Noles Head to Miami for Showdown with the Hurricanes

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State volleyball team (18-9, 10-6) begins its final week of the regular season with a key matchup with the Miami Hurricanes (19-9, 12-5) on Wednesday in Coral Gables, Fla. First serve is set for 3 p.m. and can be seen live on ACC Network Extra.

The two teams met on Oct. 5 inside of Tully Gym in an instant classic. The Noles jumped out to a 2-0 match lead, but the Hurricanes took sets three and four to force a fifth set where the Seminoles were victorious. The win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Hurricanes.

Scouting the Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes have been on a tear in the last month as they are winners of 10 out of its last 11 matches. The Hurricanes have only lost two matches since the loss to the Noles on Oct. 5 in Tallahassee.

The Hurricanes are led by junior Angela Grieve. Grieve is fourth in the conference with 3.95 kills per set and 403 total kills. The Hurricanes also have the best setter in the conference with Savannah Vach. Vach leads the ACC with 10.36 assists per set and has 1,109 total assists this season. The duo had a great day in the two teams’ first meeting as Grieve had 25 kills and Vach totaled 50 assists.

A Model of Consistency
Senior middle blocker Emma Clothier played in her 100th career match for the Garnet and Gold on Oct. 30 against Boston College. Clothier has been a constant for the Seminoles in her four years at Tallahassee. Clothier has played in every single match for the Seminoles since she arrived on campus and has only missed four sets during her career with the Seminoles. Emma currently is 10th all-time in Florida State history in starts made in a career with 102.

Home Cookin’
Once again, Tully Gym has been one of the toughest places to play in the ACC this season. The Seminoles went 12-2 at home this season with its only two losses coming to No. 2 Louisville and No. 10 Georgia Tech. The Noles 12 wins at home is the most since 2015.

Last Time Out
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida State volleyball team (18-9, 10-6) showed great resilience in their home finale on Friday night at Tully Gym, pulling out a hard-fought four-set victory (14-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18) over the North Carolina Tar Heels (15-12, 7-9). The win marks the Seminoles’ 12th victory at home, the most since 2015.

The Noles held a slight 10-9 advantage early in the first set, but the Tar Heels were able to rattle off 11 consecutive points to take a commanding lead. UNC would go on to take the set 25-14, led by Mabrey Shaffmaster’s six kills.

Florida State shook off its early struggles and went on a five-point run to take a 5-1 lead to begin the second set. North Carolina battled back to tie things up at 11 but the Noles could not be denied. FSU utilized an 8-1 run to claim a 25-18 victory. Emily Ryan and Khori Louis combined for nine of the Noles’ 14 kills.

Set three saw both teams deadlocked at 13 before a five-point run from the Seminoles gave them a lead that they would not relinquish. A kill from Emma Clothier put the finishing touches on the 25-23 win.

North Carolina fought back in set four, jumping out to a 14-9 lead as Florida State’s offense struggled with attacking errors. The Noles found their stride down the stretch though, finishing the set with six unanswered points en route to a 25-18 match-clinching victory.

Audrey Koenig was a machine in the back row, shattering her career-high in digs (19) while Emery Dupes added 15 of her own. The Noles featured a balanced offensive attack as Koenig, Ryan and Louis contributed 11 kills apiece and Clothier tallied 10.

Nole Notes

• Head Coach Chris Poole is in his 15th season as the leader of the Seminoles.
• Poole is the second-winningest active head coach in Division I with 894 victories.
• The Noles were picked to finish fifth in the ACC by the coaches.
• The Noles have won 10 or more ACC games in every season since 2005.
• The Noles won 12 games at home inside of Tully Gym this season which is the most since 2015.
• The Noles last six games have gone either four or five sets. Seven out of the last eight matches between the Noles and Miami have gone either four or five sets.
• The Noles got off to its best start through eight games since 2014 with a 7-1 start.
• The Noles beat Miami in five sets on Oct. 5 inside of Tully Gym.
• The Noles have played the 21st-toughest schedule this season. The Seminoles have already played five opponents ranked inside the AVCA top 20 and still have one match against No. 13 Georgia Tech.
• The Noles are ranked 30th in the RPI.
• Audrey Koenig currently leads the team with 298 kills.
• Koenig reached 200 kills in 18 matches this season. She is the fastest Nole to reach 200 kills since Payton Caffrey in the 2019 season when she reached 200 kills in 14 matches.
• Khori Louis is hitting .370 on the season which ranks fourth in the ACC and ranks 44th in the country. Emily Ryan ranks 10th in the ACC in hitting percentage with a .333 mark.
• Ryan hit .769 against Clemson on Nov. 4 and tallied 10 kills. That mark was tied for the fourth-highest mark in FSU history in an ACC match. The mark is also tied for 13th all-time in FSU history.
• The Noles are posting a .256 hitting percentage this season which ranks third in the ACC behind Louisville and Pitt.
• The Noles had 16 aces against Syracuse on Oct. 28. That is the third-most aces among power five teams this season and only 6 teams have posted a higher mark in a four-set match this season.
• The Noles are the best team in the ACC in avoiding the block. Opponents only average 1.69 blocks per set which is the best mark in the conference.
• The Noles have the top game in terms of hitting percentage of all ACC teams this season. The Noles hit .527 against Yale on Sept. 3, 2022. It is also the seventh-best match of the year in the NCAA this season.

For updates and exclusive content, follow the Noles on Twitter (FSU_Volleyball), Instagram (fsuvolleybal) and Facebook (Florida State Seminoles Volleyball).