TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –For the fifth-consecutive season, the 16th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team is heading to the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles, 24-7, 17-3 will travel to Gainesville, Fla. for the First and Second Rounds, which start on Thursday.
“You fight to get one of those national seeds,” head coach Chris Poole said. “We had our opportunities and we didn’t take enough advantage of them, but we should see some great matchups this weekend.”
In the opening round, Florida State will face Georgia Southern (28-5, 13-3) – the Southern Conference Champion on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Steven C. O’Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida.
“Our girls are going to have to work hard this week,” Poole said. “We faced Georgia Southern in the same setting back in 2010 and they play similar to what we saw from NC State. Anytime you see a team from a different and smaller conference, those teams come in with nothing to lose. We know what we need to do in order to advance.”
The Seminoles traveled to Gainesville back in 2010 for the same matchup, coming away with a 3-1 win before dropping their second round match to the top-seeded Gators in five sets.
If the Seminoles should advance into the second round they will play the winner of Jacksonville and sixth-seeded Florida on Friday.
“That second round could be a great match,” Poole said. “If it’s Florida, obviously it’s a rivalry match and it’s always a tough battle. We have a lot of respect for each other. We know we’re going to have to play hard.”
Follow Florida State indoor volleyball on Seminoles.com as well as on the team’s official Twitter (@FSU_Volleyball) and Facebook pages (Facebook.com/FSUVolleyball).
