TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State volleyball team (11-7, 5-5) fell to the Louisville Cardinals (14-6, 8-2) in three sets on Sunday afternoon in Tully Gym. The loss marks the team’s second of the weekend after falling to Notre Dame on Friday evening.
Florida State’s home conference stand isn’t over. The Seminoles will host North Carolina, NC State, Syracuse and Boston College at Tully Gym to close out the season.
The Seminoles started off strong against the Cardinals in the first set, taking the first two points and then going on a 4-0 run to lead by as much as 6-1. While both teams saw a low hitting percentage throughout the set, it was Florida State’s defense that helped it stay in the lead.
Junior defensive specialist Logan Holanchock led the back row with five digs and a service ace, while four different Seminoles contributed to the three total team blocks. While FSU was able to hold off Louisville’s set point, a series of kills helped the Cardinals take the set in the end.
Set 2 – Louisville 25, Florida State 21
Florida State saw another solid start in the second set, but Louisville was able to catch up quickly to tie it up at 3-3. From there, the set saw three lead changes and nine ties, and a relatively balanced defensive effort on both sides of the net.
Through the middle of the set the Cardinals saw results from taking more swings at the ball, picking up a series of kills to take the lead over the Seminoles. While offensive stat leaders Milica Kubura and Natasha Calkins helped the team stay in it, it wasn’t enough to hold Louisville off from taking the second set.
Set 3 – Louisville 25, Florida State 20
The Seminoles came out of halftime to lead the set in the beginning once again, but the Cardinals’ defense in the front row began clicking to pick up some blocks and tighten up the set.
From there, Florida State saw a decline in offensive efficiency, but was able to notch a handful of kills at the right times to keep Louisville from running away with a lead. In the end, Louisville picked up a kill and its tenth total block of the match to take the final set.
Florida State will host North Carolina on Friday (Oct. 27th) at 6:00 pm, which will be broadcast on ESPNU. On Sunday (Oct. 29) the team will host NC State at 1:00 pm.
