nicole Walch ended the frame with an emphatic kill to put Florida State closer to its third 3-0 sweep of the season.

Florida State took the third set handily, defeating Siena 25-18. Carmona paced the offense once again with three kills and added two blocks in the frame, while Wickstrom recorded seven assists. Green completed the 3-0 sweep with a kill to end the match.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3 14  5  40  0.225   0  0  0   1   4  0  1   0   0  14.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  25  0  0   0  11  0  0   0   1   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                3  6  3  18  0.167   0  0  0   0   3  1  6   0   0  10.0
23 Elise Walch                3  7  3  19  0.211   0  0  0   0   1  0  2   1   0   8.0
24 Olivera Medic              3 11  2  31  0.290   0  0  0   1  15  0  3   0   0  12.5
35 Mara Green                 3  6  2  16  0.250   0  0  0   0   3  0  3   1   0   7.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   4  0  0   0  21  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  1   2 -0.500  14  0  0   0   4  0  0   0   0   0.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               1  0  0   1  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  1   0   0   0.5
12 Sarah Burrington           3  1  2  12 -0.083   0  0  0   0   1  0  4   1   0   3.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 45 18 139  0.194  43  0  0   2  63  1 20   3   1  56.0
   Opp                        3 54 20 145  0.234  53  2  6   0  62  1 12   1   1  63.0


  1 2 3
Florida State
25
25
22
Texas A&M
27
27
25

Florida State 3, Michigan 2
09/14/2013, Texas A&M Tournament, College Station, Tex.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Volleyball Earns Highest-Ranked Win in School History.

The 16th-ranked Seminoles deliver a two-set comeback to defeat seventh-ranked Michigan, 3-2.

COLLEGE STATION, TX - The 16th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team added another milestone on Saturday afternoon, defeating No. 7 Michigan, 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 15-13), to earn the highest-ranked victory in school history at the Texas A&M Tournament in College Station, Texas.

Led by the ferocious hitting of Nicole and Elise Walch, the Seminoles (6-3) recorded their first two-set comeback win since fighting back from an 0-2 hole at Georgia Tech last season on Oct. 19, 2012. Elise Walch and Nicole Walch led a high-powered offense with 22 kills each, the most put together by a Seminole since former player Visnja Djurdjevic posted 25 kills against Miami on Nov. 26, 2010.

“This is a great win for this young team,” head coach Chris Poole said. “The difference in the match was that we made big points at the end and never gave up. The schedule so far has prepared us to play against this level of competition. We should get better as season progresses.”

Nicole Walch recorded a .429 hitting percentage, while Elise added a .333 hitting percentage and led the comeback charge following the 10-minute intermission. Nicole Walch also added a team-high 22 digs, her first career double-double as a member of the Garnet and Gold.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom also had a double-double, totaling career highs of 37 assists and 14 digs en route to one of her best collegiate performances ever. Senior Olivera Medic added to the double-double mix, getting 12 kills and 15 digs.

Senior middle blocker Ashley Neff helped Florida State to 13 team blocks, recording 10 of her own while adding nine kills and a .333 attack percentage. Altogether, Florida State posted a .282 hitting percentage and held the Wolverines (7-1), whom are coming off an NCAA National Semifinal run, to a .211 clip.

Entering the match, Florida State's highest-ranked win in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll was defeating a No. 8 squad on four occasions. In the Seminoles' 2011 NCAA National Semifinal run, they defeated eighth-ranked Purdue in four sets. In 2009, Florida State topped No. 8 Illinois in three sets, and won matches against Florida in 1993 and 1994 when the Gators were also ranked eighth.

The fifth and final set was won on a service ace by freshman Hailey Luke. Florida State fell behind early 3-0, but won the next three rallies off kills from the Walch sisters. Both teams repeatedly traded points to create an 8-8 tie, but consecutive kills by Medic and Elise Walch gave Florida State a 10-8 lead and prompted a Michigan timeout.

Following the break, Michigan eventually tied the match at 13-13 on a kill from Abby Cole, winning five of the next eight points after the timeout. Neff responded with a kill off an assist from Wickstrom, followed by Luke's service ace to end the match.

Florida State kept it close and competitive in the first set against the Wolverines, but fell 25-21. The Seminoles matched Michigan with 14 kills in the frame, but the Wolverines out-blocked Florida State by a 5-2 margin. Neff led the Seminoles with four kills and a block in the first frame. Florida State jumped out to a 10-6 advantage on a service error by Michigan's Lexi Dannemiller, but could not close things as Michigan went on 2-for-1 spurts and ended the set with a kill by Cole.

For the sixth time this season, Florida State lost a set by the minimum two points as it fell to Michigan, 25-23, in set two. Neff was dominant in the second frame, totaling six blocks while Nicole Walch put together five kills, one service ace and two blocks. Michigan's Cole recorded a kill to knot the match at 20-20, and both teams exchanged points as a kill by Elise Walch and block by Neff tied the set again at 23-23. However, Michigan put together kills by Lexi Erwin and Jennifer Cross to win the second set.

The Walch sisters took over in third set, recording seven kills apiece as Florida State won 25-17. The Seminoles recorded a .406 hitting percentage as they found their offensive grove, recording 16 kills in 32 attacks and siding out at a 77 percent rate. The Seminoles led virtually the entire set, sending a strong statement following the second-break intermission.

The fourth set featured more strong hitting from Florida State, hitting 16 kills and totaling a .300 hitting percentage. Four of the last six rallies were won by the Seminoles, turning a 21-17 lead into a 25-19 fourth-set win.

Under Poole, Florida State is now 43-8 in preseason non-conference tournaments.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               5 22  4  42  0.429   0  1  0   4  22  0  2   1   0  24.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            5  0  0   1  0.000  37  0  1   0  14  0  0   0   0   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                5  9  2  21  0.333   0  0  0   0   0  2  8   1   0  15.0
23 Elise Walch                5 22  4  54  0.333   0  0  2   0   1  0  5   0   0  24.5
24 Olivera Medic              5 12  6  26  0.231   0  1  3   0  15  0  2   0   0  14.0
35 Mara Green                 2  0  2   6 -0.333   0  0  1   0   4  0  1   0   0   0.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               5  0  0   0  0.000   6  0  1   0  19  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                5  0  2   2 -1.000  26  1  0   0   6  0  0   0   1   1.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               3  1  1   5  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  1   0   0   1.5
12 Sarah Burrington           5  5  2  13  0.231   0  0  0   0   0  0  3   0   0   6.5
13 Laura Dadowski             2  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  1   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        5 71 23 170  0.282  69  3  9   4  81  2 22   2   1  87.0
   Opp                        5 62 24 180  0.211  56  4  7   3  68  1 16   2   1  75.0


  1 2 3 4 5
Florida State
21
23
25
25
15
Michigan
25
25
17
19
13

Florida 3, Florida State 0
09/17/2013, Gainesville, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Fourth-Ranked Gators Defeat Seminole Volleyball.

No. 17 Florida State unable to extend win streak against Florida as it falls to the Gators in three sets on the road.

GAINESVILLE, FL - One year after breaking its 21-match losing streak to Florida, the 17th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team was unable to capitalize this regular season as it fell to No. 4 Florida, 3-0 (20-25, 24-26, 23-25), on Tuesday night at the Stephen O'Connell Center.

Traditionally armed with high-percentage hitters, the Gators (9-1) used their middle attack to get a lot of points and were able to win several of the longer rallies. A close second set where the Seminoles (6-4) held set point at 24-23 was also given away, helping swing momentum into Florida's favor for the rest of the match. It was the seventh loss in a set by FSU where the differential was the minimum of two points, followed by another two-point loss in the third frame.

Later in the third set, Florida State trailed 16-9 and was seemingly out of the match with the crowd behind the Gators. However, the Seminoles managed to rally and cut their match-point deficit to 24-23 on a block from Ashley Neff. Florida ended the match with a block of its own, but Florida State managed to go down in defeat valiantly with three close set losses.

"We hung in there with them, but unfortunately a loss is a loss," head coach Chris Poole said. "We told the team that we're playing well, but we're losing by two or three points in some of these sets and we need to correct them and try to get better. We're making just enough mistakes where we are shooting ourselves in the foot."

The loss puts Florida State at a 16-match losing streak when facing the Gators on the road. Its last road win in Gainesville was on Oct. 9, 1990. The Seminoles are now 3-3 against Top 25 opponents this season, with victories over No. 7 Michigan, 17th-ranked Western Kentucky and then-17th-ranked Kentucky.

Senior outside hitter Olivera Medic was Florida State's most consistent attacker, recording 10 kills in 21 attacks for a .333 hitting percentage. Sophomore Nicole Walch heated up her game in the second set and finished with 14 kills in 29 swings, mustering just six attack errors for a .276 hitting percentage. At times, both outside hitters threw Florida off-balanced and became go-to forces.

Florida State held Florida to just a .255 hitting percentage, highlighted by a stout defensive set in the third where the Gators finished with just a .083 hitting mark. Chloe Mann and outside hitter Ziva Recek led UF with 12 kills apiece.

Florida State was also hurt by seven service errors, although Florida recorded nine with its aggressive style of play. Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher led all players with 17 digs, while junior setter Sarah Wickstrom recorded 21 assists and freshman Hailey Luke added 15.

Neff, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, finished with six kills, four blocks and a .308 hitting percentage for the Noles.

A tight first set was broke open by the Gators following a timeout called by the Seminoles where they were trailing 18-17. Florida won three consecutive points following the timeout, which included two big blocks to help it to a 21-17 advantage. Both teams began to trade points from there, and the set ended off consecutive kills from the Gators. Medic provided a consistent hitting effort in the first frame for the Seminoles, recording four kills in five attacks. Florida, however, put together a .375 hitting clip with 16 kills.

Florida State had a great opportunity to tie things in the second set, as Nicole Walch hammered a kill from the left side to put FSU ahead at 24-23. However, the Noles were called for a double-contact penalty to tie the set back up at 24-24, and Taylor Unroe's serve proved difficult from there as the Gators brought home two straight kills to take the 2-0 advantage. When it seemed that Florida could pull away earlier in the frame, the Seminoles held on and kept it close with the Gators. Freshman Izzy Carmona came up with three well-timed blocks in the set as FSU held a 5-4 advantage in the bat-down department through two frames.

Florida came out ready in the third set as opposed to getting behind early. But after taking a 16-9 lead over Florida State, the Seminoles fought back key kills from Medic and Nicole Walch to trail just 18-15. An attack error by UF created a 22-18 deficit for FSU, and later in the frame a service error and attack error by the Gators cut match point to 24-23 before Mann and Gabby Mallette produced a match-ending block.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3 14  6  29  0.276   0  0  0   3   7  0  0   0   0  14.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  1   1 -1.000  21  0  0   0   6  0  0   0   0   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                3  6  2  13  0.308   0  0  0   0   0  1  3   0   0   8.5
23 Elise Walch                3  7  4  17  0.176   0  0  1   0   1  0  1   0   0   7.5
24 Olivera Medic              3 10  3  21  0.333   2  0  3   1   5  0  2   1   0  11.0
35 Mara Green                 3  3  3   8  0.000   1  0  0   0   0  0  2   0   0   4.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   1  0  1   1  17  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  1   1 -1.000  15  0  0   0   6  0  0   0   2   0.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               2  2  0   6  0.333   0  0  0   0   1  1  2   0   0   4.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
12 Sarah Burrington           1  0  0   4  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
13 Laura Dadowski             2  0  0   0  0.000   1  1  2   0   1  0  0   0   0   1.0
   Team                                 2                                       
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 42 20 102  0.216  41  1  7   5  44  2 10   1   2  50.0
   Opp                        3 42 14 110  0.255  37  5  9   1  34  0 18   1   1  56.0


  1 2 3
Florida State
20
24
23
Florida
25
26
25

Florida State 3, Auburn 2
09/21/2013, Auburn, Ala.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

No. 17 Noles Get Past Auburn in Five.

Florida State volleyball improves to 3-0 this season in five-set matches after getting a tough win on the road over the Tigers.

AUBURN, AL – The 17th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team got some key individual performances as it went on the road to defeat Auburn, 3-2 (25-22, 28-30, 25-16, 22-25, 15-11), on Saturday afternoon at Auburn Arena.

Behind sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch’s career-high 23 kills, the Seminoles (7-4) earned a quality road victory as they now turn their focus to conference play. Walch fittingly delivered a kill on the final point of the match to help FSU improve to 8-8 against Southeastern Conference competition under head coach Chris Poole.

Senior Elise Walch combined with her sister to have another strong outing, posting 18 kills, a .343 hitting percentage, four digs and four blocks in the victory. Senior Ashley Neff was hot offensively throughout the match, recording 12 kills and a .529 hitting percentage. The Kennesaw, Ga. native added four blocks to push her career total to 496, trying to become just the seventh Seminole to record 500 or more blocks in her career.

“For the first time we mixed our players up a bit and put some younger players with some of our older players,” Poole said. “I think it made a big difference today. Ashley (Neff) played very well and Hailey (Luke) did a good job of giving her a big target. Our consistency was the key. When we weren’t consistent we struggled. We just have to go back to work now because a whole new season begins with conference play coming up.”

Florida State once again got strong play from their setters Sarah Wickstrom and Hailey Luke. Wickstrom delivered her third double-double of the season with 37 assists and 11 digs, and also provided some great serving that the Tigers found difficult to handle. Wickstrom’s 37 assists tie her career high set just one week ago in a five-set win over Michigan.

Luke, a freshman from Altamonte Springs, Fla., had good rapport with Neff and finished with 25 assists and three digs. Senior Olivera Medic added her team-leading fourth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 15 digs, and redshirt freshman middle blocker Sarah Burrington was disruptive to the Tigers (9-3) with seven kills and seven blocks.

FSU libero Katie Mosher was stable in the back row again, finishing with 17 digs and adding three assists.

The Seminoles managed to stay in control for most of the fifth set, never trailing and building an 8-4 lead midway through on a kill by Nicole Walch. Following the brief intermission to switch sides, FSU won three of the next five points to take an 11-6 lead. A kill by Elise Walch set up the Noles with match point at 14-9, and Nicole Walch’s kill from the left side pushed Florida State’s all-time record against Auburn to 9-1.

Florida State was able to hold off a late run by the Tigers in the first set, as Elise Walch’s kill from the right side gave the Seminoles the 25-22 win. Nicole Walch paced Florida State in the opening frame with five kills, one block and one ace, while Luke added six assists and a service ace in the set. The Seminoles came back from an early 7-1 deficit and used a nice run midway through to take a 17-13 advantage. Following an Auburn timeout, the Seminoles won three of the next five points which included a service ace by Luke to make it 20-15. A kill by Neff then set FSU up for set point.

The second set featured a lot of momentum swings, as Florida State came back from a late 21-17 hole to having two set points it could not capitalize on. With some superb serving from Wickstrom, Florida State was able to take a 22-21 lead on a kill by Elise Walch. Nicole Walch’s put-down gave FSU its first set point chance at 25-24, but Auburn’s Katherine Culwell responded with a kill. Burrington then delivered a nice kill off the middle attack to put FSU ahead 26-25, but Auburn came back again with another kill.

After Florida State fought off two set points with a kill from Neff and an Auburn service error, Auburn was able to execute on its third opportunity as it got a set-ending block from Kathia Rud and Kia Bright.

Neff and Elise Walch’s four kills apiece helped Florida State to a command third-set win over the Tigers. Nicole Walch put down her 13th kill to end the set, as FSU broke an 8-8 tie early on by winning 17 of the next 25 points. Through three sets, the Noles produced a .277 hitting percentage while Auburn was held to a .231 clip.

FSU fought back from a 22-15 deficit in the fourth set to ring off seven consecutive points and tie the frame at 22-22, with Elise Walch capping the rally on a nice kill. However, Auburn regained momentum and delivered three consecutive points on three straight kills to bring the match to a five-setter.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               5 23 11  59  0.203   0  1  5   0   7  0  2   0   0  25.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               5  5  4  19  0.053   0  0  0   0   2  0  4   1   0   7.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            5  0  0   0  0.000  37  5  1   0  11  0  0   0   0   5.0
12 Sarah Burrington           5  7  2  17  0.294   1  0  0   0   1  1  6   1   0  11.0
23 Elise Walch                5 18  6  35  0.343   1  0  0   0   4  0  4   1   0  20.0
24 Olivera Medic              5 10  5  28  0.179   2  0  1   1  15  0  0   0   0  10.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               5  0  0   1  0.000   3  0  2   0  17  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                5  1  0   1  1.000  25  1  0   0   3  0  0   0   1   2.0
 9 Caroline Dadowski          1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
13 Laura Dadowski             5  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   1  0  0   0   0   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                5 12  3  17  0.529   0  0  0   0   0  0  4   2   0  14.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        5 76 31 177  0.254  69  7  9   1  61  1 20   5   1  94.0
   Opp                        5 62 22 160  0.250  58  1  6   7  58  2 20   1   3  75.0


  1 2 3 4 5
Florida State
25
28
25
22
15
Auburn
22
30
16
25
11

Florida State 3, Syracuse 1
09/28/2013, Syracuse, N.Y.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Wins ACC Opener at Syracuse.

No. 17 Seminole volleyball gets past the Orange to improve to 19-4 on the road in conference play since 2011.

SYRACUSE, NY - Another impressive offensive showing by sisters Nicole and Elise Walch helped the 17th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team earn a 3-1 (19-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-13) win at Syracuse in its ACC-opening match on Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome.

After falling behind with a first-set loss, the Seminoles (8-4, 1-0) got big-hitting performances from the Walch sisters to help them rebound and win the match easily in the last three sets. Nicole Walch finished with a match-high 17 kills and added 12 digs for her second double-double of the season. Her 17 kills is her fourth-highest this season and the sixth-most by a Seminole this year.

Senior Elise Walch recorded 15 kills and a .324 hitting percentage, committing just three errors in 37 swings. Florida State setters Sarah Wickstrom and Hailey Luke combined for 51 assists, with Wickstrom helping redshirt freshman Sarah Burrington to a nine-kill effort. Wickstrom also had 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season, tying Olivera Medic for the team lead.

"The first set we came out flat and Syracuse came out ready to play," head coach Chris Poole said. "We shored things up in the second set and once we established ourselves and got a rhythm and maintained out intensity we played much better. It's something we want to continue working on in being able to come out strong.

"Sarah Burrington has gained a lot of confidence as the season goes on. I thought Mara (Green) had a good game, Leah (Mikesky) did very well. We've seen the last couple of weeks that Leah is getting better and better."

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher had one of her finest matches of the season, having a season-high 24 digs. Medic added 16 digs and recorded nine kills in the match. Redshirt freshman Leah Mikesky produced a strong offensive showing, recording six kills and a .400 hitting percentage.

Florida State finished the match with a .273 hitting percentage while holding Syracuse to a .165 clip despite the Orange's hot start in the first set. Limiting mistakes was another key for FSU, which generated just one service error.

FSU now improves to 4-2 in ACC openers under Poole as well as 19-4 on the road in conference play since 2011.

Florida State got off to a slow start in the match, losing the first set 25-19. Syracuse came out aggressive and enjoyed an efficient set with a .500 hitting percentage. Silvi Uattara registered five kills for the Orange, while Nicolette Serratore added three kills. FSU's Nicole Walch led Florida State with four kills, while Mosher tried to help out in the back row with five digs.

An important 6-0 run that elevated Florida State's lead to 18-9 in the second set helped the Seminoles tie the match at 1-1. Florida State's blocking game picked up in the second frame, and a kill by Medic finished off the Orange 25-16. Nicole Walch led the `Noles going into the intermission with 10 kills, while FSU leveled the hitting percentage differential with Syracuse holding a .294-.260 edge.

Florida State dominated the third set, using more momentum-gaining runs to break away from the Orange. FSU had another 6-0 run in the set, turning a 17-11 lead into a 23-11 advantage on kills from Elise Walch and Burrington. An attack error by Syracuse's Valeriya Shaipova finished the frame to put FSU up 2-1 overall. Florida State would do much of the same in the fourth set, using 17 kills to finish off the Orange.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               4 17  7  43  0.233   2  0  0   0  12  0  2   0   0  18.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               3  6  2  10  0.400   1  0  0   0   1  0  0   0   0   6.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            4  0  0   0  0.000  33  1  1   0  12  0  0   0   1   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           4  9  3  18  0.333   0  0  0   0   1  1  2   0   0  11.0
23 Elise Walch                4 15  3  37  0.324   0  0  0   0   4  0  1   0   0  15.5
24 Olivera Medic              4  9  6  26  0.115   0  1  0   0  16  0  0   0   1  10.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               4  0  0   0  0.000   7  0  0   0  24  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                4  0  0   0  0.000  18  2  0   0   5  0  0   0   1   2.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               1  0  1   1 -1.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
13 Laura Dadowski             1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   1   1  0  0   0   0   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                4  3  1   7  0.286   1  0  0   0   0  0  2   1   0   4.0
35 Mara Green                 3  6  0  12  0.500   0  0  0   0   2  0  1   0   0   6.5
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        4 65 23 154  0.273  62  4  1   1  78  1  8   1   3  74.0
   Opp                        4 38 15 139  0.165  33  1  8   4  55  1 12   3   1  46.0


  1 2 3 4
Florida State
19
25
25
25
Syracuse
25
16
13
13

Florida State 3, Boston College 0
09/29/2013, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Dynamite Hitting Lifts Florida State Past Boston College.

The 17th-ranked Seminole volleyball team registers a .478 hitting percentage in a 3-0 sweep over the Eagles.

CHESTNUT HILL, MA - The 17th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team was powered by a season-best performance on the offensive end to sweep Boston College, 3-0 (25-23, 25-8, 25-13), and improve to 2-0 in the ACC on Sunday afternoon at Power Gym.

The Seminoles (9-4, 2-0) are off to their first 2-0 start in conference play since 2011 after registering a .478 hitting percentage. Florida State put together 39 kills and just seven errors in 67 swings on Sunday, garnering its highest hitting percentage since attacking at a .481 clip against UC-Irvine on Sept. 3, 2011.

After enduring a close back-and-forth first set with the Eagles (8-6, 0-2), Florida State dominated the second set with 15 kills and just two errors in 21 attacks, leading to a .619 hitting percentage. The hot-hitting effort set the tone for the rest of the match, as FSU held one of the conference's top outside hitters in Katty Workman to a -.240 hitting mark and five kills.

"We started slow again today but caught fire and played very well on our side of the net the last two sets," head coach Chris Poole said. "We really limited our errors and had a lot of great performances from different individuals. We still have one more away trip before we get back home from this long stretch of road matches. These young ladies continue to push through the challenge."

FSU senior middle blocker Ashley Neff helped Florida State with five kills in seven attacks, and added six blocks. The Kennesaw, Ga., native crossed the 500-block plateau in Sunday's match, making her just the seventh Seminole to reach the milestone. Neff now has 504 total blocks for her career, tying with former player Julie Brown (1979-83) for sixth on the school list.

Neff's 433 block assists push her into third place in school history, moving past former standout Vicki Zinkil.

Sophomore Nicole Walch led Florida State with 12 kills and recorded a .556 hitting percentage. Senior Elise Walch added 10 kills and a .500 attack mark. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Sarah Burrington concluded her stellar weekend with seven kills, seven blocks and a .667 hitting percentage.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom finished with 23 assists, while freshman Hailey Luke added 10 assists. Defensively, Florida State gave itself a big edge in the blocking game, out-blocking the Eagles 13-4.

Freshman Izzy Carmona was also a key component to the win. One of her three kills came with FSU clinging to a 24-23 lead in the first set, as she hammered down a kill from the right side to end the first frame.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3 12  2  18  0.556   0  0  0   1   1  0  2   0   0  13.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               3  3  1   7  0.286   0  0  0   0   0  0  3   0   0   4.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  23  1  1   0   2  0  0   0   0   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  7  1   9  0.667   0  0  0   0   0  0  7   1   0  10.5
23 Elise Walch                3 10  2  16  0.500   0  1  0   0   0  0  3   0   0  12.5
24 Olivera Medic              3  2  1   9  0.111   1  0  1   1  10  0  3   0   0   3.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   2  0  0   1  10  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  0   0  0.000  10  1  1   0   5  0  0   0   2   1.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               2  0  0   1  0.000   0  1  0   0   0  0  1   0   0   1.5
 9 Caroline Dadowski          1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  1   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
13 Laura Dadowski             1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  1   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                3  5  0   7  0.714   0  0  0   0   0  1  5   0   0   8.5
   Team                                                      1                  
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 39  7  67  0.478  36  4  5   4  28  1 24   1   2  56.0
   Opp                        3 26 23  82  0.037  25  4  4   4  19  1  6   0   1  34.0


  1 2 3
Florida State
25
25
25
Boston College
23
8
13

Georgia Tech 3, Florida State 1
10/04/2013, Atlanta, Ga.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Florida State Drops to Georgia Tech in Four.

Seminoles fall on the road to the Yellow Jackets after enduring an off-night in their attacking game.

ATLANTA, GA - It was an offensive struggle for the 18th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team on Friday evening as it fell at Georgia Tech, 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 17-25, 22-25), at a packed O'Keefe Gymnasium in what was FSU's third conference match of the year.

The Seminoles (9-5, 2-1) became more reliant on the precise hitting of senior right-side hitter Elise Walch and middle blockers Ashley Neff and Sarah Burrington on Friday night. The Yellow Jackets (7-8, 1-2) were very active defensively and read and covered Florida State's outside hitting attack extremely well for most of the match. FSU was able to muster just a .179 hitting percentage and was hurt by several offensive and defensive errors in the match.

"We played very flat and inconsistent tonight," head coach Chris Poole said. "Overall, we had 44 errors and most of those were in the last three sets. We've embraced being on the road so far but it has taken its toll and we looked tired tonight. Credit Georgia Tech with a great crowd and playing a great match. We will regroup tomorrow and find a way to dig deep."

Elise Walch put together her eighth double-digit kill performance this season when she posted 14 kills and just two errors as well as a .375 attack percentage. The Stuart, Fla., native was the one `Nole who consistently gave Georgia Tech trouble and bailed out FSU many times when it was in a tough situation.

Burrington registered a career-high 10 kills, recorded a .471 hitting percentage and added four blocks. Neff tacked on seven kills and a .375 hitting clip, and posted four blocks to give her 508 for her career to sit in sole possession of sixth place on the school list.

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher had another strong performance, keeping rallies alive with several difficult digs. The Fort Myers, Fla., native had 24 digs total.

FSU was unable to keep itself away from service errors, recording eight including a few that came in big situations. Georgia Tech recorded 15 service errors with its aggressive service style.

The Seminoles are now 5-3 on their current road trip, and fall to 15-29 all-time against the Yellow Jackets. FSU had not lost at O'Keefe Gymnasium since Oct. 3, 2008, winning its last four meetings in Atlanta heading into Friday's match.

A key 5-0 run late in the first set sparked Florida State to a 25-20 win in the opening frame. With the set tied at 15-15 after FSU had to come back from behind early, the Seminoles used a few attack errors by the Yellow Jackets, a kill by Mara Green and a service ace by Nicole Walch to take a 20-15 advantage. After Elise Walch's kill put FSU ahead 23-18, the Seminoles got some help with an attack error and a service error by Georgia Tech to finish the frame ahead.

The Seminoles lost their 10th set of the season by the minimum two-point differential in the second frame, falling 26-24. An attack error by the `Noles left them trailing 24-21, but they fought back and won three consecutive points on two kills from Elise Walch and a service ace by Olivera Medic. However, a couple of FSU hitting errors allowed the Yellow Jackets to tie the match at 1-1.

From the beginning of the third set, Georgia Tech owned FSU as it jumped out to a 7-1 lead and did not look back. Georgia Tech's Jennifer Percy was effective against the `Noles with four kills and one block in the set.

Florida State attempted to push the match to five but was outdone by the Yellow Jackets in the fourth set. Both teams seemed to trade points throughout most of the set until Percy delivered another kill for the Yellow Jackets on a close line call to leave FSU trailing 18-16. From there, FSU never tied the set again and were bitten by a few untimely service errors in the frame. Georgia Tech's Courtney Felinski ended the match on a kill to give FSU its first loss in the month of October since the 2010 season.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               4  6  7  26 -0.038   0  0  2   1   4  0  1   0   0   6.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            4  0  1   2 -0.500  29  0  0   0   4  0  0   0   1   0.0
12 Sarah Burrington           4 10  2  17  0.471   0  0  0   0   0  0  4   0   0  12.0
23 Elise Walch                4 14  2  32  0.375   0  1  0   0   1  0  2   0   0  16.0
24 Olivera Medic              4  2  3  14 -0.071   0  1  0   5  13  0  2   1   0   4.0
35 Mara Green                 3  8  3  20  0.250   0  0  3   0   0  0  1   0   0   8.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               4  0  0   1  0.000   4  0  1   1  24  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                4  0  0   1  0.000  14  1  1   0   8  0  0   0   2   1.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               1  0  1   2 -0.500   0  0  0   0   0  0  1   0   0   0.5
 8 Leah Mikesky               2  2  4   9 -0.222   0  1  0   0   3  0  0   0   0   3.0
13 Laura Dadowski             1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  1   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                4  7  1  16  0.375   0  0  0   0   0  1  3   1   0   9.5
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        4 49 24 140  0.179  47  4  8   7  57  1 14   2   3  61.0
   Opp                        4 50 17 136  0.243  46  8 15   4  54  2  8   2   1  64.0


  1 2 3 4
Florida State
25
24
17
22
Georgia Tech
20
26
25
25

Florida State 3, Clemson 2
10/05/2013, Clemson, S.C.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

`Noles Deliver Come-From-Behind Win at Clemson.

Leah Mikesky and Nicole Walch spark No. 18 Florida State to a 3-2 win at Clemson after being down 2-0.

CLEMSON, SC - Falling behind in a 2-0 hole through the first two sets, the No. 18 Florida State indoor volleyball team pulled off a come-from-behind victory at Clemson on Saturday evening, winning 3-2 (19-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-8) at Jervey Gymnasium.

On the verge of suffering their first three-set loss in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 2010, the Seminoles (10-5, 3-1) were sparked by their outside hitters Nicole Walch and Leah Mikesky in the final three sets while getting some ferocious defense from their middle blockers. Walch hammered 22 kills on Saturday night, her fourth match this season with 20 or more kills. Over the final two frames, Walch dominated with 13 kills and just two hitting errors.

Redshirt freshman Leah Mikesky was also solid on the left side, totaling 16 kills and a .286 hitting percentage. The Schulenburg, Texas, native served as a viable option in the midst of Florida State's comeback, with 14 of her kills come over the final three sets. Both Walch and Mikesky recorded double-doubles in the match.

"Both our left sides stepped up big for us in the last three sets," head coach Chris Poole said following his 690th career win. "We were out of sync earlier in the match trying to adjust to our lineup with Katie (Mosher), but our players showed a lot of character. Leah was a difference maker because she had to step up big for us to have a chance to win."

Florida State finishes its exhausting nine-match road trip with a 6-3 record, highlighted by a win over then-No. 7 Michigan. The match against the Wolverines was the other time this season the `Noles came back from two sets down.

Redshirt freshman Sarah Burrington, who provided a big lift with her offense on Friday night, got things done defensively against Clemson. The Ruskin, Fla., native compiled a season-best nine blocks on Saturday evening. Fellow middle blocker Ashley Neff added seven kills and six blocks.

FSU recorded 16 blocks, marking a season high. Clemson also was active defensively, totaling 15.5.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom also had a double-double for the Seminoles, adding 15 digs and 27 assists. Several long rallies in the match allowed Florida State to record a season-high 84 digs.

In the fifth set, a big block by Neff and Nicole Walch gave FSU a 5-3 advantage that it would not relinquish. An Elise Walch block extended the Seminole lead to 9-5, and Mikesky helped FSU by recording a kill in two of the team's next three points. Burrington and Mara Green combined on a block that set up match point at 14-8, and Nicole Walch threw down a kill to end the match and complete the comeback.

Versatile senior Olivera Medic provided an admirable performance, making just her second career start at libero for Florida State. With usual starter Katie Mosher out of the match, Medic produced 20 digs and six assists and improved as the match progressed, adding a stable line of defense in the back row. Medic also started at libero in FSU's third match last season against Cincinnati.

The Seminoles started slow in the opening frame but were able to knot the set at 14-14 on a service ace. However, FSU was unable to take a lead from there as Clemson won three consecutive points to take a 17-14 lead, then used another three-point run late to create set point at 24-18. Following a kill by Nicole Walch, Clemson's Leah Perri finished the set with a kill to put the Tigers (7-8, 1-3) ahead 1-0 overall.

Florida State got off to a better beginning in the second set, but allowed the Tigers to go on a momentum-swinging 9-0 run to turn a 10-8 lead to a 17-10 deficit. Clemson held control of the set the remaining way, using an attack error by the `Noles to win the second frame and go up 2-0 into the intermission.

Luckily for the `Noles, their outside hitting took over in the third and fourth sets to set up the final frame. FSU improves to 3-0 in five-set matches this season, and now leads Clemson in the all-time series 29-20.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               5 22  6  54  0.296   1  0  1   4  19  0  1   0   1  22.5
 7 Izzy Carmona               2  2  2  10  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  1   0   0   2.5
 8 Leah Mikesky               5 16  4  42  0.286   0  1  1   1  15  0  2   0   0  18.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            5  0  0   0  0.000  27  0  0   0  15  0  0   0   1   0.0
12 Sarah Burrington           5  5  4  19  0.053   1  0  0   0   2  1  8   2   0  10.0
23 Elise Walch                5  9 10  32 -0.031   0  1  0   0   3  1  3   2   0  12.5
   ---Substitutes---
 3 Hailey Luke                5  0  0   1  0.000  25  0  0   0   3  0  0   0   0   0.0
13 Laura Dadowski             4  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   2  0  0   0   0   0.0
14 Ashley Neff                5  7  2  13  0.385   0  0  0   0   2  2  4   0   0  11.0
24 Olivera Medic              5  0  1   3 -0.333   6  0  1   1  20  0  0   0   0   0.0
35 Mara Green                 3  3  3  13  0.000   1  1  1   0   3  0  5   1   0   6.5
   Team                                                      1                  
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        5 64 32 187  0.171  61  3  4   7  84  4 24   5   2  83.0
   Opp                        5 57 26 176  0.176  55  7  7   3  76  4 23   0   1  79.5


  1 2 3 4 5
Florida State
19
17
25
25
15
Clemson
25
25
23
21
8

Florida State 3, Maryland 0
10/11/2013, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Sweep Terrapins, 3-0.

The No. 21 FSU Volleyball team registered a 3-0 win over Maryland as they returned to Tully Gym after a nine-match absence.

By Christa Salerno

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The 21st-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team moved to 11-5 (4-1 ACC) on the year after defeating Maryland in straight sets, 3-0, at Tully Gym on Friday night.

"The key is we made some big plays," head coach Chris Poole said. "If we can keep making those plays, we can control the tempo of the game. We struggled a little bit with our confidence at times and our offense was up and down, but at the same time there is enough talent there that if we pull it together, we'll be pretty good."

In their first three-set win in October, the Seminoles recorded a season-high for kills in a three-set match at 46. Leading the team was freshman outside hitter Leah Mikesky who tallied nine kills, just in front of four others that registered eight.

"It was tough to play those matches on the road as a freshman," Mikesky said referring to the long nine-match stretch. "Coming back to Tully, we just got our confidence back and we really love playing in front of our fans."

Senior middle blocker Ashley Neff led the Seminole attack with a season-high .727 hitting percentage behind eight kills while adding five blocks. With those five blocks, Neff passes former `Nole Deanne Kaleta on the FSU career blocking list, moving her into fifth place with 519 total blocks.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom logged her sixth double-double of the year behind 26 assists and 14 digs.

Despite making a run in the second set, the Seminoles held the Terrapins (10-7, 2-3) to a .085 hitting percentage, which is the third time the opposing team has hit under.100 against FSU this season.

While moving to play the libero for the third time in her FSU career, senior Olivera Medic registered 18 digs. The Subotica, Serbia, native continues to handle her temporary role extremely well as her versatility in the passing game makes her a strong commodity for FSU.

"Oli was a crazy-good passer tonight," Mikesky said. "She passed everything perfect. She played middle back all through practice and all of a sudden she gets thrown into left back and she still passed great."

FSU took the first set after a 25-19 win as Mikesky fronted the attack with six kills.

The second set proved to be a little more intense as the Seminoles jumped in front and led 9-5 before the Terrapins tied it 9-9 after four-straight FSU attacking errors. The next few points see-sawed before Maryland went on a 5-0 run to take the lead 21-19.

Redshirt freshman middle blocker Sarah Burrington responded with her second kill of the second set before the `Noles earned a big block to tie the set at 21-21. Once again, the teams traded points before the Terrapins took the lead again off a cross-court kill by Emily Fraik to make it 23-22.

Florida State closed the set on a 3-0 run behind a kill from Burrington, a block from Neff and senior Elise Walch, followed by the Terrapins committing an attacking error, giving the Seminoles the set 25-23.

The Seminoles sparked a 14-5 run in the third after being knotted 5-5. FSU won the final set, 25-14.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3  8  2  18  0.333   1  0  0   0   8  0  2   0   0   9.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               3  9  6  26  0.115   1  0  1   0   9  0  2   0   0  10.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  26  1  1   0  14  0  0   0   1   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  8  2  17  0.353   0  0  1   0   2  2  3   1   0  11.5
14 Ashley Neff                3  8  0  11  0.727   0  0  0   0   0  1  4   1   0  11.0
23 Elise Walch                3  8  4  28  0.143   0  0  0   0   3  0  2   0   0   9.0
   ---Substitutes---
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  0   1  0.000  15  1  1   0   4  0  0   0   3   1.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               3  5  3  20  0.100   0  0  0   0   1  0  1   0   0   5.5
 9 Caroline Dadowski          1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
13 Laura Dadowski             3  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
24 Olivera Medic              3  0  0   1  0.000   1  0  0   1  18  0  0   0   0   0.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 46 17 122  0.238  44  2  4   1  59  3 14   2   4  58.0
   Opp                        3 29 19 117  0.085  26  1  3   2  51  0 14   0   4  37.0


  1 2 3
Maryland
19
23
14
Florida State
25
25
25

Florida State 3, Pittsburgh 0
10/13/2013, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

`Noles Tame Panthers, 3-0.

The No. 21 Florida State indoor volleyball team earned its 20th consecutive win at home against ACC competition.

By Christa Salerno

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The 21st-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team enjoyed its third-straight 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-20) sweep at Tully Gym on Sunday afternoon by defeating Pitt on `Paint it Pink' Sunday.

The Seminoles move to 12-5 (5-1 ACC) while the Panthers drop to 11-8 (3-3 ACC). The victory marks the 20th-consecutive home win over an ACC opponent for FSU, which hasn't lost a home match against conference competition since Nov. 26, 2010.

"Any time we're playing in this situation to where we need to move the players around a bit and deal with adversity, you don't know how a team is going to pick up and how they are going to finish," head coach Chris Poole said. "But I felt like in each set we made good plays at the end that made the difference in winning or losing. We have to expect ourselves to rise to the occasion and finish off sets."

Once again, senior middle blocker Ashley Neff recorded an outstanding performance as she led the attack with a high .833 hitting percentage behind 10 kills while adding six blocks. Her strong day highlighted FSU's .393 hitting mark.

"We've been focusing on cutting down our errors," Neff said. "We just made smarter plays. It really worked for us."

Neff's classmate, right-side hitter Elise Walch, stepped up for the Seminoles by registering 11 kills and one block. The Stuart, Fla., native attacked with a .647 hitting percentage and routinely put down the ball with execution from the right side.

"It's important to us as seniors to step up," Walch said. "It was great to be home and I'm excited that we got the two sweeps this weekend. It's what we needed."

Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch contributed eight of the 45 Seminole kills while registering a trio of blocks. She added a sound .278 hitting clip as Florida State used a balance attack to defeat new league opponent Pitt.

Freshman setter Hailey Luke recorded 20 assists, while junior setter Sarah Wickstrom produced 21.

The match started off with the Seminoles trailing for most of the first set and by as many as four points on two occasions. The first tie of the set came at 21-21 thanks to a block by Neff and Nicole Walch. Florida State took the first lead at 22-21 after an attack error on the Panthers. FSU closed the set at 25-22 while on a 7-2 run, using another block by Neff and Nicole Walch to end the frame.

In the second set, the score was tied 12 times and the lead changed eight times. FSU opened with a 12-6 lead before Pitt called a timeout. After the break, the Panthers mustered a 9-1 run, taking over the lead 15-13. Pitt stayed in front for a few points before the Seminoles took back the lead at 18-17. The Panthers hung around before FSU closed out the set 25-23, using 12 kills and a high .471 hitting mark to go up 2-0 overall.

With the score tied 5-5 in the third set, the teams traded runs as FSU struck first with a 6-2 rally before Pitt answered with a 6-3 charge of their own to pull within one at 13-12. The Seminoles stayed in front with the Panthers lingering before sprinting to the finish, capping off the match with a 7-2 run. The `Noles kept the Pitt hitting in check by holding it to a .216 mark in the final frame.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3  8  3  18  0.278   0  2  1   2   2  0  3   1   0  11.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  21  2  0   0   8  0  0   0   0   2.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  2  3   5 -0.200   0  1  2   0   3  2  1   0   0   5.5
14 Ashley Neff                3 10  0  12  0.833   0  0  0   0   1  1  5   0   0  13.5
23 Elise Walch                3 11  0  17  0.647   0  0  0   0   0  0  1   0   0  11.5
24 Olivera Medic              3  2  0   5  0.400   1  0  1   2   6  0  0   0   0   2.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   2  0  0   1   6  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  0   0  0.000  20  1  0   0   5  0  0   0   0   1.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               2  4  0   8  0.500   0  0  0   0   2  0  1   0   0   4.5
 8 Leah Mikesky               3  6  2  19  0.211   0  2  0   1   2  0  1   1   0   8.5
35 Mara Green                 1  2  2   5  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   2.0
   Team                                                      1                  
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 45 10  89  0.393  44  8  4   7  35  3 12   2   0  62.0
   Opp                        3 44 15 100  0.290  42  7  5   8  33  2 11   3   1  58.5


  1 2 3
Pittsburgh
22
23
20
Florida State
25
25
25

Florida State 3, Miami 1
10/16/2013, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Right-Side Hitting Conquers `Canes.

Right-side hitters Elise Walch and Izzy Carmona account for 32 kills in a 3-1 victory over Miami on Wednesday night on ESPNU.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - In front of an electrified crowd and national TV audience, the 19th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team defeated Miami, 3-1 (25-23, 24-26, 25-13, 25-19), on Wednesday night at Tully Gym. With the victory, the Seminoles moves to 13-5 (6-1 ACC) while the Hurricanes fall to 13-4 (6-1 ACC).

The Seminoles were dominant with their right-side hitting as senior Elise Walch led the charge with 17 kills and freshman Izzy Carmona amassed 15 of her own. Carmona set career highs in kills, attacks, hitting percentage (.500) and blocks (5).

"I'm proud of Izzy," Elise Walch said. "She stepped up majorly. We worked a lot in practice on hitting on the right side, so that's helped us a lot. It's been improving every day."

"They played great," head coach Chris Poole said. "We need a lot from the right side. The reason we run a 6-2 is to give us a chance to get some additional kills and they really came through tonight, which is really big for our success."

Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walsh also contributed 14 kills and posted a .387 hitting percentage while adding eight digs.

"You can't do anything without a pass, set and a hit," Nicole Walch said. "But it was awesome. I was more focused on my passing tonight. I wanted to make sure that everyone else had the opportunity to hit as well. It was really fun."

Both setters contributed double-doubles on the night as junior Sarah Wickstom performed her team-leading seventh of the season behind 26 assists and 10 digs. Freshman Hailey Luke earned her first of the year with 24 assists and 10 digs, a career best.

Senior middle blocker Ashley Neff accounted for nine blocks on the night while, Carmona rejected five. Overall, FSU and Miami each accounted for 11 blocks apiece.

The opening lived up to the rivalry hype as the score was tied 13 times. The set came down to the wire as the Seminoles looked to put away the Hurricanes at 24-21. However, they refused to quit by fending off a pair of set points pulling to 24-23. Neff ended the set with a kill after an FSU timeout.

With the score tied early in set two, Miami continued to hold the edge until the Seminoles knotted the set 19-19. The score tied five more times down the stretch as Carmona recorded three clutch kills. However, the surge was not enough as Miami took the second set, 26-24.

"We were making a lot of mistakes," Poole said. "We went in and said that if we could cut down on the errors, we weren't playing bad, we were playing well for most of the game and we just needed to play smart."

The third set belonged to Florida State as it moved ahead 2-1 behind a 25-13 win, thanks to an 8-1 run with redshirt freshman middle blocker Sarah Burrington on serve for the majority of the haul. During the stretch, Elise and Nicole Walch traded off six-straight kills to stretch the lead to 19-11 before Miami ended the streak.

Using the momentum from the third set, the Seminoles capped off the match with a 25-19 win in the fourth set. FSU mustered an 8-1 run after being tied at 14, forcing the Hurricanes to make five errors down the stretch.

"I was so proud of our team," Elise Walch said. "We kind of fell behind a little bit in the second set and went down and we played really hard and I was really proud of us."

In the Chris Poole era FSU now holds a winning record against every ACC team. The win also makes it 21 consecutive victories over conference opponents at home.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               4 14  2  31  0.387   0  0  2   2   8  0  3   1   1  15.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            4  0  0   0  0.000  26  0  2   0  10  0  0   0   0   0.0
12 Sarah Burrington           4  1  0   9  0.111   2  0  2   0   2  0  2   1   0   2.0
14 Ashley Neff                4  6  2  15  0.267   0  0  0   0   0  0  9   1   0  10.5
23 Elise Walch                4 17  4  29  0.448   0  0  0   0   3  0  2   0   0  18.0
24 Olivera Medic              4  5  3  21  0.095   1  0  0   0  12  0  1   0   0   5.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               4  0  0   1  0.000   5  0  0   0  16  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                4  1  0   1  1.000  24  0  0   0  10  0  0   0   4   1.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               4 15  2  26  0.500   1  0  0   0   1  0  5   1   0  17.5
 8 Leah Mikesky               2  1  0   4  0.250   0  0  1   0   0  0  0   0   0   1.0
13 Laura Dadowski             2  0  0   0  0.000   0  1  0   0   1  0  0   0   0   1.0
35 Mara Green                 1  1  1   2  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   1.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        4 61 14 139  0.338  59  1  7   2  63  0 22   4   5  73.0
   Opp                        4 51 24 149  0.181  47  2 10   1  55  0 22   1   1  64.0


  1 2 3 4
Miami
23
26
13
19
Florida State
25
24
25
25

Florida State 3, Notre Dame 0
10/20/2013, Notre Dame, Ind.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

`Noles Take Down Notre Dame in Three.

No. 19 Seminole volleyball defeats new ACC opponent Fighting Irish in three sets on the road for fifth straight win.

SOUTH BEND, IN - The 19th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team defeated new conference opponent Notre Dame on the road, winning 3-0 (25-8, 25-23, 25-13), on Sunday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion.

The victory for the Seminoles (14-5, 7-1) was their fifth consecutive win as they improve to 3-2 all-time against Notre Dame. Florida State's incredibly fast start that included nine blocks in the first set forced a change in approach from the Fighting Irish (8-11, 2-6), who got better as the match progressed but could not get past the `Noles. It was FSU's fourth 3-0 sweep in conference play this season.

The `Noles set the tone with their 12 total blocks, their second-most in a three-set match this season. Senior Elise Walch was dominant hitting-wise with 12 kills and a .556 hitting percentage, while Izzy Carmona added 10 kills and a .364 mark. Sophomore Nicole Walch also put together 12 kills for the `Noles.

Olivera Medic led FSU with 13 digs, while Katie Mosher added 11 digs. Setters Sarah Wickstrom (24 assists) and Hailey Luke (15 assists) combined for 39 assists overall.

FSU out-hit Notre Dame by a .379 to .042 hitting percentage margin. It was the third-lowest mark by an FSU opponent this season.

Florida State began the first set in positive fashion, jumping out to an 8-3 lead that forced a timeout by Notre Dame. The quick start was a result of an excellent defensive performance which included three blocks in the early going. Following the break, FSU used three consecutive blocks with the help of Neff and Carmona to help create a 12-3 advantage and force another Irish timeout. Altogether, the `Noles mounted nine blocks and recorded a .409 hitting percentage in the first frame to win 25-8.

The first set marked the third time this season FSU held an opponent to single-digit points in sets 1-4. The others occurred against Boston College (25-8) and Siena (25-9). In the first frame, FSU also sided out in all its chance (9-for-9).

A dominant first set was a short memory for the Irish as they came out executing much better in set two, eventually taking a 21-16 lead that forced an FSU timeout. However, a big joust won at the net by Nicole Walch and a couple Irish attack errors cut the FSU deficit to 21-19 and prompted a Notre Dame timeout. Carmona then took over with three critical kills, helping tie the set at 22-22. Wickstrom followed with a service ace, and with the set tied once again at 23-23, Elise Walch hammered a kill and Medic finished the set with a cross-court put-down.

Florida State took control for most of the third frame, using an array of kills from both Nicole and Elise Walch. FSU pushed out to an 11-6 advantage, then used a kill by Elise Walch to extend the lead to 15-10. Carmona continued her good stretch on the right side with a nice kill to help FSU extend to a 19-11 lead and force an Irish timeout. From there, the `Noles would cruise to a 25-13 win as they used a Burrington kill to end the match.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3 12  3  24  0.375   0  0  0   2   9  2  2   0   0  15.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  24  1  0   0   1  0  0   0   1   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  8  2  13  0.462   0  0  2   0   1  0  2   1   0   9.0
14 Ashley Neff                3  2  1   6  0.167   0  0  0   0   0  2  5   0   0   6.5
23 Elise Walch                3 12  2  18  0.556   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0  12.0
24 Olivera Medic              3  2  1  10  0.100   2  0  0   0  13  0  2   0   0   3.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   2  1  0   0  11  0  0   0   0   1.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  1  0   2  0.500  15  1  1   0   8  0  0   0   0   2.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               3 10  2  22  0.364   0  0  0   0   0  1  3   0   0  12.5
 8 Leah Mikesky               1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  1   0   2  0  0   0   0   0.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 47 11  95  0.379  43  3  4   2  45  5 14   1   1  62.0
   Opp                        3 26 22  96  0.042  25  2  3   3  34  2  6   0   0  33.0


  1 2 3
Florida State
25
25
25
Notre Dame
8
23
13

Duke 3, Florida State 2
10/25/2013, Durham, N.C.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Fall to Duke in Five.

No. 18 `Noles volleyball drops its first five-setter of the season in a hard-fought loss at the No. 23 Blue Devils.

DURHAM, NC - The No. 18 Florida State indoor volleyball team tried to re-write its troubled past when playing at Duke, but was unable to reverse the trend as it fell at the No. 23 Blue Devils, 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 9-15), on Friday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Entering Friday's match, the Seminoles (14-6, 7-2) carried just a 4-17 record in Durham, N.C., but had won two of its last three visits. However, a key 5-0 run by the nationally-ranked Blue Devils (17-3, 8-1) in the fifth set helped them give FSU its first five-set loss of the year.

The `Noles got a career-best performance from redshirt freshman Sarah Burrington, who posted a unique double-double with a career-high 13 kills and 10 blocks. She is the first Seminole to post a double-double with kills and blocks since teammate Ashley Neff recorded 16 kills and 11 blocks at Georgia Tech on Oct. 19, 2012.

Senior Olivera Medic produced a season-high 14 kills, including a few that came at big moments. She added 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Freshman right-side hitter Izzy Carmona continued her streak of good play with 12 kills and a .379 hitting percentage.

"Sarah Burrington, Oli and Izzy played well for us offensively," head coach Chris Poole said. "Unfortunately, we didn't get much offense from anyone else and that was the big difference. It's hard to beat a team like Duke on the road when your top scorers aren't scoring. We'll have to re-group and work to come back Saturday with a win over Wake Forest."

Freshman setter Hailey Luke also got into the double-double mix, recording 17 assists and 10 digs for her second of the season. Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom added 29 assists. Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher led Florida State with 18 digs and added six assists, just one assist shy of her career high of seven set against Purdue in the NCAA Regional Semifinals in 2011.

Florida State owned five-set wins over Michigan, Long Beach State, Auburn and Clemson as it prepared for a long battle with Duke. In that fifth set, FSU was dealt a blow on a slew of attack and ball-handling errors that extended its deficit from 4-3 to 9-3. Duke's Elizabeth Campbell, who finished with a match-high 16 kills, ended the match on a put-down.

A late 4-0 run in the first set helped Duke get past Florida State in the opening frame. Tied at 17-17, Duke used a kill by Jordan Tucker as well as a block by Tucker and Campbell to take a 20-17 advantage. Following a timeout by the `Noles, the Blue Devils got another point on a kill by Tucker, and ultimately a set-ending kill by Emily Sklar allowed them to take a 1-0 lead.

Florida State came back in set two. Carmona and Medic led the `Noles with .400 hitting percentages going into the break, while Burrington came up with a kill off a long rally to end the second set at 25-22. Playing another close set with several lead changes and tied scores, a 3-0 run went in the favor of Florida State as it broke an 18-18 tie with a service ace by Mosher, a kill by Medic and a setting error by Duke. Carmona then created space to make it 22-20 off a kill, and Burrington and Medic combined for a big block to expand the lead to 23-20 before Burrington's final kill.

The `Noles fell in set three after making a late run. A slow start damaged Florida State's hopes as a block by Duke's Campbell put the Blue Devils ahead 11-4. A few small runs allowed FSU to creep back into the match, but it was forced to use a timeout as Duke built a smaller 18-13 lead following a couple points in a row. Trailing 24-20, FSU fought back with a block by Ashley Neff and Carmona to trail just 24-22. However, a ball-handling error by FSU ended the third set to give Duke a 2-1 edge.

Medic came up big in the fourth set, as FSU clung to a 24-23. The Subotica, Serbia, native ended the frame on a kill. As the set progressed, both teams began trading points from 19-19 to 23-23. Medic's back-to-back kills powered the Seminoles to a fifth-setter.

FSU is now 14-35 against Duke all-time, with the two teams playing each other as AVCA Top 25 opponents for the first time. The loss was just FSU's second defeat in its past 25 October matches stemming back to the 2011 season.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3  3  6  20 -0.150   0  0  0   0   8  0  2   0   0   4.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            5  1  0   1  1.000  29  1  1   0   6  0  0   0   1   2.0
12 Sarah Burrington           5 13  1  28  0.429   0  0  1   0   2  0 10   0   0  18.0
14 Ashley Neff                5  2  5  14 -0.214   0  0  0   0   0  0  3   1   0   3.5
23 Elise Walch                5  9  6  27  0.111   0  0  0   0   3  0  4   0   0  11.0
24 Olivera Medic              5 14  4  36  0.278   0  1  1   2  13  0  3   1   0  16.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               5  0  0   0  0.000   6  2  1   1  18  0  0   0   1   2.0
 3 Hailey Luke                5  0  0   0  0.000  17  0  2   0  10  0  0   0   6   0.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               5 12  1  29  0.379   0  0  0   0   1  0  2   1   0  13.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               4  2  1  10  0.100   0  0  0   0   8  0  2   1   0   3.0
13 Laura Dadowski             5  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   1  0  0   0   0   0.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        5 56 24 165  0.194  52  4  6   3  70  0 26   4   8  73.0
   Opp                        5 66 28 176  0.216  62  3  7   4  71  2 24   0   4  83.0


  1 2 3 4 5
Florida State
20
25
22
25
9
Duke
25
22
25
23
15

Florida State 3, Wake Forest 1
10/26/2013, Winston-Salem, N.C.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

`Noles Get Past Wake Forest.

No. 18 Florida State volleyball splits weekend road trip with a 3-1 win over the Demon Deacons.

WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The 18th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team used another fine effort from freshman right-side hitter Izzy Carmona as it came back from an early-set deficit to defeat Wake Forest, 3-1 (24-26, 25-16, 25-20, 25-22), on Saturday evening at Reynolds Gym.

Carmona continued her stretch of strong play by pacing the Seminoles (15-6, 8-2) with 13 kills. Over her last four matches, the Titusville, Fla., native has been more of a focal point of the hitting attack, leading FSU during that span with 50 kills while hitting .369.

Putting together a nice hitting effort for Florida State was redshirt freshman outside hitter Leah Mikesky, who posted 10 kills and a .304 hitting mark. Senior Elise Walch added 11 kills for the `Noles, while middle blockers Sarah Burrington and Ashley Neff had nine put-downs apiece.

"We played better tonight," head coach Chris Poole said following his 695th career win. "We were gone seven of the first nine weeks of the season so it will be great to be back home. Our girls have worked hard this year. We have as many as three to four freshmen on the court in each set.

"We have had to run different lineups at times for a variety of reasons. We can be inconsistent at times but there is a lot of heart and they are working to improve. We will take what we have learned so far and keep working to improve."

Burrington and Neff each had sound defensive performances in the win as well, recording six and seven blocks apiece respectively. Florida State recorded a .256 hitting percentage overall, and held the Demon Deacons (14-8, 3-7) to a .189 hitting mark.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom recorded her team-leading eighth double-double of the season, helping out the attack with 28 assists while adding 10 digs. Freshman setter Hailey Luke added 23 assists and four digs.

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher matched her season high with 24 digs on Saturday night, a total she has already reached twice this season against Georgia Tech and Syracuse in four-set matches.

FSU has now defeated Wake Forest for the sixth consecutive time. The `Noles have also won six or more consecutive matches against two other ACC opponents in NC State (26) and Boston College (11).

Momentum swung Wake's way in the first set as it used an attack error by the `Noles to win 26-24. However, Florida State came back in the second set using a strong defense that held the Demon Deacons to just eight kills in the set.

The third set was aided by Mikesky's three kills, one service ace and one block. One of her kills put FSU ahead 21-16, then reached 23-19 on a kill by Elise Walch. A couple of errors by Wake Forest gave FSU the third set.

The fourth frame started going back and forth midway through as Wake tried to take control with an 18-16 lead. Burrington played a big role in three straight points for FSU to help it to a 20-18 lead, and a later kill by Mikesky made it 24-22. Neff followed with the match-ending kill to improve FSU's road record to 7-4 this season.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               4  8  2  17  0.353   0  0  2   1   3  0  1   0   0   8.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            4  0  0   1  0.000  28  1  1   0  10  0  0   0   0   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           4  9  4  20  0.250   1  1  0   0   3  0  6   2   0  13.0
14 Ashley Neff                4  9  2  16  0.438   0  0  0   0   0  2  5   1   0  13.5
23 Elise Walch                4 11  6  34  0.147   0  0  0   0   4  0  3   0   0  12.5
24 Olivera Medic              4  4  2  15  0.133   1  1  1   1  13  0  3   2   0   6.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               4  0  0   0  0.000   5  0  0   1  24  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                4  0  0   0  0.000  23  0  0   0   4  0  0   0   2   0.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               4 13  4  34  0.265   0  0  0   0   0  0  2   1   0  14.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               3 10  3  23  0.304   0  1  0   0   5  1  2   0   0  13.0
13 Laura Dadowski             3  0  0   0  0.000   1  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
   Team                                                      1                  
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        4 64 23 160  0.256  59  4  4   4  66  3 22   6   2  82.0
   Opp                        4 50 22 148  0.189  49  4  6   4  58  3 10   4   0  62.0


  1 2 3 4
Florida State
24
25
25
25
Wake Forest
26
16
20
22

Florida State 3, North Carolina 2
11/01/2013, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Noles Block Out Tar Heels.

No. 20 Seminole volleyball team sets school record under Coach Poole for team blocks in a single match en route to a 3-2 victory.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - In its sixth five-set match of the year, the 20th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team upset No.12 North Carolina 3-2 (25-27,25-21, 25-16, 17-25, 15-8) at Tully Gym on Friday night. The Seminoles move to 16-6, 9-2 while the Tar Heels fall to 20-2, 9-2, making for a tight race for the ACC lead just after the halfway point in conference play.

"Our girls stepped up," head coach Chris Poole said. "We told our girls that if they wanted to play for the ACC Championship that this was it and we had to go after North Carolina because they're at the top of the conference right now. It gave us a great opportunity to beat a great team and the girls stepped up very well."

The Seminoles sit behind Duke in the ACC standings, trailing by just one match with the Blue Devils holding the head-to-break tiebreaker for now. The two teams square off at Tully Gym on Nov. 24 at 1 p.m.

With the victory, FSU captured its fourth win over a ranked opponent this season (then No.7 Michigan, No.16 Kentucky, No.17 Kentucky) while moving to 5-1 in five-set thrillers. The Seminoles also extend their ACC home match winning streak to 22. FSU's ranked win tonight is tied for the 10th-highest in program history.

Florida State put up a wall around the net as it tallied a total of 28 team blocks, setting a new record in the Poole era. In fact, the Seminoles surpassed the season high mid-way through the third set at 17.

"The block was huge," head coach Chris Poole said. "We're a physical team and when our block is on it generates a lot of kills and forces our opponent to do different things and I think that certainly helped set the tone of the match."

Redshirt freshman Sarah Burrington tied the best blocking performance with 14 in a five-set match since Ashley Neff put up 14 against NC State on Oct 9, 2011. Neff tallied 12 blocks on the night.

"Twenty-eight blocks is amazing," Neff said. "Sarah (Burrington) has really stepped up and her confidence has really helped her and she's doing amazing right now and I think it's great that we have different players stepping up for us right now."

Also contributing double-digit blocks was freshman Izzy Carmona, who stood up 10 blocks.

Sophomore Nicole Walch led with 20 kills while Burrington put down 13, tying her season high. Nicole Walch's 20 kills marks her fifth 20-kill performance of the season.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom accounted for 27 assists and added five digs, while freshman setter Hailey Luke totaled 18 assists and three setter kills.

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher put up 17 digs. Freshman Leah Mikesky was responsible for 14 digs on the night.

The opening set saw 14 ties and seven lead changes before the Tar Heels took it 27-25. It was just the second time this season the Seminole fell behind 1-0.

Out of the gate, the Seminoles took a 14-8 lead over the Tar Heels early in the first set, but a kill by Jovana Bjelica sparked a 8-2 run for North Carolina, tying the score at 16.

Florida State fought back late in the first and had a pair of set points, however they could not put the Tar Heels away.

North Carolina came out hot in the second set, getting out to a 5-1 lead, but the Seminoles fought back keeping the set tight before a clever setting kill by Luke sparked a 3-0 run to give the Noles the edge, 12-9.

Carolina kept it close before knotting the score 18-18, but the Seminoles finished strong on a 7-3 run, winning the set 25-21.

With the set score even at one, Florida State owned the third set thanks to a 9-0 run to extend the edge 12-5. During the streak with Nicole Walch as the server, the Seminoles tallied four kills, three service aces and a pair of blocks. Carolina tried to get back into it, but the hole was too deep to overcome as the Noles took the 2-1 lead, 25-16.

Carolina took the lead from the start of the fourth set, leading by as many as six at 16-10 before the Seminoles closed the gap to 16-14. From there, the Seminoles lost their groove allowing the Tar Heels to take the set 25-17, forcing a decisive fifth.

In the fifth, Florida State jumped out to an 8-3 lead before the teams switched sides of the net. The Seminoles kept their foot on the gas, taking the match 3-2 and the set 15-8.

"We're at home," Neff said. "We had the crowd behind us and that was the difference. It gave us the kick that we needed in order to come back and get the match."

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               5 20  4  35  0.457   1  3  2   1   8  1  4   0   0  26.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            5  0  0   0  0.000  27  0  0   0   5  0  0   1   0   0.0
12 Sarah Burrington           5 13  1  21  0.571   0  1  2   0   0  2 12   0   0  22.0
14 Ashley Neff                5  8  3  21  0.238   1  0  0   0   1  1 11   0   0  14.5
23 Elise Walch                5  5  3  18  0.111   0  0  0   0   4  0  1   0   0   5.5
24 Olivera Medic              5  0  1   9 -0.111   1  1  0   3   5  0  5   0   0   3.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               5  0  0   1  0.000   1  0  1   0  17  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                5  3  0   4  0.750  18  0  0   0   6  0  0   0   0   3.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               5  7  5  27  0.074   0  0  0   0   1  0 10   0   0  12.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               4  1  5  16 -0.250   0  0  0   1  14  0  5   0   0   3.5
13 Laura Dadowski             2  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        5 57 22 152  0.230  49  5  5   5  61  4 48   1   0  90.0
   Opp                        5 63 39 175  0.137  60  5  5   5  66  2 15   5   0  77.5


  1 2 3 4 5
North Carolina
27
21
16
25
8
Florida State
25
25
25
17
15

Florida State 3, North Carolina State 0
11/03/2013, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

FSU's Game of Runs Defeats NC State.

No. 20 FSU indoor volleyball team dominated NC State on Sunday in a 3-0 win.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - After an big upset win over 12th-ranked North Carolina on Friday, the 20th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team used its momentum to dominate NC State on Sunday at Tully Gym, 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-17). With the win, the Seminoles moved to 17-6, 10-2 ACC while the Wolfpack drops to 17-7, 8-4 ACC.

"We need to be able to create problems for teams," head coach Chris Poole said. "Sometimes, that's power blocking, serving or digging, but when we can do those things it allows us to get on a few runs and I feel like in each of those sets we were able to do that and take NC State out of their game."

The victory adds to a bit of history in the all-time series as Florida State extends its winning streak to 27 matches over NC State. The last loss to the Wolfpack was on Nov.13, 1999.

It also marks the eighth straight-set win in 2013 and fourth-consecutive over NC State.

Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch led the Seminole attack with 11 kills while also registering nine digs. Freshman right side hitter, Izzy Carmona also contributed double-digit kills, scoring 10 while adding a pair of blocks.

Redshirt junior Katie Mosher moved into sole possession of third place on the FSU career digs list after she turned in a tally of 16 for the day. Her current total of 1,438 passes Holly Schneider, who amassed 1,426 digs during the 1995-1998 seasons.

FSU sided out at 68 percent while holding the Wolfpack to a .111 hitting percentage.

The Seminoles jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first set and kept their foot on the gas, taking it 25-12.

"It's huge for confidence," Mosher said. "You go on these runs and you start building momentum. Even if we're down in a set, you keep getting on these runs and it gets in head of the other team. It gives you so much more confidence."

The second set was a bit of a different story as it saw eight ties and five lead changes before sophomore setter Hailey Luke came to serve with the score knotted 16-16. Luke sparked a 5-0 run that contained three service aces to put FSU back on top 21-16. Thanks to that streak, Florida State closed out the set on a 9-2 run to take it 25-18.

In the third, the Seminoles fell victim to a Wolfpack 4-1 run early, but would come back to take over the lead at 5-4 and never looked back. FSU took the set 25-17.

"It's real important for us to get good starts," Poole said. "But when we don't it's imperative that we're able to raise our level of play back up and in games two and three, we started off slow but immediately turned it around and got back in the middle of it and towards the end we were able to pull away."

Florida State has now beaten 23 straight ACC opponents in Tully Gym.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3 11  1  19  0.526   0  0  2   1   9  0  1   0   0  11.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  17  1  0   0   3  0  0   0   0   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  4  3  12  0.083   0  0  0   0   0  0  4   0   0   6.0
14 Ashley Neff                3  5  1   9  0.444   1  0  0   0   1  0  3   1   0   6.5
23 Elise Walch                3  7  1  13  0.462   0  0  0   0   1  0  1   0   0   7.5
24 Olivera Medic              3  5  2  13  0.231   0  1  2   0  10  0  3   0   0   7.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   1  0.000   1  1  0   1  16  0  0   0   0   1.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  0   0  0.000  19  4  1   0   2  0  0   0   1   4.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               3 10  2  18  0.444   0  0  0   0   0  0  2   1   0  11.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               1  0  0   1  0.000   0  0  1   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
11 Aurora Davis               1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  1   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 42 10  86  0.372  38  7  7   2  42  0 14   2   1  56.0
   Opp                        3 26 16  90  0.111  25  2  8   7  29  1  4   3   0  31.0


  1 2 3
North Carolina State
12
18
17
Florida State
25
25
25

Florida State 3, Virginia 1
11/08/2013, Charlottesville, Va.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

FSU Overcomes Deficits to Defeat Virginia.

The 18th-ranked FSU volleyball team defeated Virginia 3-1 after overcoming deficits in each of the four sets.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - The 18th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team defeated Virginia 3-1 (25-22, 27-29, 25-21, 25-21) at Memorial Gymnasium on Friday. With the win, the Seminoles improve to 18-6, 11-2 while halting the Cavaliers four-match winning streak as they fell to 14-11, 7-6.

"That was a tough match on the road, head coach Chris Poole said. "We played from behind in every set, which was disappointing but we showed character to come back and win three of them."

Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch picked up her fourth double-double of the season, swatting 13 kills and 16 digs.

Both setters, Hailey Luke and Sarah Wickstrom amassed 28 assists each, tallying a season best for Luke.

Freshman right side hitter Izzy Carmona led the attack with a season best 18 kills, while Elise Walch totaled 14.

As a team, the Seminoles totaled 14 blocks with freshman Sarah Burrington accounting for seven blocks, while senior Ashley Neff had six.

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher was under a season-high 27 digs.

The Seminoles started the first set off slow, falling into a 4-0 hole early before chipping away at the Cavalier lead. Eventually, FSU tied the score four times before taking over the lead at 18-17 after a team block. The tallies were knotted three more times until Elise Walch swung a kill, sending the Noles on a 5-2 run to close out the opening set, 25-22.

Virginia found momentum to start set two by taking advantage of a few errors on the Seminole attack. Once again, FSU bounced back to go in front late at 23-22.

Down the stretch the Seminoles had two set points and fended off a pair before the Cavaliers ended the set by a score of 29-27, tying the match 1-1.

The second set proved to match the longest set for the Seminoles this season, as they took an extended one from Ohio State, 29-27 back on Sept.6.

Once again, the Noles could not find a groove early, falling into a 4-1 hole. The Seminoles played the set from behind before sparking an 8-1 run while facing a 12-18 deficit to go in front 20-19. The set was capped off with a 5-2 run to take the 2-1 lead, 25-21.

In the fourth, the Seminoles opened with a 4-1 charge, however the Cavaliers strung together a 10-1 run, looking to take the Noles out of the set. But FSU answered with a 5-1 streak to get right back in it before tying the set at 15 and then again at 19.

From there, the Seminoles found their fire, closing on a 6-2 run finishing out the match and the set, 25-21.

"Every team we play is giving us their best game," Poole said. "We need to step up if we are going to compete for the ACC Championship."

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               4 13  5  34  0.235   0  3  3   0  16  0  2   0   0  17.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            4  0  0   0  0.000  28  3  0   0   5  0  0   0   2   3.0
12 Sarah Burrington           4  8  1  14  0.500   0  0  0   0   3  2  5   0   0  12.5
14 Ashley Neff                4  4  1  10  0.300   0  0  0   0   0  1  5   0   0   7.5
23 Elise Walch                4 14  3  28  0.393   0  0  0   0   0  0  1   2   0  14.5
24 Olivera Medic              4  6  4  21  0.095   2  0  2   0  14  0  2   0   0   7.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               4  0  0   0  0.000   4  0  1   3  27  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                4  1  0   3  0.333  28  0  0   0   8  0  0   0   3   1.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               4 18  3  35  0.429   0  0  0   0   0  1  5   0   0  21.5
13 Laura Dadowski             4  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   2  0  0   0   0   0.0
   Team                                                      1                  
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        4 64 17 145  0.324  62  6  6   4  75  4 20   2   5  84.0
   Opp                        4 61 22 175  0.223  54  4  9   6  58  2 13   2   1  73.5


  1 2 3 4
Florida State
25
27
25
25
Virginia
22
29
21
21

Virginia Tech 3, Florida State 1
11/09/2013, Blacksburg, Va.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

FSU Falls at Virginia Tech.

The 18th-ranked FSU volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss on the road at Virginia Tech.

BLACKSBURG, VA - The 18th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team fell to Virginia Tech at the Cassell Coliseum on Saturday night, 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 21-25, 25-15). The loss drops the Seminoles to 18-7, 11-3, while moving the Hokies to 20-8, 8-6.

"I thought we played some competitive volleyball in those first two sets," head coach Chris Poole said. "At times, we struggled with our passing and defense, but other than that we played pretty good volleyball. But, the third and fourth sets we lost our focus and made mistakes and it brought our game down."

Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch led the Seminole attack with a total of 12 kills just ahead of her sister (right-side hitter) Elise, who tallied 11. It was the fourth-consecutive double-digit kill game for Nicole Walsh this season.

Senior middle blocker Ashley Neff led the team in blocks with six, contributing to a team total of 10.5. Neff also swung eight kills.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom recorded 23 assists and added six digs, while freshman Hailey Luke tallied 19 assists.

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher recorded 13 digs.

Virginia Tech led from start to finish in the first set, taking the 1-0 advantage by a score of 25-21.

Reloading for the second, the Seminoles stepped up their game and played in front for most of the set, leading by as many as five before the Hokies closed the gap to 22-20 towards the end. FSU kept its composure and closed out the set 25-20 with three quick points, tying the score 1-1.

In the third set, the Noles trailed by as many as six points at 17-11 before striking within two (22-20), however the Hokies pulled away and finished the set 25-21 putting FSU into a 2-1 hole heading into the fourth.

The Seminoles could not find a solution for the Hokie attack in the fourth, as they put together an 11-2 run and pulled away 25-15, taking the match.

"Virginia Tech played like they needed this match," Poole said. "They're on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and they needed a profile win and this was their chance to do it."

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               4 12  5  24  0.292   0  0  2   3   3  0  0   0   0  12.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            4  0  0   0  0.000  23  1  1   0   6  0  0   0   0   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           4  7  2  16  0.313   0  1  0   0   2  0  3   1   0   9.5
14 Ashley Neff                4  8  1  15  0.467   0  0  0   0   0  2  4   0   0  12.0
23 Elise Walch                4 11  4  27  0.259   0  0  0   0   0  0  4   0   0  13.0
24 Olivera Medic              4  2  1   9  0.111   0  1  0   1   7  0  0   0   0   3.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               4  0  0   0  0.000   4  0  0   0  13  0  0   0   1   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                4  0  0   1  0.000  19  1  0   0   2  0  0   0   0   1.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               4  4  2  18  0.111   0  0  0   0   1  0  3   2   0   5.5
 8 Leah Mikesky               4  4  4  11  0.000   0  0  1   1   3  1  1   0   0   5.5
   Team                                                      2                  
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        4 48 19 121  0.240  46  4  4   7  37  3 15   3   1  62.5
   Opp                        4 63 21 133  0.316  57  7  9   4  47  2  6   1   0  75.0


  1 2 3 4
Florida State
21
25
21
15
Virginia Tech
25
20
25
25

Florida State 3, Miami 1
11/13/2013, Coral Gables, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Noles Storm Past Canes.

The No.22 FSU volleyball team picked up its second win on the year against Miami on Wednesday night.

CORAL GABLES, FL - The 22nd-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team defeated Miami 3-1 (25-16, 25-23, 21-25, 25-13) on Wednesday night. The win moves the Seminoles to 19-7, 12-3 on the year, while the Hurricanes drop to 16-9, 8-7.

The win was the first in Coral Gables for FSU since 2010 and it also marked the first 2-0 showing for the season against the rival since 2009.

"It was a great match tonight for the team," head coach Chris Poole said. "Everyone contributed and it was a total team effort."

A pair of Seminoles had double-double nights as junior setter Sarah Wickstrom notched her ninth of the season on 28 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch had her fifth as she led the attack with 16 kills and 12 digs.

The right side hitters were credited with 20 kills on the night as senior Elise Walch swung for 11, while freshman Izzy Carmona hit nine.

Florida State tallied 11.5 team blocks with senior middle blocker Ashley Neff contributing six. The ACC blocking leader also recorded four kills.

Senior outside hitter Olivera Medic contributed greatly on both the attack and defense, amassing seven kills, four blocks and 16 digs. She also had an assist.

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher was under 28 digs on the night, on top of adding four assists.

Florida State was all over Miami in the first set as they cruised to a 25-15 win in order to take the 1-0 advantage.

In the second set, the Seminoles were victim to a 9-2 run by the Hurricanes, falling into an 18-10 hole. After the teams traded a few points, a kill by Carmona fueled a 9-2 run as FSU stole the set, 23-25 making the score 2-0.

"The key was when we were down 10-18," Poole said. "We talked about this week how we unraveled against Virginia Tech and panicked. We did much better today. We are still learning and getting better."

Miami jumped in front early in the third set at 4-3 and held the edge for the duration, taking it 25-21 in order to cut the Seminole lead in half, 2-1.

Florida State responded in the fourth, blazing out to an 8-2 lead early before dominating the set, 25-13 for the 3-1 win.

Miami struggled on the attack by posting a hitting percentage of .095 and 28 errors on the night. It marked the fourth time this year (Siena, Boston College, Maryland) the Seminoles' opponent hit under .100 percent for the match.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               4 16  7  44  0.205   0  1  2   2  12  1  1   0   0  18.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            4  1  0   1  1.000  28  1  2   0  10  0  0   0   1   2.0
12 Sarah Burrington           4  8  2  21  0.286   0  1  1   0   0  0  3   0   0  10.5
14 Ashley Neff                4  4  3  12  0.083   0  0  0   0   2  1  5   0   0   7.5
23 Elise Walch                4 11  4  35  0.200   1  0  0   0   4  0  3   0   0  12.5
24 Olivera Medic              4  7  1  22  0.273   1  0  2   0  16  1  3   0   0   9.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               4  0  0   2  0.000   4  1  0   2  28  0  0   0   0   1.0
 3 Hailey Luke                4  0  0   4  0.000  13  1  0   0   6  0  0   0   0   1.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               4  9  2  25  0.280   0  0  0   0   2  0  2   0   0  10.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
13 Laura Dadowski             2  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
   Team                                                      1                  
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        4 56 19 166  0.223  47  5  7   5  80  3 17   0   1  72.5
   Opp                        4 44 28 169  0.095  41  5  5   5  77  1 14   0   2  57.0


  1 2 3 4
Florida State
25
25
21
25
Miami
16
23
25
13

Florida State 3, Notre Dame 0
11/17/2013, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Coach Poole Grabs 700th Career Win as Noles Dominate Irish.

The No.22 FSU volleyball team defeated Notre Dame in straight sets, giving Coach Poole his 700th career victory.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Head Coach Chris Poole picked up his 700th career victory as he led the 22nd-ranked FSU indoor volleyball team over Notre Dame 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-21) on Sunday at Tully Gym.

"I didn't even realize I was at 700," Poole said. "It's been a long career - 30 years worth of coaching on the collegiate level and there's been a lot of excitement and opportunities, great players and great teams and this is a group that I love working with. It feels good for them to be able to help me get number 700."

Coach Poole earned his first benchmark win as a Seminole during the 2009 season, when he reached 600 wins in just his second season at the helm. Five years earlier, Poole grabbed his 500th career win while leading Arkansas in 2004.

In addition, Poole ranks in the top 10 in victories among all active Division I coaches in the country.

For the second-consecutive match sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch recorded a double-double, swinging for 13 kills while adding 12 digs as she posted a .522 hitting percentage. It was her first double-double in three sets and sixth overall for the season.

"Our main goal for the season is to always improve," Walch said. "That's awesome for Coach Poole. He's a great coach and I love playing for him."

Redshirt freshman Sarah Burrington also had a great day on the attack, recording 10 kills while hitting .471 percent. Burrington also had three blocks.

"I know Coach Poole has a long history and legacy," Burrington said. "To be a part of such a big win for him is great."

Senior Ashley Neff continued her dominance at the net, standing up four blocks and seven kills.

The Seminoles got out in front early on the Irish in the first set and kept their foot on the gas, taking it 25-13.

In the second set, FSU started off a little sluggish, however thanks to a 7-2 run the Noles went in front 11-9 early. The teams were tied twice more before the Seminoles closed out the set 25-21, taking the 2-0 lead into the break.

The third set was closer than the previous two as the score was tied four times, however Nicole Walch's kill broke the final stalemate at 15 and the Seminoles never looked back. FSU finished its sixth ACC match in straight sets, 25-10.

"This team is a joy to coach every day," Poole said. "You can see improvements being made. We have so many young players out there trying to get better. Experience is something that only comes around when you actually get experience. It's the ability to play the balls that you need. You just get better and you learn from it."

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3 13  1  23  0.522   0  2  2   0  12  0  0   0   0  15.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  19  1  0   0   9  0  0   0   0   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3 10  2  17  0.471   0  0  0   0   1  0  3   1   0  11.5
14 Ashley Neff                3  7  2  10  0.500   0  0  0   0   0  0  4   0   0   9.0
23 Elise Walch                1  1  1   4  0.000   0  0  0   0   2  0  1   0   0   1.5
24 Olivera Medic              3  3  4  14 -0.071   0  3  1   0   7  0  2   0   0   7.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   2  1  1   0   6  0  0   0   0   1.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  1   1 -1.000  16  0  0   0   3  0  0   0   0   0.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               3  5  2  16  0.188   0  0  0   0   0  0  3   0   0   6.5
35 Mara Green                 2  2  2  11  0.000   0  0  0   0   2  0  1   1   0   2.5
   Team                                                      1                  
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 41 15  96  0.271  37  7  4   1  42  0 14   2   0  55.0
   Opp                        3 32 16  98  0.163  31  1  9   7  37  0  8   0   0  37.0


  1 2 3
Notre Dame
13
21
21
Florida State
25
25
25

Florida State 3, Wake Forest 0
11/22/2013, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

FSU Sweeps Wake Forest.

The No.19 FSU Volleyball team recorded its seventh 3-0 sweep in ACC play on Friday night against Wake Forest.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The 19th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team took care of business on Friday night by sweeping Wake Forest, 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-20). The win moves the Seminoles to 21-7, 14-3 on the year, while dropping the Demon Deacons to 15-14, 4-13.

"I think our hitters played well tonight," head coach Chris Poole said. "When that's happening, that gives us a lot of different weapons. We're best whenever we can bring it from all over the net and we were able to do that tonight."

For the fourth-straight match, sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch led the Seminole attack with 11 kills on 21 attempts, hitting for a .476 percentage.

"This game was awesome for us," Nicole Walch said. "We just came out strong and we consistently did it throughout the game and that's what we've been working on in practice."

Senior right side hitter Elise Walch contributed 10 kills while hitting .600 percent.

"This is the most consistent we've played all year," Elise Walch said. "We've been working on it in practice and I think that's really paid off."

As a team, the Seminoles hit .434 percent on the night while holding the Demon Deacons to a hitting percentage of .136.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom recorded 23 assists, while freshman setter Hailey Luke added 17.

Senior outside hitter Olivera Medic had another solid outing, accounting for 10 digs and seven kills.

Redshirt junior Katie Mosher was under 12 digs.

The Seminoles closed out the first set with eight-straight points, cruising to a 25-13 win. For the third-straight match, FSU grabbed the 1-0 lead by holding their opponent to less than 20 points in the first set.

In the second, the Noles got off to slower start, however they found their footing after breaking the tie at eight behind five-consecutive points. From there, the Seminoles kept the edge and closed out the set 25-16.

Wake Forest fought back in the third set, keeping the score close before tying it at 14. After trading side-outs, the Seminoles busted open a lead, closing the set out on an 8-3 run to take it 25-20.

"We've got to take care of business in each and every match we play," Poole said. "If we want the chance to win the ACC we've got to take care of that and we did that tonight. This week we put an emphasis on taking care of Wake first, controlling our side of the net, reducing our errors and that would help us get ready for Duke."

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3 11  1  21  0.476   2  0  0   0   3  0  1   0   0  11.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  23  2  2   0   7  0  0   0   0   2.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  7  3  13  0.308   0  0  1   0   0  0  2   0   0   8.0
14 Ashley Neff                3  3  1   4  0.500   0  0  0   0   0  1  2   0   0   5.0
23 Elise Walch                3 10  1  15  0.600   0  0  0   0   0  0  1   0   0  10.5
24 Olivera Medic              3  7  1  14  0.429   0  1  3   1  10  0  0   0   0   8.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   3  1  1   2  12  0  0   0   0   1.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  0   1  0.000  17  1  0   0   2  0  0   0   0   1.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               3  5  1   8  0.500   0  0  0   0   1  0  2   0   0   6.0
 9 Caroline Dadowski          1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
13 Laura Dadowski             1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
35 Mara Green                 2  2  1   7  0.143   0  0  0   0   0  1  0   0   0   3.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 45  9  83  0.434  45  5  7   3  35  2  8   0   0  56.0
   Opp                        3 29 17  88  0.136  27  3  4   5  26  1  4   2   1  35.0


  1 2 3
Wake Forest
12
16
20
Florida State
25
25
25

Florida State 3, Duke 0
11/24/2013, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Monster Run Lifts FSU past Duke, 3-0.

The No.19 FSU volleyball rode a 26-7 run over two sets in order to defeat the No. 13 Blue Devils on Sunday.

TALLAHASSEE, FL – Thanks to a 26-7 run between the second and third sets, the 19th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team defeated No. 13 Duke in straight sets, (25-22, 25-22, 25-17) on Sunday at Tully Gym.

“We’ve really been focusing on limiting our mistakes,” head coach Chris Poole said. “We kicked it up to another degree in the second set and we weren’t making as many mistakes and we forced them to play more on their side.”

With the win, the Noles move to 22-7, 15-3 as they cut Duke’s conference lead in half as it drops to 25-5, 16-2 with two matches remaining in the regular season.

“We can’t control our own destiny,” Poole said. “We can’t win the ACC unless Duke loses another match, but today we knew we were playing the top team in the conference and we certainly wanted to show that we were capable of playing with the best in the ACC.”

For the fifth-straight game, sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch led the Seminole attack as she had 15 kills, eight digs and four blocks. She also swung a hitting percentage of .419.

Senior right side hitter Nicole Walch was clutch in the upset as she tallied 10 kills and hit .625 percent. She was also behind three blocks.

Both middle blockers contributed five blocks each as redshirt freshman Sarah Burrington also added seven kills. Senior Ashley Neff accounted for four kills.

Once again, Olivera Medic was solid as she was under 16 digs while adding six kills.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom had 21 assists, while freshman Hailey Luke accounted for 16.

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher was under 11 digs while contributing a pair of assists.

As a team, the Seminoles totaled 10 blocks and hit for .340. In addition FSU held Duke to a .185 hitting percentage.

The first set saw some intense play, with 10 lead changes and 13 ties in the score. With the set knotted at 22, Duke committed back-to-back attack errors before Laura Dadoski set up Elise Walch for the kill to take the set, 25-22.

In the second, the Seminoles stumbled in the middle eventually falling in to a 19-13 hole. Down the stretch, FSU closed out the set on a 12-3 run, stealing the 2-0 lead from the Blue Devils after taking the set 25-22.

FSU carried its run over to the third set, extending it to a 26-7 streak before the Blue Devils rallied to close the Seminole lead to four. However, the Noles buckled down and closed out the match 25-17.

“We wanted to come out and defend our ACC home winning streak,” Neff said. “It was really important for us to come out with a lot of energy and ready to play and we did.”

The Seminoles have now extended their ACC home winning streak to 26 matches after defeating their fifth top 25 opponent of 2013.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3 15  2  31  0.419   0  1  1   0   8  0  4   0   0  18.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  21  0  1   0   4  0  0   0   0   0.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  7  1  16  0.375   1  0  0   0   5  0  5   0   0   9.5
14 Ashley Neff                3  4  2  12  0.167   1  0  0   0   0  0  5   0   0   6.5
23 Elise Walch                3 10  0  16  0.625   0  0  0   0   0  0  3   0   0  11.5
24 Olivera Medic              3  6  3  19  0.158   0  1  0   0  16  0  1   0   0   7.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   2  0  2   1  11  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  0   0  0.000  16  1  1   0   3  0  0   0   1   1.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               3  5  3  12  0.167   0  0  0   0   1  0  2   0   0   6.0
13 Laura Dadowski             3  0  0   0  0.000   2  0  0   0   1  0  0   0   0   0.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 47 11 106  0.340  43  3  5   1  49  0 20   0   1  60.0
   Opp                        3 43 20 124  0.185  38  1  5   3  44  1  8   0   0  49.0


  1 2 3
Duke
22
22
17
Florida State
25
25
25

Florida State 3, Clemson 0
11/27/2013, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Seminoles Tame Tigers.

The No.16 FSU Volleyball team won its fourth straight sweep on Friday against Clemson.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - For the fourth-consecutive match, the 16th-ranked Florida State Indoor Volleyball team won a 3-0 sweep at home, defeating Clemson (15-15, 9-10) on Friday.

"We challenged them to raise the level of play between the second and third sets," head coach Chris Poole said. "We challenged them to be a little more consistent and play aggressive but not reckless. In the third set we started kicking it in a little bit."

The win moves the Seminoles to 23-7, 16-3, extending their home ACC winning streak to 27 matches.

For the sixth-consecutive match, sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch led the Seminole attack with her sixth double-double of the season, swinging for 12 kills while adding 12 digs.

Redshirt freshman Sarah Burrington recorded a .556 hitting percentage on 10 kills, while leading the blocking efforts with five. Senior right side hitter Elise Walch accounted for four blocks and nine kills, while senior middle blocker Ashley Neff had three blocks and six kills.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom amassed 24 assists, while freshman Hailey Luke had 18.

Senior outside hitter Olivera Medic had 16 digs and six kills, while adding four assists.

Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher was under 19 digs with four assists.

The Seminoles got off to a shaky start, trailing for most of the set before taking over the lead 17-16. FSU outscored Clemson 8-5 down the stretch in order to steal the 1-0 lead.

In the second, FSU looked to put the Tigers away after a quick 4-1 run to go up 18-14 However Clemson put together a streak of their own in order to tie the set 18-18 and then three more times before the Noles closed it out with the 2-0 advantage, 25-23.

Thanks to an 11-2 run in the third set, the Seminoles were able to put the Tigers away easily in the third, 25-16, completing the sweep.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3 12  4  34  0.235   1  1  3   1  12  0  2   0   0  14.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  1  0   3  0.333  24  2  1   0   4  0  0   0   2   3.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3 10  0  18  0.556   0  0  0   0   0  0  5   0   0  12.5
14 Ashley Neff                3  6  3  16  0.188   0  0  0   0   1  0  3   0   0   7.5
23 Elise Walch                3  9  3  21  0.286   0  0  0   0   4  0  4   0   0  11.0
24 Olivera Medic              3  6  1  25  0.200   0  0  0   2  16  0  0   0   0   6.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   4  0  0   1  19  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  0   1  0.000  18  2  1   0   7  0  0   0   0   2.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               3  8  2  14  0.429   0  0  0   0   5  0  2   0   0   9.0
13 Laura Dadowski             1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
   Team                                                          1              
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 52 13 132  0.295  47  5  5   4  69  0 16   0   2  65.0
   Opp                        3 33 14 121  0.157  33  4  2   5  58  1 12   1   0  44.0


  1 2 3
Clemson
21
23
16
Florida State
25
25
25

Florida State 3, Georgia Tech 0
11/29/2013, Tallahassee, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Noles Sweep Jackets.

The No.16 FSU Volleyball finished the 2013 regular season with a 3-0 sweep over Georgia Tech.

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The 16th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team closed out the 2013 regular season with a 3-0 win over Georgia Tech on Friday. The Seminoles move to 24-7, 17-3, while the Yellow Jackets fall to 12-12, 6-14.

"I thought the team played well again today," head coach Chris Poole said. "We played the first two sets very clean and really limited our mistakes and hopefully that's something we can build on going into the NCAA Tournament."

Before the match started, eyes were on the duel taking place in Durham, N.C. between No. 15 Duke and No. 14 North Carolina. If the Tar Heels won the contest, it would have forced a three way tie for the conference champion between Florida State as well as those two teams. Abiding by tiebreaking protocol if that scenario were to occur, the Seminoles would earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

However, the Blue Devils weathered the storm at home, defeating the Tar Heels in five sets, thus crowning them the outright ACC Champions. FSU finished second.

The Seminoles will now await their fate in the NCAA Tournament when the 64 teams are unveiled on Sunday at 9:30 on ESPNU.

Redshirt freshman middle blocker Sarah Burrington led the Seminole attack, with nine kills, while hitting .750 percent. She also added a block.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom tallied 18 assists, while redshirt junior Katie Mosher was under 12 digs.

In the first set, the Seminoles broke open the lead with six straight points, taking the lead 18-8 before winning it 25 -10.

The second proved to have a similar story as the Seminoles strung together a 10-2 run in order create a gap in the score, before FSU took the 2-0 lead 25-13.

Moving to the third, the Seminoles worked from behind before taking control in the middle of the set. FSU outscored Georgia Tech down the stretch 11-7, gaining their fifth-consecutive 3-0 sweep, 25-21. "Being at home has given us the chance to regroup," Poole said. "It gave us the chance to get some rest, take care of school work and hopefully we will go into the NCAA Tournament ready to play."

The Seminoles finish 2013 conference play with their winning streak intact. FSU has now won 28-consecutive ACC contests while playing in Tully Gym.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3  8  2  22  0.273   1  1  2   0   7  0  0   0   0   9.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  18  1  0   0   1  0  0   0   0   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  9  0  12  0.750   0  1  1   0   2  0  1   1   0  10.5
14 Ashley Neff                3  5  1   9  0.444   0  0  0   0   0  0  1   0   0   5.5
23 Elise Walch                3  7  0  11  0.636   0  0  0   0   1  0  0   0   0   7.0
24 Olivera Medic              3  3  1  10  0.200   1  0  1   0   9  1  1   0   0   4.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   1  1  0   0  12  0  0   0   0   1.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  1  0   1  1.000   9  2  0   0   1  0  0   0   0   3.0
 7 Izzy Carmona               2  3  0   6  0.500   1  0  0   0   0  1  0   0   0   4.0
 8 Leah Mikesky               1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  1   0   0   0.5
 9 Caroline Dadowski          1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
13 Laura Dadowski             2  0  0   0  0.000   0  1  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   1.0
35 Mara Green                 2  2  1   5  0.200   0  0  0   0   1  0  0   0   0   2.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 38  5  76  0.434  31  7  4   0  34  2  4   1   0  49.0
   Opp                        3 34 17  89  0.191  27  0 12   7  28  0  0   0   1  34.0


  1 2 3
Georgia Tech
10
13
21
Florida State
25
25
25

Florida State 3, Georgia Southern 0
12/05/2013, NCAA, Gainesville, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Noles Advance to Face Gators.

The 16th-ranked FSU volleyball team defeated Georgia Southern to open the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, moving on to play Florida in the Second Round.

GAINESVILLE, FL -The 16th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team won its First Round match of the NCAA Tournament as it defeated Georgia Southern in straight sets, (25-19, 25-20, 25-20). The Seminoles moved to 25-7 on the season while playing at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida this evening.

"It's like a new season," head coach Chris Poole said. "We've really tried to look at it that way. We've tried to learn from things we've done so far this semester. We're trying to come into this new season - the NCAA Tournament, playing consistent. There were times we played really well tonight. There were times we gave some runs that we're going to have to do much better on tomorrow night."

With the win, Florida State advances into the Second Round for the fourth-straight season and will battle fifth-seeded Florida on Friday at 7 p.m. The Gators defeated Jacksonville in the opening round 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-16) in order to move on.

"We have played Florida three months ago," Poole said. "It's a great rivalry to be able to play Florida. Their head coach Mary Wise and I have been playing (against each other) for 20 years straight between my time at Arkansas and here. It's always a great battle and it's a lot of fun. I have a lot of respect for her and what she's done with the program."

Leading the Seminole attack over the Eagles was sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch, whole recorded her seventh double-double of the year behind 14 kills and 10 digs.

Senior outside hitter Olivera Medic was a pair of kills shy of a double-double as she swung for eight kills while getting under 14 digs.

Senior middle blocker Ashley Neff had seven kills on the night and added a pair of blocks.

Redshirt junior Katie Mosher was under eight digs while junior setter Sarah Wickstrom had 22 assists.

The Seminoles limited the Eagles attack under .100 percent (.095), which is the fifth time this year FSU held its opponent under that mark.

In the first set, the Noles created distance early, taking the lead 15-10 heading into the media timeout. FSU held off Georgia Southern by outscoring the Eagles 10-9 down the stretch in order to take the 1-0 advantage.

Despite falling into a 9-3 hole early, the Seminoles sparked a 8-3 run in order to take over the lead 15-14 before outscoring the Eagles 10-5 to close out the second, 25-20.

Georgia Southern continued to dig out the Noles, as the score was tied nine times throughout the set. The Seminoles pulled away from the Eagles late in order to take their sixth-straight 3-0 sweep, 25-20.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               3 15  2  37  0.351   0  0  2   1  10  1  0   0   0  16.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            3  0  0   0  0.000  22  0  0   0   6  0  0   0   1   0.0
12 Sarah Burrington           3  7  2  15  0.333   0  0  0   0   4  1  1   0   0   8.5
14 Ashley Neff                3  7  2  16  0.313   0  0  0   0   0  0  2   0   0   8.0
23 Elise Walch                3  6  8  22 -0.091   0  0  0   0   3  0  2   0   0   7.0
24 Olivera Medic              3  8  4  17  0.235   1  1  0   0  14  0  0   0   0   9.0
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               3  0  0   0  0.000   6  0  0   0   8  0  0   0   0   0.0
 3 Hailey Luke                3  0  0   0  0.000  10  0  1   0   4  0  0   0   0   0.0
 9 Caroline Dadowski          1  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
13 Laura Dadowski             2  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
35 Mara Green                 3  3  2  12  0.083   0  0  0   0   1  0  1   0   0   3.5
   Team                             1   2                                       
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        3 46 21 121  0.207  39  1  3   1  50  2  6   0   1  52.0
   Opp                        3 33 23 117  0.085  29  1  2   1  46  1  2   1   2  36.0


  1 2 3
Florida State
25
25
25
Georgia Southern
19
20
20

Florida State 3, Florida 2
12/06/2013, NCAA, Gainesville, Fla.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

Mega Upset Propels FSU into Sweet 16.

GAINESVILLE, FL - Something that has eluded the 16th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team for 23 years has been put to rest as the Seminoles (26-7) defeated sixth-ranked Florida in five sets (25-15, 20-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-9) on Friday night in order to advance to the Champaign, Illinois Regional next weekend.

The win snapped a 23-year losing streak at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center against the Gators, as the last victory was back on Oct. 9, 1990. By taking down the sixth-ranked Gators, the Seminoles topped their highest win over a ranked opponent in program history.

"I think anyone who watched it saw a great match," head coach Chris Poole said. "Looking at the stats, both team did a lot of good things. It seems to be the mark of the team this year - being able to come back. They never gave up."

In addition, the Seminoles will make their third trip to a Regional Championship in school history.

Leading the attack was sophomore outside hitter Nicole Walch with her second-consecutive double-double behind 22 kills and 15 digs.

Senior Ashley Neff was vital on the attack, tallying 14 kills while hitting .650 percent. The Kennesaw, Ga. native also had four blocks on the night, including one solo.

Freshman middle blocker Sarah Burrington had 10 kills and hit .556 percent, while adding four blocks. Senior right side hitter Elise Walch tallied 10 kills and a pair of blocks.

Junior setter Sarah Wickstom passed a season-high 34 assists and added seven digs.

Senior outside hitter Olivera Medic led the Seminole defense with 19 digs, and contributed nine kills. Redshirt junior libero Katie Mosher was under 16 digs.

The Seminoles came out on fire in the first set, getting out to an 8-4 lead. Medic was behind the serve for seven-straight points in order to go up big, 17-7. Florida could not climb out of the hole as FSU took the 1-0 advantage, 25-15.

Proving to be the opposite of the first, Florida took the early lead before stringing together a 9-3 run. Despite a 4-0 run to close the gap at the end of the set, the Seminoles could not find their way back in it as Florida tied it up, 25-19.

In the third, Florida jumped out to an 8-2 start, however the Noles rallied to a 6-1 run of their own in order to get back into the set down 12-8 before pulling to within one. Florida responded with a 5-2 scamper, but FSU had a 4-0 answer of its own in order to tie the score 20-20. The Seminoles could not find the points when the needed them down the stretch as the Gators took the 2-1 lead, 25-22.

Facing a `Do or Die' scenario, Florida State recharged in the fourth, sparking a 5-0 run with Nicole Walch on serve, who during that stretch dished three service aces in a row putting FSU up 16-10. Florida chipped away at the lead, pulling to within a point at 21-20, however the Seminoles put together three quick strikes setting up to force a fifth set after winning 25-22.

With the score tied 4-4, the Seminoles broke the stalemate in the fifth with three quick points before taking the 8-6 lead at the net change. Primed for a run, the Noles put together three more quick points before looking at match point at 14-8 and again at 14-9. Burrington delivered the clinching kill, taking the 3-2 win 15-9.

"I have so much respect for Mary Wise and what she's done with the program at Florida," Poole said. "As a side note when I got the job here at Florida State, Mary was the first one to congratulate me and wrote me a statement, `Florida State is a sleeping giant and you're there to wake it up'."

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               5 22  9  48  0.271   0  3  2   2  15  0  2   0   0  26.0
10 Sarah Wickstrom            5  1  1   3  0.000  34  0  2   0   7  0  0   0   0   1.0
12 Sarah Burrington           5 10  0  18  0.556   1  0  0   0   2  0  4   0   0  12.0
14 Ashley Neff                5 14  1  20  0.650   0  0  0   0   1  1  3   0   0  16.5
23 Elise Walch                5 10  3  30  0.233   1  0  0   0   1  0  2   0   0  11.0
24 Olivera Medic              5  9  5  30  0.133   2  1  1   0  19  0  1   0   0  10.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               5  1  0   1  1.000   5  1  0   0  16  0  0   0   0   2.0
 3 Hailey Luke                5  0  1   1 -1.000  21  0  0   0   5  0  1   0   1   0.5
13 Laura Dadowski             4  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  1   0   1  0  0   0   0   0.0
35 Mara Green                 5  8  3  17  0.294   1  0  0   0   2  0  3   0   0   9.5
   Team                          1      2                                       
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        5 76 23 170  0.312  65  5  6   2  69  1 16   0   1  90.0
   Opp                        5 62 20 163  0.258  56  2  6   5  58  3 18   0   0  76.0


  1 2 3 4 5
Florida State
25
20
22
25
15
Florida
15
25
25
22
9

Wisconsin 3, Florida State 1
12/13/2013, NCAA, Sweet 16, Columbia, Mo.

From the FSU Website, seminoles.com.

FSU Falls in Sweet 16.

The Seminoles finish their season 26-8, while setting a school record for its fifth-straight NCAA appearance.

CHAMPAIGN, IL - The 16th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team had its season come to a close after it fell to 13th-ranked Wisconsin 3-1, (25-15, 23-25, 25-22, 25-15) on Friday night. The Seminoles end the year with a 26-8 overall record in addition to their third ever Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

Wisconsin (26-9) advances to play either Illinois or Purdue for the Champaign Regional Championship.

"We struggled to get into a rhythm tonight," head coach Chris Poole said. "Sometimes that happens. When you get to this level, you've got to give credit to your opponent. I thought Wisconsin did a great job of staying consistent most of the time. I thought they did what they needed to do in order to take advantage of things we were trying to do."

For the third-straight match, sophomore Nicole Walch led the Seminole attack in double-double figures, swinging for 16 kills and 16 digs.

Senior middle blocker Ashley Neff finished her Seminole career with six blocks on the night, helping the Seminoles to a total of nine overall. Neff moved into third place on the FSU all-time blocking list with a total of 612. The Kennesaw, Ga. native passed Vicki Zinki, who tallied 611.

"The team is completely different from when I first got here in 2010," Neff said. "The level has just gotten incredibly high. We've brought a lot of good recruits in, and it's amazing to see a program make changes like that. It's really a great opportunity, and I'm blessed to have been a part of it. I'm going to miss it, but I hope that they keep going, and I know they will. CP is a great coach, and I know they're going to do great things."

In the first set, the Seminoles were plagued by errors and could not generate much offense as Wisconsin took the 1-0 edged 25-15.

Proving to be the opposite of the first, Florida State came out with the second set lead, forcing Wisconsin to work out of as many as a four-point hole. The Badgers came back to tie, 18-18 before eventually taking the lead. However, the Seminoles kept siding out down the stretch before reclaiming the lead 22-21. Seeing another tie at 22-22, Nicole Walch put the Noles ahead with a big kill and was followed by an attack error by the Badgers to set up set point. Wisconsin held off one before Poole used a timeout to draw up a play. Executing the side out, Neff swung the kill that tied the match 1-1, taking the set 25-23.

The third set was much closer before Wisconsin went on a 4-0 scamper to go up 16-12. FSU pulled to within one late, however, the teams kept siding out before the Badgers closed it out 25-22 in order to go up 2-1.

"The third set was going back and forth," Poole said. "We were very close at the end. It did take the air out of us. I think we came back in set four, not having nearly the same focus we had had in sets two and three. That's to Wisconsin's credit that we could just never get in a rhythm completely, and we weren't able to pass and defend or side out as we normally are able to do, so I think that was very frustrating."

Despite jumping out to an early lead in the fourth, the Seminoles could not find an answer for the Badger attack in order to keep their season alive, falling 25-15.

 
                                -----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO        NAME               SP  K  E  TA    PCT   A SA SE  RE DIG BS BA  BE BHE  PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
 5 Nicole Walch               4 16 10  51  0.118   1  0  2   1  16  0  3   0   0  17.5
10 Sarah Wickstrom            4  0  0   0  0.000  26  0  0   0   5  0  0   0   0   0.0
12 Sarah Burrington           4  8  2  23  0.261   0  1  0   0   4  0  3   0   0  10.5
14 Ashley Neff                4  4  1  14  0.214   1  0  0   0   0  0  6   0   0   7.0
23 Elise Walch                4  7  3  24  0.167   0  0  0   0   2  0  1   1   0   7.5
24 Olivera Medic              4  8  5  27  0.111   0  0  1   1  14  0  1   0   0   8.5
   ---Substitutes---
 2 Katie Mosher               4  0  1   1 -1.000   3  1  1   0  15  0  0   0   0   1.0
 3 Hailey Luke                4  0  0   0  0.000  13  0  0   0   5  0  0   0   1   0.0
13 Laura Dadowski             2  0  0   0  0.000   0  0  0   0   0  0  0   0   0   0.0
35 Mara Green                 4  3  2   9  0.111   0  0  0   0   1  0  4   0   0   5.0
                             =========================================================
6  FSU                        4 46 24 149  0.148  44  2  4   2  62  0 18   1   1  57.0
   Opp                        4 67 21 165  0.279  63  2  8   2  68  1 12   4   0  76.0


  1 2 3 4
Florida State
15
25
22
15
Wisconsin
25
23
25
25