TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) — The No. 25 Florida State volleyball team (11-4, 7-4) had its 10-match winning streak snapped on Saturday afternoon by 13th-ranked Louisville (10-2, 8-2), 3-1 (25-19, 16-25, 21-25, 16-25), in a neutral site match at Memorial Gym in Charlottesville, Va.
The Seminoles suffered their first loss since restarting their season on Feb. 13. This is also the Noles' first loss to Louisville since Oct. 22, 2017.
“We started well, but did not execute the last three sets,” FSU Head Coach Chris Poole said. It’s the first time this spring that we did not get stronger as the match progressed. Hats off to Louisville. I thought they played really well and deserved the win. We need to learn from this match and come back stronger.”
Redshirt sophomore Morgan Chacon had a stellar match with 12 kills, 10 digs, 48 total attacks and a block. This is Chacon's fifth double-double of the season.
Redshirt senior Olivia Dailey performed well, putting together a team-high 32 assists, nine digs, and five total attacks. This was her fifth match this season with multiple service aces and she was one dig away from her fifth double-double of the season as well.
Sophomore Emma Clothier tied Chacon in this match for the team high in kills with 12, along with having 21 total attacks and a service ace. Senior Jasmyn Martin added eight kills and five digs.
Both senior Caroline Golden and sophomore Lauryn Burrows led the team in digs with 11 each. Golden added on five assists to her day, while Burrows tacked on three total attacks, two assists, and a kill.
FSU was outscored in many facets of the match, including kills, 60-43, assists, 53-40, and digs, 64-51. Louisville also led in hitting percentage, .260-.131, and committed less errors, 24-21, throughout the match.
The Seminoles were scorching hot to start off with seven straight points that included a pair of kills each by Chacon and Clothier. The Cardinals were able to bring it back within two at 15-13, but a 7-2 run by the Noles helped put away the first set.
Louisville started to pick up momentum in the second set, as it was able to jump out to a 19-14 lead. The Cardinals added on two points to the score and the Seminoles weren't able to come back from the deficit in that set.
The Noles had an early two-point lead in the third set, but Louisville battled back to tie it at eight points each. FSU kept it close through most of the set, but the Cardinals took the lead at 22-19 and ended up winning the set by four points.
In the fourth set, the Seminoles trailed early at 15-10 to Louisville. FSU was able to bring it within four points to make the score 20-16, but the Cardinals ripped off five straight points to beat the Noles in four sets.
The Seminoles will continue their road stretch on Friday, Mar. 26, where they will face No. 19 Pittsburgh at 5 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House.
