CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Florida State volleyball team (13-8, 9-2 ACC) fought a tough battle against in-state conference rival Miami (12-6, 8-3 ACC) on Wednesday, but fell in five sets on the Hurricanes’ home court.
The Seminoles and the Hurricanes battled in a high-scoring, close and nearly three-hour match, with Miami taking the first, fourth and fifth sets to take the match.
Junior outside hitter Payton Caffrey saw her 30th career double-double in the match, picking up 18 kills and 10 digs. She led the Seminoles in kills and total attacks (51), and added on a service ace and four total blocks (two solo).
Senior libero Kelsey Wicinski saw 26 digs in the match, marking her fifth 20-dig outing in the team’s last six matches.
Florida State returns home to host Virginia Tech on Sunday (10/28). The Hokies (13-9, 4-6 ACC) head to Miami on Friday before making their way up to Tallahassee. The Seminoles hold a 32-4 all-time record against Virginia Tech, with a perfect 16-0 record in the series at home.
Set 1 – UM 30, FSU 28
The Canes took the first two points in the set and put pressure on the Seminoles at the net early on. A tough offensive pressure created chaos in the middle of the court on FSU’s side, but tough blocking defense from the Seminoles kept the Canes down and helped the set stay close.
Miami was the first to reach set point at 24-23, but a kill from Caffrey and a block from Ell and Murray gave FSU the second set point. From there, both teams traded kills and attack errors until UM was able to pull out the final two points to take the set.
Set 2 – FSU 25, UM 23
Errors dominated the first 20 points in the set and kept each team within only two points of the other. A 3-0 run from FSU tied it up at 15-all, and another 4-0 run for the Seminoles – all from errors on Miami’s side – helped FSU take the lead and go up by three at the 19-16 mark.
The remainder of the set saw an offensive standoff between the two teams, with Miami picking up five kills to go against FSU’s’ four to keep the set tight. In the end, a service error from the Canes gave Florida State set point, a kill from UM put them within one, and a kill from Caffrey closed out the set to tie up the match 1-1.
Set 3 – FSU 25, UM 22
A cleaner defensive performance by the Seminoles kept FSU close to Miami, and a 4-0 run helped Florida State take the lead at 9-6 to force a timeout from UM. A consistently tough block from FSU kept Miami’s hitting percentage down, and a number of attack errors from the Canes helped keep the Seminoles in the lead.
Four total errors on both sides held FSU back from reaching set point, until a kill from Murray brought FSU within a point of taking the set. A kill on a slide from Knuth finished it off to give the Seminoles a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set 4 – UM 25, FSU 18
After the Hurricanes took the lead at the 3-2 mark, FSU was unable to come back to regain the lead. After a kill from Knuth put FSU within two at 8-6, the Canes went on a 10-0 run before a kill down the middle from Murray was able to snap the streak at the 18-7 mark.
From there, FSU went on a 12-4 run to close Miami’s lead to 22-18, but three consecutive points on a Canes’ kill, a Seminoles’ service error and a block for Miami handed them the set to tie up the match at 2-2.
Set 5 – UM 19, FSU 17
Miami’s Lukianova and FSU’s Knuth traded kills back and forth to control the first five points in the set, and a more consistent offensive presence for the Seminoles helped to keep the set tight. Florida State was the first to eight points, and they held at least a one-point lead until Miami tied the score at 12-all.
Back-to-back kills from Caffrey brought the Seminoles to the first match point of the set, and from there both teams saw a combined six match points. At 17-16 UM a missed call had Miami winning the match, but the call was overturned. From there, the Canes won the last two points to take the set and the match.
Match Notes
- The Seminoles are now 32-21-1 all-time against the Hurricanes.
- This was FSU’s fourth consecutive match with double-digit kills. The Seminoles are 9-6 this season when earning 10 or more blocks.
- At two hours and 57 minutes, this was FSU’s longest match of the season so far. Their previous was 2:19 in a five-set win at Syracuse.
- The first set score of 30-28 was the longest FSU has seen this season, and the highest-scoring set since FSU lost 34-32 in the first set against Washington State in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
- Payton Caffrey’s 18 kills and 10 digs marked her 30th career double-double, and fourth at Florida State.
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