2010 Volleyball - Year In Review
Chris Poole, Head Coach
Caitlin Quinn, Strength and Conditioning
Holly Watts, Associate Head Coach
Gokhan Yilmaz, Assistant Coach
Click here to see individual mug shots
2010 Volleyball - Year In Review | |
| Coaching Staff Chris Poole, Head Coach Caitlin Quinn, Strength and Conditioning Holly Watts, Associate Head Coach Gokhan Yilmaz, Assistant Coach Click here to see individual mug shots |
|
Patricia Figueiredo, 5-9, S, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Marija Milosavljevic, 6-4, MB, Bajina Basta, Serbia
Katie Mosher, 5-9, DS, Fort Myers
Ashley Neff, 6-3, MB, Kennesaw, Ga.
Jekaterina Stepanova, 6-2, OH, Riga, Latvia
2010 Roster - By Name
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 9 Visnja Djurdjevic OH 6-1 Jr Zitiste, Serbia (Zrenjaninska Gimnazija/Tulane)
* 20 Duygu Duzceler S 5-10 So * Istanbul, Turkey (Private Bahcesehir)
* 8 Patricia Figueiredo S 5-9 Jr Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Centro Educacional Da Loga/Missouri State-West Plains)
* 22 Sareea Freeman MB 6-4 So * Fresno, Calif. (Sunnyside)
* 12 Marija Milosavljevic MB 6-4 So Bajina Basta, Serbia (Zrenjaninska Gimnazija/Tulane)
* 1 Rachael Morgan OH 6-2 Jr ** Tauranga, New Zealand (Otumoetai College)
2 Katie Mosher DS 5-9 Fr Fort Myers (Bishop Verot)
* 14 Ashley Neff MB 6-3 Fr Kennesaw, Ga. (North Cobb)
* 6 Stephanie Neville OH 6-3 Sr *** Cambridge, Ontario, Canada (Jacob Hespeler Secondary Sch)
* 10 Jenna Romanelli DS 5-4 Sr *** Lighthouse Point (Cardinal Gibbons)
* 15 Amanda Saxton MB-OH 6-0 So Orlando (Lake Highland Prep)
* 3 Jekaterina Stepanova OH 6-2 Jr Riga, Latvia (Murjanu Sport Gymnasium/Missouri State-West Plains)
* 4 Taylor Wilson DS 5-7 Sr *** Clearwater (Countryside)
* 7 Fatma Yildirim OH 6-0 So * Istanbul, Turkey (Yuzyil Isil)
* 23 Lauren Young MB 6-2 Sr-R *** Ben Wheeler, Tex. (Van)
* 11 Courtney Zuber DS 5-7 So-R * Tallahassee (Leon)
2010 Roster - By Number
L
T PY
R No Name Pos Hgt Cl Ltr Hometown (Prior School)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* 1 Rachael Morgan OH 6-2 Jr ** Tauranga, New Zealand (Otumoetai College)
2 Katie Mosher DS 5-9 Fr Fort Myers (Bishop Verot)
* 3 Jekaterina Stepanova OH 6-2 Jr Riga, Latvia (Murjanu Sport Gymnasium/Missouri State-West Plains)
* 4 Taylor Wilson DS 5-7 Sr *** Clearwater (Countryside)
* 6 Stephanie Neville OH 6-3 Sr *** Cambridge, Ontario, Canada (Jacob Hespeler Secondary Sch)
* 7 Fatma Yildirim OH 6-0 So * Istanbul, Turkey (Yuzyil Isil)
* 8 Patricia Figueiredo S 5-9 Jr Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Centro Educacional Da Loga/Missouri State-West Plains)
* 9 Visnja Djurdjevic OH 6-1 Jr Zitiste, Serbia (Zrenjaninska Gimnazija/Tulane)
* 10 Jenna Romanelli DS 5-4 Sr *** Lighthouse Point (Cardinal Gibbons)
* 11 Courtney Zuber DS 5-7 So-R * Tallahassee (Leon)
* 12 Marija Milosavljevic MB 6-4 So Bajina Basta, Serbia (Zrenjaninska Gimnazija/Tulane)
* 14 Ashley Neff MB 6-3 Fr Kennesaw, Ga. (North Cobb)
* 15 Amanda Saxton MB-OH 6-0 So Orlando (Lake Highland Prep)
* 20 Duygu Duzceler S 5-10 So * Istanbul, Turkey (Private Bahcesehir)
* 22 Sareea Freeman MB 6-4 So * Fresno, Calif. (Sunnyside)
* 23 Lauren Young MB 6-2 Sr-R *** Ben Wheeler, Tex. (Van)
2010 Conference Awards
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visnja Djurdjevic Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference
Stephanie Neville Atlantic Coast Conference - All-Conference
All-Conference - 2
2010 All-Americans
Name Organization
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visnja Djurdjevic American Volleyball Coaches Assoc - All-American - Honorable Mention
All-Americans - 1
2010 Schedule and Results
GAME |
SCORE |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico State FSU Invitational |
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| FL International FSU Invitational |
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| South Florida FSU Invitational |
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| Houston Houston Tournament |
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| Tennessee Houston Tournament, Houston, Tex. |
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| Oklahoma Houston Tournament, Houston, Tex. |
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| Kansas State Lady Wildcat Tournament, Lexington, Ky. |
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| Kentucky Lady Wildcat Tournament |
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| VA Commonwealth Lady Wildcat Tournament, Lexington, Ky. |
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| Miami | |||||
| Florida | |||||
| Virginia | |||||
| Virginia Tech | |||||
| North Carolina | |||||
| North Carolina State | |||||
| Clemson | |||||
| Georgia Tech | |||||
| Boston College | |||||
| Maryland | |||||
| Wake Forest | |||||
| Duke | |||||
| Virginia Tech | |||||
| Virginia | |||||
| Georgia Tech | |||||
| Clemson | |||||
| North Carolina | |||||
| North Carolina State | |||||
| Maryland | |||||
| Boston College | |||||
| Miami | |||||
| Florida A&M | |||||
| Georgia Southern NCAA, Gainesville, Fla. |
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| Florida NCAA |
EOY StatsRef Overall Home Away Neutral ------------------------------------------------ FSU record is 22-11 11- 4 7- 6 4- 1 vs ACC 12- 8 8- 3 4- 5 0- 0
2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Results 1 Duke 16- 4 27- 7 2 North Carolina 15- 5 25-10 3 Miami 13- 7 23- 9 4 Florida State 12- 8 22-11 5t Wake Forest 11- 9 19-12 5t Georgia Tech 11- 9 18-14 7t Virginia Tech 10-10 20-12 7t Maryland 10-10 19-13 9 Clemson 9-11 18-13 10 Virginia 8-12 14-18 11 North Carolina State 4-16 14-18 12 Boston College 1-19 9-24
2010 Season Statistics
|--------ATTACK----------| |-----SET-----| |--------SERVE--------| |---RECEPT---| |--DIG---| |------BLOCKING------| Name GP MP MS K K/G E TA Pct A A/G TA SA SA/G SE TA Pct RE TA Pct DIG D/G BS BA Tot B/G BE BHE Pts Pts/G ================================================================================================================================================================== Visnja Djurdjevic 120 31 31 410 3.42 137 1032 0.265 31 0.26 36 0.30 27 0.000 28 0.000 357 2.98 6 54 60.0 0.50 2 1 479.0 3.99 Stephanie Neville 130 33 33 310 2.38 90 806 0.273 7 0.05 1 0.01 1 0.000 2 0.000 70 0.54 3 81 84.0 0.65 3 0 354.5 2.73 Jekaterina Stepanova108 31 25 281 2.60 122 844 0.188 12 0.11 12 0.11 22 0.000 30 0.000 260 2.41 3 33 36.0 0.33 10 0 312.5 2.89 Rachael Morgan 93 24 23 191 2.05 71 475 0.253 13 0.14 8 0.09 18 0.000 0 0.000 69 0.74 3 68 71.0 0.76 3 0 236.0 2.54 Sareea Freeman 107 32 9 145 1.36 62 331 0.251 5 0.05 0 0.00 0 0.000 0 0.000 9 0.08 9 96 105.0 0.98 20 0 202.0 1.89 Lauren Young 104 31 27 114 1.10 33 244 0.332 3 0.03 0 0.00 0 0.000 1 0.000 16 0.15 8 107 115.0 1.11 7 1 175.5 1.69 Fatma Yildirim 56 29 9 97 1.73 47 282 0.177 9 0.16 5 0.09 12 0.000 8 0.000 103 1.84 0 15 15.0 0.27 4 0 109.5 1.96 Marija Milosavljevic 52 22 5 71 1.37 28 192 0.224 3 0.06 2 0.04 0 0.000 0 0.000 8 0.15 0 42 42.0 0.81 2 0 94.0 1.81 Ashley Neff 52 15 2 40 0.77 24 126 0.127 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.000 0 0.000 6 0.12 10 47 57.0 1.10 3 0 73.5 1.41 Duygu Duzceler 130 33 33 28 0.22 8 76 0.263 763 5.87 35 0.27 15 0.000 1 0.000 197 1.52 0 1 1.0 0.01 3 10 63.5 0.49 Patricia Figueiredo 130 33 0 15 0.12 8 46 0.152 619 4.76 25 0.19 12 0.000 0 0.000 163 1.25 0 1 1.0 0.01 3 15 40.5 0.31 Jenna Romanelli 129 33 0 2 0.02 0 7 0.286 90 0.70 9 0.07 17 0.000 44 0.000 507 3.93 0 0 0.0 0.00 0 0 11.0 0.09 Courtney Zuber 6 4 0 1 0.17 0 1 1.000 0 0.00 2 0.33 0 0.000 0 0.000 3 0.50 0 0 0.0 0.00 0 0 3.0 0.50 Taylor Wilson 42 21 1 0 0.00 0 3 0.000 5 0.12 2 0.05 5 0.000 6 0.000 23 0.55 0 1 1.0 0.02 0 0 2.5 0.06 Amanda Saxton 1 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.000 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.000 0 0.000 0 0.00 0 0 0.0 0.00 0 0 0.0 0.00 Team 16 0.0 ============================================================================================================================================== FSU 130 33 33 1705 13.12 630 4465 0.241 1560 12.00 0 137 1.05 129 0 0.000 136 0 0.000 1791 13.78 42 546 588.0 4.52 60 27 2157.0 16.59 Opp 130 33 33 1701 13.08 735 4600 0.210 1573 12.10 136 1.05 237 0.000 137 0.000 1852 14.25 54 425 479.0 3.68 60 51 2103.5 16.18
FSU Overpowers Aggies.
Visnja Djurdjevic, Stephanie Neville lead FSU to impressive win.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The Florida State University women's volleyball team opened its highly-hyped season on Friday night with a resounding 3-1 (25-16, 26-28, 25-16, 25-10) victory over New Mexico State at the Florida State Invitational in Tully Gym. The Aggies (1-1), who defeated FIU in the opening matchup of the tournament, were done in by the play of outside hitters Visnja Djurdjevic and Stephanie Neville. Djurdjevic, the reigning Conference USA Co-Player of the Year, led all players with 17 kills and recorded 12 digs in a tremendous all-around performance.
This is the Visnja we saw for two weeks in the preseason," coach Chris Poole said. "We all know what she is capable of doing. She's a very intense player in practice and has excellent leadership qualities. She showed what kind of player she is tonight.
Djurdjevic, who hails from Zitiste, Serbia, finished with a .455 hitting percentage as well as a game-high 21 points. Neville also had several high-powered strikes tonight, recording 13 kills compared to just two attack errors for a .478 percentage.
Senior libero Jenna Romanelli had a match-high 16 digs and four assists, using her lateral quickness across the court to keep balls alive. Sophomore setter Duygu Duzceler continued to put her teammates in solid position for kills, amassing 30 assists. Junior setter Patricia Figueiredo added 20 assists in four sets.
Competing in her first match since the 2008 season, senior middle blocker Lauren Young was effective at the net, recording a game-high five blocks. The Ben Wheeler, Texas, native also added five kills in a stellar comeback performance. Junior Rachael Morgan played as a right-side hitter for the first time in her career, and finished with 14 points.
Even though she is a two-year starter, Rachael was a good surprise, Poole said. "She had never played the right side before. I'm extremely proud of her and if she continues to play well there, it bodes very well for our team."
The Seminoles (1-0) were dominant in the first set, which was highlighted by seven unanswered points to give FSU an early 13-6 advantage. During the key stretch, sophomore middle blocker Marija Milosavljevic recorded two kills and an assisted block. The Serbia native finished with seven kills and four blocks. FSU was somewhat stunned in the second set after leading 24-21 with the set point within its grasp. New Mexico State's Jennah DeVries finished off the rally with a service ace to tie the match at 1-1.
"That second set taught us that we certainly needed to respect the opponent," Poole added. "It was a great lesson for us I wanted to see how we would respond. I truly believe that something like that is the greatest thing to happen to a team early in the season, and we came back in games three and four."
Over the next two sets, FSU responded in authoritative fashion. The Seminoles jumped out to an 11-3 lead on a block assist from both Milosavljevic and Neville, then reached a 15-7 margin on blocks by Young and sophomore outside hitter Fatma Yildirim. The set culminated with a kill by Milosavljevic to put the Seminoles ahead, 2-1.
Another kill by Neville in the fourth set put the Seminoles ahead 6-1, and the Garnet and Gold never looked back. Consecutive kills by Djurdjevic and Jekaterina Stepanova expanded the lead to 24-9 before a service error by NMSU's Amanda Tonga ended the match.
The Seminoles have now won eight-straight season-openers.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 4 11 4 24 0.292 0 1 3 0 3 0 4 0 0 14.0
6 Stephanie Neville 4 13 2 23 0.478 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 14.0
7 Fatma Yildirim 4 5 7 19 -0.105 1 3 3 0 7 0 3 0 0 9.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 4 17 2 33 0.455 0 3 3 1 12 0 2 0 0 21.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 4 1 0 1 1.000 30 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1.0
23 Lauren Young 4 5 0 6 0.833 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 7.5
---Substitutes---
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 3 1 6 0.333 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 3.0
4 Taylor Wilson 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 4 0 0 0 0.000 20 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 4 0 0 0 0.000 4 0 0 1 16 0 0 0 0 0.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 4 7 2 14 0.357 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 9.0
=========================================================
6 FSU 4 62 18 126 0.349 55 8 9 3 48 0 20 0 1 80.0
Opp 4 38 27 122 0.090 36 3 3 8 43 1 10 4 0 47.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico State | ||||
| Florida State |
Seminoles Sweep FIU.
No. 15 Florida State defeats Panthers in straight sets.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The 15th-ranked Florida State University women's volleyball team defeated Florida International, 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-21), on Saturday afternoon at the Florida State Invitational in Tully Gym.
The Seminoles (2-0) were given some resistance from the defending Sun Belt champions in two of the three sets, but were able to fend off any of their slim deficits to ultimately pull away. FSU finished with a .410 team hitting percentage, while the Panthers (1-2) managed a .185 mark.
Playing well in her first career start at the FBS level was junior college transfer Jekaterina Stepanova. The outside hitter from Riga, Latvia, finished with 10 kills in 18 attempts for a .444 hitting percentage, and also recorded 11 digs and two blocks. Senior outside hitter Stephanie Neville also had 10 kills while managing four blocks.
FIU's front line did not register a block in today's contest, while FSU racked up eight as a unit. Senior Lauren Young continued her resurgent play with four blocks in two sets, including one solo. Sophomore middle blocker Marija Milosavljevic added two blocks for the Seminoles, and improved sophomore Sareea Freeman contributed with two blocks and three kills.
FIU battled the Seminoles in the first set, but were hurt by four critical service errors in the latter part. Visnja Djurdjevic recorded five of her eight kills in the set, and Young's big block ended the Panther threat to put FSU up 1-0. Stepanova recorded two kills in three attempts.
The second set was handled by the Seminoles, who raced out to a 15-5 advantage on a kill by Neville from a solid set by sophomore Duygu Duzceler. Up 17-8, FSU scored five consecutive points that ended with a kill by sophomore outside hitter Fatma Yildirim, and finished the game on a service error by FIU's Renele Forde to go up 2-0.
A back-and-forth third set was finally owned by the Seminoles, who were behind 20-18 before winning four consecutive points. Leading 22-21 in the third frame, back-to-back kills by Milosavljevic, Djurdjevic and Neville closed out the match.
FSU improves to 15-4 all-time against FIU.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 3 6 2 14 0.286 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 6.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 10 2 18 0.444 0 0 1 1 11 0 2 1 0 11.0
6 Stephanie Neville 3 10 1 18 0.500 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 12.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 8 2 16 0.375 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 1 0 9.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 1 0 1 1.000 22 0 1 0 10 0 0 0 0 1.0
23 Lauren Young 2 3 0 3 1.000 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 5.5
---Substitutes---
7 Fatma Yildirim 2 6 0 9 0.667 1 0 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 6.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 0 0 1 0.000 17 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 4 1 1 1 14 0 0 0 0 1.0
11 Courtney Zuber 2 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 3 3 1 13 0.154 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 4.0
22 Sareea Freeman 2 3 0 6 0.500 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 4.0
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 50 8 99 0.424 45 2 4 3 54 1 14 4 0 60.0
Opp 3 35 15 108 0.185 34 3 7 2 36 0 0 1 0 38.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FL International | |||
| Florida State |
Seminoles Finish Undefeated
Start off 3-0 for third consecutive season
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Milosavljevic led the way in match two versus USF, finishing with seven kills and three blocks. Djurdjevic filled up the stat sheet once again with 11 kills, nine digs and two assists, and Stepanova added five kills and six digs.
The Bulls (0-1) started the second match strong by taking a 7-3 advantage in the first set. However, FSU took the lead for good at 13-12 with a kill by Neville, then reeled off three straights points that included a kill and a solo block by Young. Stepanova then finished the set with a hard kill.
The Seminoles had another solid second set, recording 11 kills altogether. Milosavljevic had three kills and two blocks, while Patricia Figueiredo racked up four assists and two aces. FSU charged to a 16-2 lead on a kill by Djurdjevic, and never looked back en route to a dominant performance.
USF hung close with the Seminoles in the match's final set, but back-to-back kills by Neville and Djurdjevic put FSU at match point, which was attained on Morgan's final kill to give the Seminoles two straights sweeps for the day. FSU is now 36-6 against the Bulls all-time.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 3 4 4 13 0.000 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 4.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 2 5 1 14 0.286 0 1 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 6.0
6 Stephanie Neville 3 6 5 18 0.056 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 7.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 11 4 29 0.241 2 0 0 0 9 0 1 0 0 11.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 0 0 2 0.000 17 2 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 2.0
23 Lauren Young 2 3 0 7 0.429 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 4.5
---Substitutes---
7 Fatma Yildirim 2 3 0 8 0.375 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 3.5
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 0 0 0 0.000 15 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 3 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0.0
11 Courtney Zuber 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 3 7 0 10 0.700 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 8.5
22 Sareea Freeman 2 4 0 6 0.667 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 5.5
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 43 14 107 0.271 38 7 2 2 43 2 10 0 0 57.0
Opp 3 34 17 102 0.167 33 2 5 7 38 2 12 2 1 44.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Florida | |||
| Florida State |
Superb Hitting Lifts FSU.
Seminoles record season-best .416 hitting percentage to defeat Houston in three sets.
HOUSTON, TX - The 13th-ranked Florida State University women's volleyball team had its offensive attack in full force tonight as it defeated Houston in three sets (25-19, 25-19, 25-13) on Friday evening at the Houston Invitational in the Athletic/Alumni Center.
The Seminoles' (4-0) .416 hitting percentage was their highest since hitting .443 on Nov. 29, 2009 against Boston College. Last year's Elite Eight squad crossed the .400 threshold in five different matches, while this season's team has already accomplished the feat twice in four matches.
"Tonight was our first match on the road, and I thought we weren't as sharp as we could have been," coach Chris Poole said. "But we also did a lot of good things. Our hitting and ball control were two strengths for us, and our ability to work in several players has been excellent so far this season."
Reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Player of the Week Visnja Djurdjevic fell two digs shy of her second double-double this season. The junior outside hitter recorded 16 kills and eight digs while hitting at a .615 clip in 26 total attacks.
Senior libero Jenna Romanelli led all players with 15 digs, while setter Duygu Duzceler registered 22 assists. Sophomore middle blocker Sareea Freeman earned valuable time on the court, posting three kills and two blocks.
Senior outside hitter Stephanie Neville and junior Jekaterina Stepanova each added seven kills apiece, and Lauren Young finished with four kills in five attacks as well as one block.
The Seminoles held off a relentless Cougar squad in the first set, pulling away with the final three points. Djurdjevic tallied six kills and a block to lead FSU, while Young aided her hitting percentage once again with four kills in four attacks. The Seminoles recorded 17 kills to Houston's 14, and broke away from a late 22-19 advantage by getting kills from Neville, Djurdjevic and Morgan to win the set.
FSU set the tone in the second set, racing to a 10-1 advantage that included three kills by Djurdjevic. Houston later fought back to come within striking distance by trailing 14-11, but the Seminoles stopped another rally with an attack that produced 14 kills in the set. Leading 23-19, FSU used a subsequent service error by Amber Brooks and a kill by Freeman to win the second set.
Houston kept the third set close in the early going, but FSU took an 11-10 lead and won the next five points to build a sizeable lead. Stepanova's five kills in the set paced the Garnet and Gold. Sophmore defensive specialist Courtney Zuber's service ace put FSU ahead 22-13, and Stepanova followed with a kill and a solo block to clinch the match for FSU.
Houston's Lucy Charuk led the Cougars (1-3) with 12 kills, and Brooks finished with a match-high 30 assists.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 3 4 1 10 0.300 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 5.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 7 0 12 0.583 1 0 1 3 5 1 0 1 0 8.0
6 Stephanie Neville 3 7 1 17 0.353 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 7.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 16 0 26 0.615 1 0 0 1 8 0 1 0 0 16.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 1 1 3 0.000 22 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 1 1.0
23 Lauren Young 2 4 0 5 0.800 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4.5
---Substitutes---
7 Fatma Yildirim 3 0 3 7 -0.429 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 0 0 1 0.000 10 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 1 2 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 2.0
11 Courtney Zuber 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 2 2 1 4 0.250 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3.0
22 Sareea Freeman 2 3 0 4 0.750 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 4.0
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 44 7 89 0.416 36 5 1 4 41 1 10 2 1 55.0
Opp 3 36 14 102 0.216 33 4 8 5 33 0 4 2 2 42.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Houston |
FSU Splits Second Day.
Falls in first match against No. 17 Tennessee before rebounding to defeat Oklahoma.
HOUSTON, TX - It was a tale of two matches for the 13th-ranked Florida State University women's volleyball team on Saturday at the Houston Invitational in the Athletic/Alumni Center.
The Seminoles (5-1) began the day with a hard-fought loss to Southeastern Conference favorite Tennessee, 0-3 (20-25, 23-25, 20-25), but came back to emerge victorious over Oklahoma in the nightcap by a 3-1 (25-16, 19-25, 25-18, 25-16) margin.
"We knew Tennessee would be tough," coach Chris Poole said. "But in the second match we got better. We get to bring home an opportunity to learn new things. Last year our team lost early to Florida, and we ended up turning our season around. We need to have a good week of practice before we participate in another tournament next weekend that will prepare us well for ACC play."
The second match was highlighted by junior outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic's second double-double of the season. The Zitiste, Serbia, native had a match-high 15 kills and 14 digs, while junior Rachael Morgan also had a sterling performance with 14 kills, five blocks and four digs.
Middle blocker Marija Milosavljevic contributed with seven kills and a team-high six blocks. Senior libero Jenna Romanelli added 13 digs and a kill, while setters Duygu Duzceler and Patricia Figueiredo combined for 50 of FSU's 61 assists. Junior Jekaterina Stepanova also stepped up with seven kills and 10 digs.
The Seminoles recorded a .323 hitting percentage, and forced the Sooners (4-3) into a .232 clip.
"Visnja and Rachael really played well for us this weekend,"Poole stated. "Rachael is really adjusting well at the right side, and Visnja has been great for us so far."
Morgan and Fatma Yildirim led the Seminoles in the first set against Oklahoma. Yildirim, an Istanbul, Turkey, native, tallied six kills, while Morgan filled the stat sheet with two kills, two blocks, one ace and one assist. The Seminoles took control following a brief 8-8 tie in the set, as Milosavljevic's kill expanded the FSU advantage to 18-13. The Seminoles won four of the next five points, and ended the set with a kill by Morgan, who was set up nicely by Duzceler.
The Sooners responded with a well-played second set. After being tied at 13-13, Oklahoma won six of the next seven points and was aided by five kills from junior Suzy Boulavsky.
Stepanova recorded five kills and one block in a critical third set for the Seminoles. After Oklahoma built a 9-5 lead, FSU fought back to take a 16-11 advantage on a kill by sophomore Sareea Freeman. FSU won the final three points of the set on a kill and subsequent service ace by Djurdjevic, followed by a bad set from redshirt senior middle blocker Francie Ekwerekwu of Oklahoma.
FSU was in full control of the fourth and final set, creating leads of 19-7 and 20-8 to prevent any sort of comeback by the Sooners.
The Seminoles suffered their first loss of the season in the morning match against the Lady Volunteers (5-0). Morgan led the hitters with nine kills and a .368 hitting percentage, but Tennessee racked up 37 digs and forced FSU into a .158 attack percentage.
"This was a very good match for us to play early in the season," Poole added. "We know we have a lot of new players that have to learn to play together. You can't accomplish that by only winning. We have to see how the team responds when we are being pushed and how to play under adversity. This is a team that will continue to get better as we get pushed in these type of matches.
"Tennessee is picked to win the SEC and has a lot of returning players. They remind me of our team last year where we had most of the team returning and much easier to move forward in pre-season. We will get better as the season progresses and more time to train together."
Tennessee's Leslie Cikra recorded 10 kills, while Kelsey Robinson and Kayla Jeter added nine apiece for the Lady Vols.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 3 9 2 19 0.368 0 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 10.0
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 4 4 16 0.000 1 0 1 0 7 0 2 0 0 5.0
6 Stephanie Neville 3 7 6 18 0.056 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 7.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 7 2 23 0.217 2 0 0 0 7 0 2 0 0 8.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 2 0 2 1.000 17 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 2.5
23 Lauren Young 3 0 0 4 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 2.0
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 1 0 0 1 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 0 0 0 0.000 12 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 2 0 2 1 8 0 0 0 0 0.0
11 Courtney Zuber 2 1 0 1 1.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 1 4 2 9 0.222 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 5.0
22 Sareea Freeman 2 1 3 8 -0.250 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 3.0
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 35 19 101 0.158 34 0 4 3 30 1 16 0 1 44.0
Opp 3 49 16 100 0.330 42 3 5 0 37 1 16 0 4 61.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Tennessee |
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 4 14 3 32 0.344 2 1 1 0 4 0 5 0 0 17.5
6 Stephanie Neville 4 7 4 21 0.143 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 7.5
7 Fatma Yildirim 2 7 3 17 0.235 0 0 1 0 7 0 0 0 0 7.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 4 15 3 37 0.324 1 2 0 1 14 0 1 0 0 17.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 4 1 0 4 0.250 28 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1.0
23 Lauren Young 2 2 1 4 0.250 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2.5
---Substitutes---
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 2 7 1 17 0.353 1 0 1 0 10 0 1 0 0 7.5
8 Patricia Figueiredo 4 0 0 0 0.000 22 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 2 0.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 4 1 0 2 0.500 5 0 1 0 13 0 0 0 0 1.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 4 7 2 15 0.333 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 10.0
22 Sareea Freeman 3 7 0 9 0.778 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7.5
Team 2
=========================================================
6 FSU 4 68 17 158 0.323 61 3 4 3 61 0 16 0 2 79.0
Opp 4 48 15 142 0.232 43 3 5 3 59 4 8 4 2 59.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Oklahoma |
FSU Defeats Wildcats.
Seminoles wrap up impressive day with two five-set victories.
LEXINGTON, KY - It was the match that much of the team had been looking forward to all season. In the end, the 17th-ranked Florida State University women's volleyball team completed its second win of the day in front of 1,257 fans on the road against Kentucky, winning in five sets and earning a Top 25 nonconference win at Memorial Coliseum.
The Seminoles (7-1) defeated their Sweet 16 counterpart from one season ago, winning 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 17-25, 15-6) over UK tonight. FSU also defeated Big 12 opponent Kansas State earlier in the day, 3-2 (19-25, 25-19, 25-15, 20-25, 15-11).
In the second match against the Kentucky Wildcats (4-4), middle blocker Sareea Freeman finished with 10 kills, seven block assists and a .389 hitting percentage. Senior Lauren Young also bolstered the middle blocking unit with five kills and a block.
"We played well in the second match," coach Chris Poole said after an exhausting but successful day for his team. "We had much better middle production. Lauren and Sareea played well for us against Kentucky. Our team stayed with it in front of a good Kentucky crowd, worked hard and found a way to keep their heads in it."
Junior outside hitters Jekaterina Stepanova and Visnja Djurdjevic each recorded double-doubles in both matches. Djurdjevic ended her standout day with a 15-kill, 20-dig performance versus Kentucky, while Stepanova recorded 11 kills and 16 digs.
"Visnja and Kate were absolute workhorses today," Poole added. "Both played the full time, stood up well and made great plays. It was a total team effort. Kentucky was well-rested and did not play a match before, so I thought our team really showed their resilience."
One of the unsung heroes for FSU in match two was senior defensive specialist Taylor Wilson, who is a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District member. The Clearwater, Fla., native put the match away with consecutive service aces to clinch FSU's biggest nonconference win of the season.
"Taylor stepped in and got points 14 and 15 for us in the final set. She stepped in and played well, and that's what we have to have," Poole stated.
Duygu Duzceler contributed with 29 assists and four digs, while fellow setter Patricia Figueiredo added 23 assists and four digs. Jenna Romanelli had 19 digs, and senior outside hitter Stephanie Neville posted a season-high 15 kills against UK.
Stepanova's best outing as a Florida State Seminole led her team to an exciting victory over Kansas State earlier in the day.
Stepanova, a junior college transfer from Missouri State-West Plains, recorded her second double-double of the season, and her first of the day, after amassing season highs of 20 kills and 17 digs for the Seminoles. The Riga, Latvia, native also led the team with a .306 hitting percentage while mustering 49 total attacks on the afternoon.
Djurdjevic, FSU's leader in kills, tied her season high with 17, and tallied a season-best 21 digs. The Zitiste, Serbia, native also had two block assists and a service ace versus KSU.
FSU found a way to win this afternoon's match despite hitting .138, its lowest in eight matches played this year. In a match that lasted two hours and 13 minutes, the Seminoles exposed their tremendous depth as 11 of their 15 student-athletes played at least one set.
"It was a win but a disappointing effort on offense," Poole said of his team's performance against KSU. "Visnja and Kate (Stepanova) were the only two that were effective. KSU is very well coached and did a great job pushing us through the match."
Romanelli finished with 23 digs in five sets, and added two assists and a service ace. Duzceler's assist total climbed as a result of the extended match, recording a career-high 31. Figueiredo added 17 assists in five sets played.
FSU stumbled in the beginning as it fell in the first set to the Kansas State Wildcats (5-4), who were fresh off a 3-0 victory over Atlantic Coast Conference school Georgia Tech enter this afternoon's contest. KSU hit .344 as a team in the opening set to take the early 1-0 lead.
The Seminoles benefitted from 12 errors by the Wildcats in the second set. Djurdjevic and Stepanova combined for nine of FSU's 10 kills, while Neville added the other on an assist from Romanelli to put FSU in command at 22-14.
FSU's best hitting came in the third set, recording a .231 clip. The Seminoles had 15 kills compared to just eight by KSU, as Freeman contributed with three of her five kills overall. Freeman and sophomore Marija Milosavljevic also had six blocks assists each in the match.
The Wildcats showed their resilience in the fourth frame as they posted 16 kills. Kathleen Ludwig and Kaitlynn Pelger each recorded four kills as KSU built an early 10-3 lead before coming away with the set.
In the final set, FSU had several players come through when it mattered most. FSU took a quick 4-2 lead on a kill by Djurdjevic, then went up 6-3 on a kill by Rachael Morgan. Stepanova later scored on three consecutive points for FSU to put the Seminoles ahead 13-7 before Freeman ended the match on a kill that was assisted by Duzceler.
FSU looks to finish undefeated at the Kentucky Tournament with a matchup against Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
"VCU is good team. They do a lot of things well," Poole added. "They played a close match with KSU today. We'll have to come out ready to play tomorrow."
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 5 7 3 23 0.174 2 0 1 0 4 0 5 0 0 9.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 5 20 5 49 0.306 0 1 1 1 17 0 3 0 0 22.5
6 Stephanie Neville 5 4 4 22 0.000 0 0 0 0 2 0 5 0 0 6.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 5 17 6 46 0.239 1 1 1 1 21 0 2 0 1 19.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 1 1 3 0.000 31 2 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 3.0
23 Lauren Young 2 0 2 4 -0.500 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 1.5
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 0 0 0 0.000 17 1 1 0 8 0 0 0 2 1.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 0 0.000 2 1 0 0 23 0 0 0 0 1.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 4 2 3 14 -0.071 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 5.0
22 Sareea Freeman 4 5 7 20 -0.100 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 8.0
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 56 31 181 0.138 53 6 6 2 79 0 30 0 3 77.0
Opp 5 52 34 184 0.098 44 2 5 6 75 2 16 2 1 64.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Kansas State |
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 5 6 2 18 0.222 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 7.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 5 11 9 44 0.045 3 2 1 1 16 0 2 0 0 14.0
6 Stephanie Neville 5 15 8 37 0.189 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 16.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 5 15 5 39 0.256 0 0 1 2 20 0 3 0 0 16.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 2 0 4 0.500 29 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 3.0
22 Sareea Freeman 5 10 3 18 0.389 1 0 0 0 1 0 7 0 0 13.5
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 0 0 0 0.000 23 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 19 0 0 0 0 0.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 1 0 0 5 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
23 Lauren Young 4 5 2 11 0.273 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 6.5
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 64 29 176 0.199 56 5 2 3 68 0 20 0 1 79.0
Opp 5 63 24 170 0.229 58 3 7 5 70 0 24 1 3 78.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Kentucky |
No. 17 Florida State Wins Kentucky Invitational.
Defeats Virginia Commonwealth in final match to finish 3-0 at tournament.
LEXINGTON, KY - Senior outside hitter Stephanie Neville recorded a career-high 16 kills to lead the 17th-ranked Florida State University women's volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-18, 26-28, 25-15, 25-18) win over Virginia Commonwealth at the Memorial Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
The victory gives the Seminoles (8-1) an undefeated mark at the Kentucky Invitational as well as the tournament championship. FSU defeated both Kansas State and 16th-ranked Kentucky in five sets yesterday before coming away with a four-set win today.
"I'm really proud of the girls this weekend," coach Chris Poole said. "We still have a lot of work to do, but they are getting better every week. We made plays this weekend that we were not making last weekend. There is still a lot of room for growth with this team. The individual talent is very good and as they learn their role on the team, I expect us to continue improving."
Neville, a Cambridge, Ontario, native, finished with a .571 hitting percentage to lead the FSU offense. She also added three block assists.
Setter Patricia Figueiredo registered season highs with 24 assists and 10 digs to pick up her first double-double as a Seminole. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, native also recorded her first kill of the season.
Libero Jenna Romanelli finished with 12 digs, two assists and a service ace, while junior Jekaterina Stepanova concluded an impressive tournament with 10 kills and eight digs.
Senior middle blocker Lauren Young added five kills, while Rachael Morgan chipped in with six kills, five digs and five block assists. Sareea Freeman also had a productive afternoon with five kills and five block assists in three sets.
Young set the tone for the Seminoles in the opening set, as she recorded three kills and two blocks. FSU trailed for much of the set until a block assist by Young and Fatma Yildirim put the Seminoles ahead at 14-13. A service ace by Romanelli extended FSU's lead to 21-16, and a block by Morgan on Mariel Frey's attack closed out the set.
After taking a comfortable 19-14 lead in the second set, the Rams (1-8) stormed back to tie the match at 1-1. FSU did not take its first lead in the set until Morgan's kill put it ahead at 15-14. Later, a kill by Neville put the Seminoles ahead at 24-21, but VCU won seven of the next nine points as Frey's kill won the set for the Rams. Sophomore Marija Milosavljevic led FSU with four kills and two blocks in the second frame.
"We let a set slip away today against Virginia Commonwealth, but credit VCU for fighting hard the whole match," Poole added. "We were trying a lot of different things today and some things were successful and some were not. It showed a lot of character for our players to fight back and play so well in sets three and four to finish off the match."
Neville's five kills helped the Seminoles to a well-played third set. FSU recorded 15 kills and began much better than its previous two sets. Back-to-back kills by Stepanova and a service ace by Morgan gave the Seminoles a 9-5 lead. FSU later won four consecutive points, capped by a service error from Frey, to take a 19-9 advantage. Stepanova gave the Seminoles the set on a kill that was assisted by Duygu Duzceler, who had 25 assists overall.
FSU never trailed in the fourth and final set. Clinging to an 11-10 lead, Young and Visnja Djurdjevic had consecutive kills, followed by an attack error by VCU's Ciara Brown. The Seminoles put the Rams away by winning five straight points to take a 23-15 lead, and Neville fittingly ended the match on a kill.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 4 6 3 16 0.188 1 1 0 0 5 2 5 0 0 11.5
6 Stephanie Neville 4 16 0 28 0.571 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 17.5
7 Fatma Yildirim 2 5 3 15 0.133 0 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 0 6.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 5 1 13 0.308 0 0 0 1 7 0 0 0 0 5.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 4 1 0 2 0.500 25 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 2.0
23 Lauren Young 3 5 1 7 0.571 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 6.5
---Substitutes---
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 4 10 4 30 0.200 0 0 0 1 8 0 0 0 0 10.0
4 Taylor Wilson 2 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 4 1 2 6 -0.167 24 2 1 0 10 0 0 0 1 3.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 4 0 0 0 0.000 2 1 1 0 12 0 0 0 0 1.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 2 7 4 12 0.250 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 8.0
22 Sareea Freeman 3 5 1 12 0.333 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 7.5
=========================================================
6 FSU 4 61 19 141 0.298 52 5 4 3 56 2 20 1 1 78.0
Opp 4 49 26 138 0.167 46 3 6 5 52 1 15 1 1 60.5
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| VA Commonwealth |
FSU Storms Past Miami.
FSU earns third consecutive win against in-state rival.
CORAL GABLES, FL - Despite falling behind after the first set, the 15th-ranked Florida State University women's volleyball team proved resilient on the road as it defeated rival Miami, 3-1 (19-25, 27-25, 27-25, 25-18), in front of 904 fans at the James Knight Complex on Saturday evening.
The Seminoles (9-1, 1-0) earned a quality road victory to open conference play on the strength of senior outside hitter Stephanie Neville's performance. The Cambridge, Ontario, native recorded her second consecutive 16-kill showing, tying her career high that she set last weekend against Virginia Commonwealth. Neville was extremely efficient offensively, recording a .500 hitting percentage.
"Stephanie played excellent for us tonight," coach Chris Poole said after his 61st career win at FSU. "Our team needs to have that from her. Stephanie needs to bring that senior leadership and factor in for us offensively, and tonight she was a big reason why we got the win."
Junior outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic had another solid outing, recording 16 kills and 12 digs for her team-leading fifth double-double of the season. Djurdjevic also finished with a .519 hitting percentage.
Senior middle blocker Lauren Young earned time in all four sets, finishing with seven kills and a team-best five blocks. The Ben Wheeler, Texas, native now has 34 kills in 61 total attacks with just six attack errors for the season.
Setter Patricia Figueiredo contributed to FSU's .324 hitting percentage with 29 assists and two service aces. Duygu Duzceler followed with 27 assists.
With the victory, the Seminoles are tied for their second-best start through 10 matches since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1991. The 1997 squad began the year 10-0, and the 2000 and 2009 teams started the year at 9-1.
With the first set even at 7-7, the Hurricanes (10-2, 0-1), which entered the contest leading the ACC in overall wins, took the next eight points to build a 15-7 advantage. Miami finished off the set convincingly, as Katie Gallagher led the team with 11 assists and four blocks through the frame.
"We started off sluggish, but got stronger as the match went on," Poole added. "We really started slow. Miami had a good crowd and it was a great college match to be a part of. What our team needs to understand is that we have a target on our back, and every team that plays us at home will bring their best effort."
FSU raced out to a 7-1 lead in the second set, only to see Miami battle back to a 10-10 tie. Both teams would begin to trade points, until a kill by Rachael Morgan on an assist by Jenna Romanelli allowed the Seminoles to take an 18-16 lead. The set reached its climax at 25-25, but Marija Milosavljevic silenced the crowd with a kill and a subsequent service ace to finish the set.
Another competitive set was waged in the third frame. FSU reached a 14-9 lead on a kill by Neville, but the Hurricanes continued to battle and eventually held set point with a 24-22 lead on a ball-handling error by Duzceler. FSU showed its poise by winning the next two points on a kill by Djurdjevic and a service ace by Figueiredo, but Miami regained the lead at 25-24. FSU then swung the momentum of the match after a kill by Djurdjevic knotted the score, and consecutive attack errors by Lane Carico gave the Seminoles the decisive set.
The final set was highlighted by FSU's .567 hitting percentage. The Seminoles were thankful to finally break loose from Miami beginning in the middle of the set to reach a 22-15 lead. Jekaterina Stepanova's kill put FSU ahead at 23-17, which was followed by Young's kill and a match-ending kill by Neville to end a strong effort from FSU in front of a boisterous crowd.
"We were blocked off the court in the first set, but we got better with our sets, passed better and started rolling more," Poole said. "The match eventually became a dogfight, and we weren't able to shake them until the middle of the fourth set. It's games like this that are so crucial for the development of our team. As coaches, we don't like to be in the middle of them, but we're thankful for them afterwards."
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 4 9 4 24 0.208 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 10.0
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 4 8 5 36 0.083 0 0 4 0 10 0 1 0 0 8.5
6 Stephanie Neville 4 16 1 30 0.500 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 16.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 4 16 2 27 0.519 0 0 0 0 12 1 2 0 0 18.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 4 0 0 3 0.000 27 1 0 0 7 0 0 0 1 1.0
23 Lauren Young 4 7 0 10 0.700 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 2 0 10.0
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 2 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 4 0 0 0 0.000 29 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 2.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 4 1 0 1 1.000 3 0 3 1 17 0 0 0 0 1.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 3 5 2 9 0.333 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 7.0
22 Sareea Freeman 2 3 3 8 0.000 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.0
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 4 65 17 148 0.324 61 4 8 2 56 2 12 3 1 77.0
Opp 4 62 19 154 0.279 55 2 5 4 60 5 12 7 3 75.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Miami |
Seminoles Fall to No. 3 Florida.
FSU loses in three hard-fought sets en route to second loss of season.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The 13th-ranked Florida State University women's volleyball team endured its second loss of the season as it fell to third-ranked Florida, 3-0 (23-25, 29-31, 21-25), on Wednesday evening in front of a record 1,322 fans that overfilled the capacity at Tully Gym.
The Seminoles (9-2, 1-0) stayed close with the Gators (9-1, 2-0) in all three sets, and missed a golden opportunity to take the second set after relinquishing a 17-10 lead.
"I felt like our girls worked hard but gave up points we shouldn't have," coach Chris Poole said. "You can't do that with a team like Florida. Obviously, they are well coached and have a lot of stars on the court. We'll have to learn from this, and we're still working a lot of new kids into the program so it's going to take a little bit of time."
UF proved it belonged among the country's best teams simply by its ability to dig several attacks put forth by FSU's outside hitters. FSU recorded a .168 attack percentage this evening, its third-lowest of the season.
Senior Lauren Young led FSU with an .833 hitting percentage on five kills, and also finished with a team-best five blocks. UF's front line of Cassandra Anderson, Tangerine Wiggs and Lauren Bledsoe allowed the Gators to win the blocking battle at 12-9.
Junior Visnja Djurdjevic led the Seminoles with nine kills, while Stephanie Neville followed her superb back-to-back performances against Virginia Commonwealth and Miami with seven kills against UF.
Sophomore setter Duygu Duzceler tallied a team-high 18 assists, while Patricia Figueiredo added 13. Djurdjevic was FSU's leader with a match-high 16 digs, while Jekaterina Stepanova and Duygu Duzceler each added eight.
A back and forth first set was won by the Gators on a kill by Kristy Jaeckel. FSU took an early 14-11 lead on a kill by Djurdjevic, but UF ran off seven unanswered points to take an 18-14 advantage. The Seminoles later tied the set at 23-23 on a bad set by Chanel Brown, but were unable to capitalize on their momentum. UF's defense forced FSU into a .056 hitting percentage in the first frame.
An exciting second set went the distance as both teams battled once again. FSU's seven-point advantage shrunk to a 21-16 lead on a kill by Stepanova, and UF once again went on an unanswered run of six points that was capped by a kill from Kelly Murphy. Later, Young's kill gave FSU a match point at 24-23, but Jaeckel and Murphy responded with consecutive kills to put the Gators in favor at match point. Djurdjevic then recorded a kill under pressure, and FSU then had another opportunity at 28-27 on a kill by Morgan. However, four consecutive points by the Gators put FSU down at two sets as the momentum continued swinging toward UF.
UF took control in the final set until the Seminoles mounted a late charge to tie it at 21-21 on an ace by Djurdjevic. The match then ended on four consecutive points by the Gators once again, culminating with Lauren Bledsoe's kill.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 3 7 5 23 0.087 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 7.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 4 7 24 -0.125 0 0 0 2 8 0 0 0 0 4.0
6 Stephanie Neville 3 7 2 19 0.263 1 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 0 9.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 9 3 27 0.222 1 4 0 1 16 0 4 0 0 15.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 0 0 1 0.000 18 2 1 0 8 0 0 1 0 2.0
23 Lauren Young 3 5 0 6 0.833 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 7.5
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
7 Fatma Yildirim 2 3 0 5 0.600 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 0 0 0 0.000 13 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 1 0.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 1 0.000 2 0 0 3 7 0 0 0 0 0.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 1 2 1 5 0.200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.0
22 Sareea Freeman 3 3 2 8 0.125 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 5.0
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 40 20 119 0.168 36 6 1 7 50 0 18 3 1 55.0
Opp 3 50 12 118 0.322 45 7 8 6 55 1 22 3 4 69.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | |||
| Florida State |
No. 13 FSU Sweeps Cavs, 3-0.
The Florida State volleyball team has now won 18 consecutive ACC matches Friday night's triumph over Virginia.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The No. 13 Florida State volleyball team continued its Atlantic Coast Conference domination Friday night with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-21) sweep over visiting Virginia.
With the win, the Seminoles (10-2, 2-0 ACC) have now won 18-straight ACC matches dating back to last season and 34 of the 42 conference matches since head coach Chris Poole took over the program prior to the start of the 2008 campaign.
FSU, which set the school records last season for most league wins overall and league wins in a row, has now swept the Cavaliers (6-6, 0-2) four consecutive times.
"We came out with great intensity tonight," Poole said. "Virginia is a very good team and we had to push through there in the second set. I was happy we were able to close it out in the third when they had kept it close."
Jekaterina Stephanova led all players with a game-high 13 kills for the Seminoles while Visnja Djurdjevic posted eight of her own.
Rachael Morgan had six kills and Stephanie Neville added five. Defensively, Djurdjevic achieved double-digits digs (15) to go with her double-digit kills. Jenna Romanelli also contributed 13 digs.
Patricia Figueiredo had 16 assists and Duygu Duzceler registered 15.
FSU ran away with the first set but found the second game tied at 13-13 before ultimately pushing through for the victory.
In the third and final set, the Seminoles couldn't quite shake the Cavaliers. Up by just one point at 11-10, a Morgan kill and quick Djurdjevic ace helped spark a 7-1 FSU run.
Virginia kept it interesting, however, and clawed back to within three at 24-21. They wouldn't get any closer as Morgan finished the match with a kill.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 13 3 32 0.313 0 1 1 1 6 0 2 0 0 15.0
6 Stephanie Neville 3 5 3 17 0.118 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 8 4 24 0.167 2 1 1 0 15 0 2 0 0 10.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 2 2 1 7 0.143 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 1 0 1 1.000 15 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 1 1.0
23 Lauren Young 3 1 1 3 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1.5
---Substitutes---
1 Rachael Morgan 3 6 1 14 0.357 1 0 1 0 4 0 4 0 0 8.0
4 Taylor Wilson 2 0 0 0 0.000 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 1 0 2 0.500 16 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 1.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 2 1 1 1 13 0 0 0 0 1.0
22 Sareea Freeman 1 2 1 5 0.200 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3.0
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 39 14 105 0.238 38 3 5 2 50 0 15 0 2 49.5
Opp 3 28 27 113 0.009 27 2 4 3 46 1 6 0 2 34.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | |||
| Florida State |
FSU Holds Off Hokies.
No. 13 Seminoles win 19th consecutive ACC match.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - After taking the first two sets, the 13th-ranked Florida State University women's volleyball team weathered a strong comeback by Virginia Tech to pull out a 3-2 (25-23, 25-13, 19-25, 19-25, 15-13) win on Sunday afternoon at Tully Gym.
The win gives the Seminoles (11-2, 3-0) their 19th straight Atlantic Coast Conference victory dating back to last season. FSU has also won nine consecutive home matches in conference play, with its last loss coming against Georgia Tech on Oct. 2, 2009.
Virginia Tech, which entered the match with quality wins over Missouri and Western Kentucky, nearly stole the match after swinging the momentum in the third set. The Hokies (10-3, 1-2) hitters improved their attacking percentage greatly in the third and four sets, culminating with a .417 hitting percentage in the fourth set.
"After playing as well as we did in the first two games, we tried some different things in game three and changed our players," coach Chris Poole said. "When you have a lot of depth you try to play more of your players, and sometimes it throws your chemistry off a little bit. Virginia Tech took absolute full advantage of that.
"My intention was to continue to play at the same level, and I thought we played too comfortably (in the third and fourth sets). Virginia Tech didn't roll over. We knew they were a good team. It was disappointing to see us take a step back, but I'm extremely proud of the way that we took the adversity and found a way to win. I challenged out team in the fifth set and they responded."
Virginia Tech started off well in the final frame, taking a 2-0 lead on a kill by Felicia Willoughby and a service ace by Justine Record. The most crucial stretch of the match followed for FSU as it took the next seven points. In that span, blocks were recorded by Lauren Young, Stephanie Neville and Visnja Djurdjevic to ignite a defense that had performed so well in the first two sets.
Junior Rachael Morgan and sophomore Sareea Freeman then assisted on another block on an attack by Record to put the Seminoles ahead 11-6. Later, a kill by Jekaterina Stepanova and a service error by Record put FSU at match point leading 14-10.
Virginia Tech continued to show its resilience all afternoon, fighting back to take the next three points. However, a service error by Amy Wengrenovich ended the Hokies' comeback bid.
Morgan posted a strong performance for FSU, finishing with 11 kills, a .588 hitting percentage and five blocks. Djurdjevic led the Seminoles with 13 kills, and added 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
Freeman earned time in all five sets, recording five kills and five blocks. Young also added five blocks to aid FSU's defense against the Hokies' sound offense, helping FSU outblock Virginia Tech, 12-6. The Seminoles' 12 blocks tie for their second-highest of the season.
Sophomore Duygu Duzceler picked up 25 assists, six digs and two service aces. Senior libero Jenna Romanelli added 10 digs.
Virginia Tech's Cara Baarendse spear-headed the comeback with a match-high 19 kills, while Willoughby and Jennifer Wiker recorded 16 kills apiece.
FSU knew it had a tough opponent through the first set, with Virginia Tech hanging around until the very end. A key moment came when FSU called a timeout leading 15-14, and took the next three points to build a manageable lead. FSU later took a 24-21 lead on a kill by Djurdjevic, who then finished off the set with another kill.
The Seminoles took control in the second set, hitting at a .542 clip compared to Virginia Tech's .032 attack percentage. Djurdjevic and Morgan combined for nine kills in the set, while Young added two blocks.
FSU's offense took a dive in the third set, hitting just .086. Setter Erin Leaser posted 14 assists in the frame. The Hokies reeled off six consecutive points to take an early 8-5 lead, and went up 19-12 on a kill by Victoria Hamsher. Record's service ace put the set away to jumpstart a comeback attempt.
The fourth set was Virginia Tech's best offensively, recording a .417 hitting percentage. Leaser, who had 55 assists, recorded 15 of them as well as two kills in the set.
FSU has now won five straight matches against Virginia Tech, as both teams meet again on Oct. 29 in Blacksburg, Va.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 5 11 1 17 0.588 0 1 1 0 1 0 5 0 0 14.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 5 8 4 22 0.182 0 0 2 0 9 0 2 0 0 9.0
6 Stephanie Neville 5 11 3 34 0.235 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 11.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 5 13 5 35 0.229 2 2 0 4 11 2 2 0 0 18.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 2 1 4 0.250 25 2 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 4.0
23 Lauren Young 5 4 1 14 0.214 0 0 0 1 1 0 5 0 0 6.5
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 2 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
7 Fatma Yildirim 2 1 0 3 0.333 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 1.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 0 0 1 0.000 20 0 0 0 7 0 0 1 1 0.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 0 0.000 1 0 1 3 10 0 0 0 0 0.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 1 0 0 1 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
22 Sareea Freeman 5 5 1 15 0.267 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 7.5
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 55 16 146 0.267 48 5 5 9 51 2 20 2 1 72.0
Opp 5 67 28 161 0.242 64 9 11 5 67 1 10 0 2 82.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Tech | |||||
| Florida State |
Volleyball Loses in Five.
Loss to North Carolina snaps 19-match winning streak in the ACC.
CHAPEL HILL, NC - The 14th-ranked Florida State University women's volleyball team waged a competitive battle with North Carolina, but ultimately fell, 3-2 (25-18, 20-25, 25-18, 22-25, 14-16), on Thursday evening at Carmichael Arena.
The loss snaps FSU's unprecedented winning streak of 19 matches in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Seminoles (11-3, 3-1) endured their first ACC loss since falling to Georgia Tech in five sets on Oct. 4, 2009. The loss also snaps FSU's two-match winning streak against the Tar Heels (13-4, 4-0), who now own a nine-match winning streak.
"We came out playing really well but went flat in the second set and let them get their crowd involved," coach Chris Poole said. "They had a very good student section that kept their team motivated. It was a disappointing loss but the ACC has a lot of great teams this year and we are going to be pushed every match.
"We have the target on our backs and we know teams are going to come after us with the best they have. We've got to recover quickly with another match tomorrow night against N.C. State."
FSU is now 6-2 this season away from Tully Gym, with its other loss coming to nationally-ranked Tennessee at the Houston Invitational on Sept. 4.
Having an excellent performance in tonight's loss was sophomore middle blocker Sareea Freeman. The Fresno, Calif., native registered her first career double-double by tying a career high with 10 kills and establishing a new career high with 12 blocks. Freeman also recorded the same amount of kills earlier this season against Kentucky, as well as in last season's five-set win over Wake Forest on Nov. 8, 2009.
Freeman is now the fifth Seminole to record a double-double this season, joining Visnja Djurdjevic, Jekaterina Stepanova, Duygu Duzceler and Patricia Figueiredo. FSU's 19 team blocks also marks its highest of the season.
Junior Rachael Morgan also had a good performance, amassing nine kills, four digs and five blocks. Djurdjevic had her seventh double-double of the year with 12 kills and 18 digs, and Jenna Romanelli had 20 digs while Duygu Duzceler led the Seminoles with 27 assists.
Stepanova led FSU with 13 kills and recorded 16 digs, marking her fourth double-double of the season.
In the fifth set, FSU took an early 4-2 lead on an attack error by Suzanne Haydel. The set was then tied on a kill by Christine Vaughen, followed by a kill from Shelbey Blake and a block by Emily McGee to give UNC a 10-8 lead. FSU fought back and tied the match on blocks by Djurdjevic and Freeman, and then served for match point at 14-13 courtesy of a solo block by Djurdjevic.
Johnston kept UNC's hopes alive with a smash down the middle of the court to tie it at 14-14, and then recorded the winning kill on match point down the right sideline to give the Tar Heels a quality win.
FSU started off well by winning the first set on the strength of five kills by Morgan. The Seminoles recorded 15 kills compared to UNC's 12, but kept the Tar Heels around due to seven attack errors. Up 10-8 in the middle of the set, FSU won the next seven points as Stepanova amassed a solo block and two consecutive kills, and then finished off the set on a kill that was assisted by Patricia Figueiredo.
The Tar Heels came back to take the second set, as McGee and Johnston each recorded five kills apiece. FSU relied on its defense for points in the set, tallying five blocks and just seven kills. After Freeman's kill trimmed FSU's deficit to 10-7, UNC reeled off five straight points on two blocks and three kills, but the Seminoles responded with five points of their own. A block by Morgan and Freeman tied the set at 18-18, and a kill by Morgan then made it 19-19. However, four straight points by UNC were too much to overcome, and Stepanova's attack error, the fifth of the set for FSU, ended the comeback bid.
The Seminoles took the third set as Freeman kept up her good game with three blocks, two kills and an assist. Stepanova registered five kills in the set, and Djurdjevic added four as FSU broke a 12-12 tie by winning seven of the next 10 points to take a 19-15 lead. After Vaughen responded with a kill to make it 19-16, FSU took the next four points and then won the set on a block by Freeman.
UNC showed plenty of fight by winning the fourth set, beginning with a 6-2 lead that eventually became a back-and-forth tussle before UNC broke through with two straight kills by McGee to take a 20-18 lead. FSU responded with a kill by Marija Milosavljevic and block assists by Morgan and Freeman to tie the match at 20-20, and another block by the front line pair tied it once again at 22-22. Johnston produced two final kills within the next three points to give UNC the tying set.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 5 9 3 21 0.286 1 1 0 0 4 0 5 0 0 12.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 5 13 5 51 0.157 1 0 1 0 16 1 0 1 0 14.0
6 Stephanie Neville 5 3 2 29 0.034 2 0 0 0 4 0 6 0 0 6.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 5 12 5 39 0.179 0 2 1 2 18 2 3 0 0 17.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 0 0 1 0.000 27 2 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 2.0
23 Lauren Young 3 1 3 6 -0.333 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2.5
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 3 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 2 0 2 1.000 20 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 1 2.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 0 0.000 1 0 0 0 20 0 0 0 0 0.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 3 6 1 13 0.385 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 6.5
22 Sareea Freeman 5 10 5 18 0.278 1 0 0 0 0 2 10 0 0 17.0
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 56 24 180 0.178 53 5 3 2 79 5 28 1 1 80.0
Opp 5 72 39 204 0.162 69 2 5 5 90 1 10 3 1 80.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| North Carolina |
Young's Defense Powers FSU.
Senior records career-high 12 blocks in strong defensive effort.
RALEIGH, NC - Senior middle blocker Lauren Young produced one of the best single-game performances of her career as she led the 14th-ranked Florida State University women's volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-12, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19) victory over N.C. State on Friday evening at Reynolds Coliseum.
Young recorded a career-high 12 blocks, including 11 block assists, and picked up eight kills in 13 total attacks to highlight FSU's defensive rout. The Seminoles (12-3, 4-1) amassed 13 team blocks on the evening, their third-most this season.
"We won the match, but unfortunately still struggled offensively," coach Chris Poole said. "We have been putting a lot of focus on blocking the last 10 days and that showed with the 32 blocks in two matches. However, our offense went to sleep this weekend and that caused us to struggle. We will come back home, regroup and try to get better this week.
"We have the players and the potential. We will be fine once we get them back on the practice court. The ACC is very good this year and every match is going to be a battle. I was proud of the way Lauren stepped up tonight."
Young's single-match blocking feat comes one night after sophomore Sareea Freeman also recorded 12 blocks, which was a career-high for the talented middle blocker.
Setter Duygu Duzceler posted a career-high five kills as well as 23 assists. The Istanbul, Turkey native also added four digs.
Junior Visnja Djurdjevic recorded yet another double-double for the Garnet and Gold, producing 14 kills and 15 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Senior Jenna Romanelli led the Seminoles with 20 digs, as FSU recorded 62 as a unit for its fourth-highest total this season.
FSU's win over the Wolfpack (11-5, 1-3) marks its 21st consecutive win in the all-time series, which the Seminoles lead 36-5.
The Seminoles recorded a .370 hitting percentage in the first set, as Young stepped up with two kills and four blocks. FSU took a commanding 17-7 lead in the set on an attack error by Margaret Salata, and later won the opening frame on consecutive kills by Freeman.
Duzceler recorded three kills and five assists in a close second set. Becah Fogle's kill gave N.C. State a 16-13 advantage, but block assists by Jekaterina Stepanova and Young later tied the set at 18-18. A costly service error by Salata put FSU ahead at 24-22, and Stepanova's kill gave the Seminoles their second set.
Young produced five blocks in the third set, but N.C. State won the frame on 15 kills. In the fourth set, senior Stephanie Neville arrived with four kills and one block, while Duzceler added 10 assists. After being down in the early portion, Young broke a 13-13 tie with a kill as FSU won 12 of the next 18 points. Djurdjevic's kill ended the match to give the Seminoles a split in their back-to-back matches against North Carolina and N.C. State.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 4 6 2 24 0.167 0 1 0 0 5 0 3 0 0 8.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 4 8 4 21 0.190 1 1 1 1 10 0 2 1 0 10.0
6 Stephanie Neville 4 7 3 24 0.167 0 0 0 1 2 0 5 0 0 9.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 4 14 6 41 0.195 2 1 0 0 15 0 2 0 0 16.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 4 5 0 5 1.000 23 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 1 5.0
23 Lauren Young 4 8 1 13 0.538 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 0 0 14.5
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
7 Fatma Yildirim 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 4 0 0 2 0.000 18 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 1 1.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 4 0 0 0 0.000 2 0 1 2 20 0 0 0 0 0.0
22 Sareea Freeman 4 5 3 10 0.200 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 5.5
=========================================================
6 FSU 4 53 19 140 0.243 46 4 4 4 62 1 24 2 2 70.0
Opp 4 48 28 148 0.135 43 4 6 4 59 1 14 2 4 60.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| North Carolina State |
FSU Tames Tigers.
20th-ranked Seminoles develop offense in key victory over Clemson.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The 20th-ranked Florida State University volleyball team shook off a slow start to defeat Clemson, 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-21), on Friday evening at Tully Gym. The win marks the 10th consecutive home conference victory for FSU.
The Seminoles (13-3, 5-1) lost the first set for just the second time in seven home matches this year, but managed to bounce back as they found their groove offensively. Sophomore middle blocker Sareea Freeman ignited the charge by finishing with nine kills, three blocks and a .571 hitting percentage, while junior setter Patricia Figueiredo showed her marked improvement with a team-high 26 assists and seven digs.
Both players executed offensively the entire evening, as Freeman led FSU with four kills in a crucial second-set win, while Figueiredo combined for 15 assists in the third and fourth sets to aid her offensive hitters.
"Sareea is really settling in and gaining confidence," head coach Chris Poole said following his 615th career victory. "She's only a sophomore and played behind two senior middle blockers last year. She's gaining confidence and realizes she needs to step up big for us.
"Patty is getting better every week. It's very difficult for a setter to come in and take over an offense like that with a limited amount of practice time before the fall. It's a difficult situation because every hitter has a different style of speed and tempo in attacking the ball, and the setter has to figure that out. Patty has improved every week for us and teamed up well with Sareea tonight."
Another noticeable spark was sophomore outside hitter Fatma Yildirim, who recorded eight kills and nine digs as she fended off blockers at the net all match. The Istanbul, Turkey, native finished several sets in authoritative fashion to merit her All-ACC Freshman honors from a year ago.
FSU recorded a .270 hitting percentage, its highest average since boasting a .324 attack percentage at Miami exactly three weeks ago. Helping the cause was junior right-side hitter Rachael Morgan, who finished with a .316 hitting percentage on eight kills with five digs and four blocks.
Junior outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic led the Seminoles with 16 kills, and fell one dig shy of her ninth double-double of the year. Senior Jenna Romanelli finished with 12 digs and tied a season-high with five assists. She remains 70 digs shy of becoming just the 10th player in school history with 1,000 career digs.
The biggest stretch for the Seminoles came in the fourth set following a timeout that saw the Tigers (11-6, 2-4) carry a 16-11 lead. From then on, FSU did not allow Clemson to score consecutive points as it followed the break with six straight points to take a 17-16 advantage, highlighted by two service aces from Djurdjevic. Both Morgan and Djurdjevic finished off Clemson as Morgan recorded four kills down the stretch, and points 24 and 25 were credited to Djurdjevic's kills.
FSU recorded a .371 hitting percentage in a dominant third set, as senior outside hitter Stephanie Neville registered four of her eight kills in the frame. Middle blocker Lauren Young added three kills while Clemson finished with 10 kills and eight attack errors in the set.
Clemson's Sandra Adeleye and Serenat Yaz led the team with 12 kills apiece, while Moneshia Simmons added 11 kills. Setter Hannah Brenner finished with a match-high 38 assists, and Yaz added 16 digs in her double-double effort.
Despite Clemson and FSU being ranked first and second in the conference in blocks, respectively, both teams combined for only 11.5 blocks.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 4 8 2 19 0.316 1 0 0 0 5 1 3 0 0 10.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 1 2 2 8 0.000 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2.0
6 Stephanie Neville 4 8 4 19 0.211 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 8.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 4 16 6 45 0.222 2 3 1 1 9 0 1 0 0 19.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 4 1 0 4 0.250 16 2 0 0 8 0 0 0 1 3.0
22 Sareea Freeman 4 9 1 14 0.571 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 11.0
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 3 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0.0
7 Fatma Yildirim 4 8 2 20 0.300 1 0 1 0 9 0 0 0 0 8.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 4 0 0 0 0.000 26 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 4 0 0 0 0.000 5 1 0 2 12 0 0 0 0 1.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 1 0 0 1 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.5
23 Lauren Young 3 4 1 11 0.273 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 4.5
=========================================================
6 FSU 4 56 18 141 0.270 51 6 2 4 60 2 9 2 1 68.5
Opp 4 50 22 142 0.197 47 4 7 6 56 0 10 1 2 59.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson | ||||
| Florida State |
FSU Swept by Georgia Tech.
Yellow Jacket offense comes up big against FSU.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The 20th-ranked Florida State University volleyball team had its 10-match conference winning streak at home snapped by Georgia Tech, falling 3-0 (24-26, 11-25, 17-25) on Sunday afternoon at Tully Gym.
FSU registered a season-low .072 hitting percentage, while the Yellow Jackets (11-7, 4-3) continued their hot play by posting a .319 attack percentage. Atlantic Coast Conference kills leader Monique Mead paced Georgia Tech with a match-high 17 kills, six digs and six blocks, as FSU found no answer for the talented right-side hitter.
The Seminoles (13-4, 5-2) were held to just five blocks in today's contest, while Georgia Tech doubled their total with 10. Senior setter Mary Ashley Tippins gave her teammates great opportunities at the net throughout the match, posting a double-double with 29 assists and 12 digs.
FSU got off to an auspicious beginning in the first set, building a 13-6 lead after junior right-side hitter Rachael Morgan's kill. The Yellow Jackets bounced right back by winning five of the next six points to trim their deficit to 14-11, but a kill by Jekaterina Stepanova later in the set gave FSU some distance with a 20-16 lead.
"We started off really well again in the match, up 13-6 and seemed to be very focused," head coach Chris Poole said. "We started to make a few mistakes and it is as if it shakes us up mentally in the match. We have seen this a lot this year, but normally we will re-group and pull back out of it. Today we did not."
Georgia Tech continued to battle, and despite FSU serving for the set with a 24-22 lead, the Yellow Jackets won the next four points to take the set as outside hitter Bailey Hunter capped the comeback with a kill.
The Yellow Jacket offense stayed consistent in the second set, finishing with 15 kills compared to just three attack errors for a .500 hitting percentage. FSU fell behind early before facing double-digit deficits through the middle and latter parts of the set. Senior middle blocker Lauren Young did her best to keep the Seminoles afloat, recording one kill and three blocks in the second frame.
Using a new mix of players in the third set, FSU improved offensively but fell victim to the Yellow Jackets' athleticism. Georgia Tech's Asia Stawicka recorded five kills in the set, while FSU sophomore middle blocker Sareea Freeman had two kills and one block. The Seminoles looked to fight back from an early 10-5 hole, but the Yellow Jackets followed with seven unanswered points. Consecutive kills by Stawicka later in the frame ended the match and improved Georgia Tech's series record against FSU to 29-11.
"We will keep working hard and this team will get better," Poole added. "We have the talent to turn it back around. We just have to get them relaxed and playing with confidence consistently."
Visnja Djurdjevic led the Seminoles with seven kills and recorded five digs and two blocks. Young tallied a team-high four blocks.
The Seminoles look to regroup next week as they face a two-match road trip at Boston College and Maryland.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 3 3 3 8 0.000 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 4.0
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 3 2 11 0.091 0 0 0 2 7 0 1 0 0 3.5
6 Stephanie Neville 3 4 2 16 0.125 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 7 8 26 -0.038 3 2 1 0 5 0 2 0 0 10.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 1 0 2 0.500 10 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1.0
23 Lauren Young 3 3 3 11 0.000 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 5.0
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 2 0 0 1 0.000 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0.0
7 Fatma Yildirim 2 1 0 2 0.500 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 0 0 0 0.000 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 2 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 0 0.0
22 Sareea Freeman 3 3 1 6 0.333 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.5
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 25 19 83 0.072 22 2 4 4 26 0 10 0 1 32.0
Opp 3 45 16 91 0.319 41 4 9 2 36 1 18 1 0 59.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Tech | |||
| Florida State |
FSU Survives B.C..
Yildirim, Neff Spark Seminoles in Five-Set Win.
CHESTNUT HILL, MA - The 22nd-ranked Florida State University volleyball team received big efforts from junior Visnja Djurdjevic, sophomore Fatma Yildirim and freshman Ashley Neff in defeating Boston College, 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 15-12), on Friday evening at Power Gym.
FSU improved to 11-1 all-time against Boston College behind the offense of Djurdjevic, who posted a season-high 21 kills and recorded a .349 hitting percentage. The Serbia native also picked up her ninth double-double of the season after adding 12 digs. Her 21 kills are the most by a Seminole this season, breaking teammate Jekaterina Stepanova's mark of 20 set on Sept. 10 in a five-set victory over Kansas State.
Yildirim aided the Seminoles (14-4, 6-2) by racking up a season-high 11 kills with seven digs, as she earned time in all five sets. Neff made an auspicious debut as a Seminole by leading the team with five blocks.
"Boston College played with a lot of heart tonight," head coach Chris Poole said following his 616th career win. "They were digging attacks that normally go down for us and pushed us into long rallies. Ashley Neff got on the court for the first time this year and led the team with five blocks. Ashley has been doing well in practice and we have struggled in blocking this year."
Junior right-side hitter Rachael Morgan had one of her best offensive performances of the season, tying a season high with 14 kills while amassing a .423 attack percentage. Morgan also had the same amount of kills earlier this season in a 3-1 win over Oklahoma.
Sophomore Duygu Duzceler tallied 29 assists on the evening, tying for her third-most this season. Fellow setter Patricia Figueiredo added 24 assists and seven digs.
Senior libero Jenna Romanelli tied Djurdjevic for the team lead with 12 digs, leaving her 52 shy of becoming the 10th FSU player in school history to record 1,000 career digs. She also added four assists.
After the Eagles (8-13, 0-8) mounted a comeback in the fourth frame, it was senior Stephanie Neville's poise in the fifth set that made the difference for FSU. The Cambridge, Ontario, native recorded four decisive kills in the final set, starting with one from Romanelli that cut FSU's deficit to 11-10. The match quickly swung in FSU's favor when B.C.'s Tsvetelina Dureva's recorded an attack error, followed by another error from Cagla Sen to put FSU up 12-11.
After Dureva rebounded with a kill to tie the match at 12-12, Neville took over. She put her stamp on the match with three consecutive kills to prevent the upset. Overall, Neville finished with nine kills and three blocks.
FSU was most efficient in the third set, recording a .435 attack percentage with 15 kills. Djurdjevic and Yildirim each recorded four kills, while Morgan added three as FSU built its biggest lead at 23-14 on a kill by Morgan off a set by Figueiredo. Djurdjevic finished off the set with a kill.
"Visnja played very well and Fatma also had another very good match," Poole added. "We are using a lot of different players right now trying to find the combination we need to be successful. The last couple of weeks have really knocked us off balance and we need to find ourselves again on the court."
Djurdjevic single-handedly carried the Seminoles in the second set, recording eight kills while Morgan added five.
Dureva led B.C. with 27 kills, while Val Mattaliano added 19. Sen led all players with 55 assists.
FSU ends its weekend road trip at Maryland on Sunday afternoon at the Comcast Center Pavilion in College Park, Md. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m.
"This team gets along great and the off-court chemistry is very good," Poole said. "We just need to trust each other on the court better. Maryland is a good team and we are going to have to come ready to play."
The Seminoles are now in a tie for second-place in the conference, sitting just one game behind leader Duke. Maryland fell tonight to Miami, 3-1.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 5 14 3 26 0.423 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 15.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 1 1 0 6 0.167 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1.5
6 Stephanie Neville 5 9 2 26 0.269 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 10.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 5 21 6 43 0.349 1 2 2 0 12 0 1 0 0 23.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 0 0 1 0.000 29 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 0 0.0
22 Sareea Freeman 5 2 2 8 0.000 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 3.5
---Substitutes---
7 Fatma Yildirim 5 11 2 27 0.333 1 0 0 2 7 0 2 1 0 12.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 0 1 1 -1.000 24 1 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 1.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 0 0.000 4 0 1 2 12 0 0 0 0 0.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 2 2 1 5 0.200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.0
14 Ashley Neff 5 4 4 12 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 6.5
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 64 21 155 0.277 60 4 3 5 48 0 16 5 0 76.0
Opp 5 71 31 168 0.238 64 5 8 4 63 2 18 5 2 87.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Boston College |
Missed Chances Plague FSU.
Seminoles Fall on the Road to Maryland.
COLLEGE PARK, MD - After taking control with a 13-11 lead in the fifth set, the 22nd-ranked Florida State University volleyball team was unable to hold on as it lost to conference opponent Maryland, 3-2 (25-21, 26-28, 25-19, 18-25, 14-16), on Sunday afternoon at the Comcast Center Pavilion.
"We were up three points late in the second set and up late in set No. 5 and let them both slip away," head coach Chris Poole said. "We can play great at times but are struggling under pressure."
For the second straight contest, the Seminoles (14-5, 6-3) trailed 10-6 in the fifth set. Following a timeout, FSU mounted a small comeback by winning four consecutive points that included a kill by sophomore Sareea Freeman and a service ace by senior Jenna Romanelli.
After Maryland's Mary Cushman recorded a kill to regain the lead at 11-10, FSU once again won three consecutive points. Remy McBain picked up a ball handling error, sophomore Duygu Duzceler followed with a service ace and junior Jekaterina Stepanova came up with a big kill to put FSU in winning position with a two-point lead late in the set.
However, Maryland seized momentum following a timeout of its own, winning the next three points to force match point. After McBain's attack error pulled the match even at 14-14, the Terrapins (14-7, 5-4) walked away with the win by winning the next two points, which included a kill by Maddi Lee.
FSU was headed toward one of its better offensive performances in ACC play this year, which included a .483 hitting percentage in the third set. But the Seminoles struggled in the final two frames, combining for just 15 kills while Maryland totaled 26 in sets four and five.
Three Seminoles finished with double-digit kills, led by Visnja Djurdjevic's 16. The junior outside hitter added 14 digs and tied her season-high with five blocks to give her 10 double-doubles this season. She also finished with a .314 attack percentage.
Morgan also had a sound offensive performance, hitting .375 and finishing with 11 kills compared to just two attack errors. Senior Stephanie Neville registered 12 kills on the afternoon, her third-highest total in nine ACC matches this season.
Senior middle blocker Lauren Young came through with a team-leading eight blocks, her second-most this year. Senior Jenna Romanelli established her season-high with 24 digs, leaving her only 28 digs away from totaling 1,000 for her career.
Duzceler recorded 29 assists for the second consecutive match, while junior Patricia Figueiredo added 19 for the Seminoles.
FSU is now 4-2 in five-set matches this season, showing wins over Kansas State, then-No. 16 Kentucky, Virginia Tech and Boston College.
"This is a great group of girls," Poole added. "They want to do well and are working hard. We can't keep making the same position mistakes. This group can be good but it's taking too long to get our offense and defense working together."
The Seminoles started off strong in the first set, hitting 15 kills and a .353 attack percentage. Although they trailed most of the set, a ball handling error by McBain tied it at 16-16. A service ace by Duzceler and a kill by Neville expanded the lead to 19-16, and two more kills by Neville gave the Seminoles a 21-18 advantage. The set ended when Fatma Yildirim recorded a kill to start FSU off right.
FSU never trailed in the third set, and used an ace by Stepanova to take a 16-9 lead midway through the frame. Djurdjevic powered FSU in the set, recording four kills and two blocks while Stepanova registered five kills as the Seminoles racked up 16 as a team to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 5 11 2 24 0.375 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 12.0
6 Stephanie Neville 5 12 5 33 0.212 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 12.5
7 Fatma Yildirim 4 4 6 17 -0.118 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 4.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 5 16 5 35 0.314 0 1 3 1 14 0 5 0 0 19.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 0 0 1 0.000 29 2 2 0 3 0 0 1 0 2.0
23 Lauren Young 5 4 1 8 0.375 0 0 0 0 2 0 8 0 0 8.0
---Substitutes---
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 4 9 2 28 0.250 0 1 1 1 4 1 0 0 0 11.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 1 1 2 0.000 19 1 1 0 5 0 0 1 0 2.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 0 0.000 6 1 1 3 24 0 0 0 0 1.0
14 Ashley Neff 2 0 0 5 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1.5
22 Sareea Freeman 3 3 1 9 0.222 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 4.0
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 60 23 162 0.228 55 6 10 5 60 3 18 4 0 78.0
Opp 5 69 28 169 0.243 62 5 11 6 69 4 18 0 3 87.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Maryland |
Seminoles Fall in Three.
Loss snaps nine-match winning streak versus Demon Deacons.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The 24th-ranked Florida State University volleyball team fell to Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Wake Forest, 3-0 (19-25, 18-25, 20-25), on Friday evening at Tully Gym.
Entering the contest, FSU owned a nine-match winning streak against Wake Forest that was its second-longest active streak against any conference opponent. Playing without one of the ACC's top players in junior outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic, the Seminoles (14-6, 6-4) struggled offensively while the Demon Deacons (13-7, 6-4) used 15 kills by junior Kadija Fornah to get a key road win.
Filling in well for Djurdjevic's absence was senior outside hitter Stephanie Neville, who used 11 kills and a .417 hitting percentage to pace FSU's offense. The Seminoles, however, were only able to muster a .169 hitting percentage, while Wake Forest hit at a .301 clip.
Middle blocker Lauren Young joined Neville in having a solid all-around performance. The senior from Ben Wheeler, Texas, provided plenty of noticeable energy and recorded six kills and a .455 attack percentage for the Seminoles.
Defensively, the Demon Deacons showed a greater propensity for batting away any FSU attacks, registering eight team blocks while the Seminoles recorded only 3.5. The total is FSU's lowest of the season, as it entered the match at second in the ACC in blocks per set.
Senior Jenna Romanelli's 10 digs leaves her only four away from gaining sole possession of 10th place on the school's career list. Romanelli is also just 18 digs shy of reaching 1,000 for her career, as she shows 982 in less than four seasons of work.
Sophomore Duygu Duzceler led FSU with 22 assists, while junior Patricia Figueiredo added 15. Both players also combined for 12 digs, while junior Jekaterina Stepanova led the team with 12 digs.
FSU got off to a slow start after recording a .073 attack percentage in the first set. Duzceler led the team with seven assists as the primary setter, but Fornah recorded a team-best five kills in the frame. FSU kept the set close with five consecutive points to trim its deficit to 14-13 midway through, but Wake responded with three points of its own to take a 17-13 advantage. FSU stayed close by cutting it to 20-18 on a kill by Rachael Morgan, but Wake won five of the next six points to take the set.
Young gave the Seminoles a spark off the bench in set two, but it wasn't enough as FSU fell behind the entire frame. Young provided some offense with five kills, and Duzceler added 10 assists as the Seminoles improved their hitting percentage at .268 in the set. A late kill by Andrea Beck and a block by Kristen White gave Wake its largest lead at 23-14 in the set, and the frame ended on a kill by Fornah to put the Demon Deacons ahead in the match, 2-0. Wake then used 17 kills in the third set to power past FSU in a clean sweep.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 3 9 7 22 0.091 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 9.0
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 4 1 23 0.130 0 0 1 1 12 0 2 0 0 5.0
6 Stephanie Neville 3 11 1 24 0.417 1 0 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 11.5
7 Fatma Yildirim 3 4 4 21 0.000 0 0 2 1 7 0 1 0 0 4.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 0 0 1 0.000 22 1 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 1.0
22 Sareea Freeman 3 6 4 15 0.133 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 6.5
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 2 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 1 0 3 0.333 15 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 4 10 0 0 0 0 0.0
14 Ashley Neff 1 0 1 3 -0.333 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
23 Lauren Young 2 6 1 11 0.455 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 7.0
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 41 19 123 0.179 39 1 3 6 50 0 7 1 0 45.5
Opp 3 44 10 113 0.301 39 6 4 1 48 1 14 2 0 58.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | |||
| Florida State |
Seminoles Find A Way.
Undermanned Florida State knocks off conference leader Duke.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Being forced to play without two of its top players, the 24th-ranked Florida State University volleyball team managed to pull off a thrilling 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 15-13) victory in comeback fashion over conference-leading Duke on Sunday afternoon at Tully Gym.
The "Paint it Pink" match turned out to be a memorable one, as the Seminoles (15-6, 7-4) charged back from a 2-0 hole to pull off an inspired victory. FSU did not have junior outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic for the second consecutive match, and talented junior right-side hitter Rachael Morgan also could not play due to a foot injury.
Filling in FSU's glaring holes was junior outside hitter Jekaterina Stepanova, a Riga, Latvia, native who played one of her best matches of the season. Stepanova recorded a team-high 20 kills and shouldered the offensive load for a depleted Seminoles squad. She also added 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Stepanova had a comparable performance on Sept. 10 against Kansas State when she amassed 20 kills and 17 digs, but with the circumstances at hand, she arguably had her top performance of the season today.
"Kate was a two-time All-American at the junior college level. She's found out that it's a huge difference at this level," head coach Chris Poole said. "We knew Kate was very talented, and she's been trying to find her game and her confidence. Today I think she found those two things."
Stepanova's 20 kills tied for the second-most this season by a Seminole, trailing only Djurdjevic's 21 kills against Boston College last weekend.
Senior outside hitter Stephanie Neville turned in another impressive performance, totaling 16 kills, a .429 hitting percentage and five blocks. The Cambridge, Ontario, native had only one error in 35 total attacks, and has posted double-digit kills in her last three matches.
Senior Jenna Romanelli reached a milestone in her fulfilling career, becoming the 10th player in school history to record 1,000 career digs when she dug a ball in the fourth set that was set by Patricia Figueiredo and killed by Neville. Romanelli finished with a season-high 26 digs, and now has 1,008 for her career.
Playing a vital role in today's victory was freshman middle blocker Ashley Neff. The Kennesaw, Ga., native broke out with nine kills, a .438 hitting percentage and tied fellow middle blocker Lauren Young for the team lead with six blocks. Also contributing well was sophomore Fatma Yildirim, who had nine kills and eight digs.
"Physically and emotionally we had so many different adversities," Poole added. "Sometimes you'll have a player out with an ankle or some other injury. We're dealing with a death for someone on our team as well as other people with injuries. It's like we're being hit with one big swirl. I don't think I've ever had a win of this magnitude when battling so much adversity."
The fifth set swung in the favor of both teams at different instances. FSU held a 3-2 lead on a kill by Stepanova, but Duke came back with three consecutive points, highlighted by back-to-back blocks to take a 5-3 lead. Yildirim and Stepanova responded with kills to tie the set, but Duke would eventually take a 9-7 advantage on a kill by Christiana Gray.
After Duke took a 12-10 lead on one of Sophia Dunworth's 22 kills, FSU called a much-needed timeout. The intermission ignited a rally as Stepanova and Yildirim recorded consecutive kills, and a crucial block by Neville and Neff gave the Seminoles their first lead since early in the set. Becci Burling's kill tied the match at 13-13, but a Neville kill and an exciting match-ending block by Neff and Yildirim gave the Seminoles the win.
FSU's win marks its third straight victory over Duke, tying for its longest streak in the all-time series. Both wins in 2009 also came in five-set thrillers. The victory gives FSU its best RPI win of the season thus far, as the Blue Devils (17-4, 9-2) came in with the seventh-best RPI in the nation. The Seminoles now boast five Top-50 RPI wins this season, according to the latest ratings.
"Everyone played uptight Friday," Poole said about his short-handed team's Friday night loss to Wake Forest. "Each individual was trying to make up for Visnja. Instead of each individual making up for her, I wanted each one try to do a little something better for the team. Today each player contributed and that is why we got the win."
Following the 10-minute intermission after the second set, FSU rode the offense of Neville and Stepanova in attempting to come back from two sets down. Neville recorded six kills in the frame, while Stepanova had five as FSU jumped out to a 12-6 lead on a kill by Neff. The Seminoles were able to combat Duke's rally, as Young and Stepanova recorded a crucial block late in the set to make it 23-19. Following another kill by Neville, Burling had an attack error to end the set.
The fourth set started off like the first two, with Duke taking a quick 5-2 advantage. FSU then ran off four consecutive points that were highlighted by kills from Neff and Neville. The set featured several lead changes, but the turning point came when FSU won five consecutive points to break a tie and take a 20-15 lead. Young then stepped up with back-to-back kills to give the Seminoles a 22-16 lead, and a service error by Nailah Waterfield tied the match at 2-2.
FSU's hitters were given plenty to work with today by setters Duygu Duzceler and Figueiredo. Duzceler had 28 assists and 12 digs for her third double-double of the year, while Figueiredo added 24 assists and seven digs.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 5 20 8 49 0.245 0 0 0 1 12 0 3 0 0 21.5
6 Stephanie Neville 5 16 1 35 0.429 1 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 18.5
7 Fatma Yildirim 5 9 4 25 0.200 1 0 0 0 8 0 2 0 0 10.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 4 3 3 25 0.000 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 0 0 3 0.000 28 1 0 0 12 0 0 0 1 1.0
23 Lauren Young 5 5 2 15 0.200 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 1 0 8.5
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 4 0 0 0 0.000 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 1 0 1 1.000 24 3 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 4.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 0 0.000 5 0 0 2 26 0 0 0 0 0.0
14 Ashley Neff 5 9 2 16 0.438 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 0 12.0
22 Sareea Freeman 2 0 1 4 -0.250 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0.5
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 63 21 173 0.243 60 5 1 5 70 1 23 3 1 80.5
Opp 5 73 26 190 0.247 68 5 10 5 77 1 18 0 1 88.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | |||||
| Florida State |
FSU Drops to Virginia Tech.
Seminoles nearly come from two sets behind before falling in the fifth.
BLACKSBURG, VA - Another valiant effort by the 25th-ranked Florida State University volleyball team was spoiled as it fell in the fifth set at Virginia Tech, 3-2 (15-25, 25-27, 25-20, 25-23, 15-13), on Friday evening at Cassel Coliseum.
The Seminoles (15-7, 7-5) were done in by Justine Record's 26 kills and 20 digs, while Cara Baarendse added 18 kills. Junior outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic returned to the lineup and made an impact with her 11th double-double of the season, registering 16 kills and 18 digs.
FSU sorely missed the services of junior right-side hitter Rachael Morgan, who had 11 kills, a .588 hitting percentage and five blocks against the Hokies (15-7, 6-6) in their last meeting on Sept. 26.
"I'm very proud of the way the team came back again, but we still shot ourselves in the foot at the wrong time," coach Chris Poole said. "We were up big in set two and up late 23-20 but didn't make the plays at the end of the set. We definitely missed Rachael again tonight."
Stephanie Neville continued to play well for FSU, tallying 13 kills, a .270 hitting percentage, six digs and four blocks. Junior outside hitter Jekaterina Stepanova had her sixth double-double of the year, showing 15 kills and 10 digs.
Senior middle blocker Lauren Young added seven kills for the Seminoles, while junior setter Patricia Figueiredo led the team with 24 assists. Sophomore Duygu Duzceler had 23 assists, and senior Jenna Romanelli had 18 digs to pass former player Latoya Washington for ninth on FSU's all-time list.
Until the fifth set, FSU struggled offensively for most of the night. The Seminoles recorded a .181 hitting percentage, while Virginia Tech hit at an impressive .324 clip. The Hokies also outblocked FSU, 14-6, to create a big difference in the match.
"Credit Virginia Tech for playing really hard and coming back in the second and fifth sets to get the win," Poole said. "We will keep working hard and try to get better. This team still has a lot to play for and a lot of young players getting valuable experience."
An entertaining fifth set saw FSU jump out to an early 3-1 lead on kills by Neville and Djurdjevic as well as an attack error by Record. Five lead changes occurred in the set, as both teams were knotted at 10-10 late in the set. An attack error by Record then gave FSU an 11-10, but a subsequent timeout by Virginia Tech was followed by a kill by Victoria Hamsher to tie the match again.
Virginia Tech served for match point at 14-12, but FSU stayed relentless on a kill by Stepanova. The match came to a close when Jennifer Wiker and Hamsher recorded a block to turn around last month's outcome and give the Hokies a five-set win.
FSU is now 5-3 in five-set matches this season.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 5 15 6 44 0.205 2 1 0 1 10 0 1 2 0 16.5
6 Stephanie Neville 5 13 3 37 0.270 0 0 0 0 6 0 4 0 0 15.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 5 16 11 57 0.088 0 1 0 0 18 0 0 0 0 17.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 1 0 2 3 -0.667 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 1 0 2 0.500 23 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 1.0
23 Lauren Young 5 7 2 13 0.385 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 8.0
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 2 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 2 0 3 0.667 24 1 0 0 6 0 0 0 2 3.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 2 0.000 3 0 0 1 18 0 0 0 0 0.0
14 Ashley Neff 5 2 1 10 0.100 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 4.5
22 Sareea Freeman 4 2 1 6 0.167 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.0
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 58 26 177 0.181 52 3 0 3 65 1 10 3 2 67.0
Opp 5 78 20 179 0.324 74 3 17 3 77 5 18 2 2 95.0
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Virginia Tech |
FSU Suffers Five-Set Loss.
Nearly comes back from two sets down before losing at Virginia.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - Big efforts by outside hitters Visnja Djurdjevic and Stephanie Neville were not enough as the 25th-ranked Florida State University volleyball team lost in five sets to Virginia, 3-2 (18-25, 13-25, 25-18, 25-19, 14-16), on Sunday afternoon at Memorial Gym.
Djurdjevic led the Seminoles (15-8, 7-6) with 20 kills and added a season-high 22 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. Djurdjevic also finished with a .302 hitting percentage, and tied her season high with four service aces.
Neville continues to lead FSU offensively, finishing with a season-high 17 kills, a .317 attack percentage, five digs and four blocks. Senior libero Jenna Romanelli recorded 27 digs, also a season high, to give her 1,053 for her career. She needs just two more digs to move past former player Deanna Bosschaert (1991-94) for eighth place on FSU's career digs list.
Sophomore outside hitter Fatma Yildirim had one of her better performances this season, posting season highs of 12 kills and 15 digs. Freshman middle blocker Ashley Neff also contributed with nine blocks, while sophomore Sareea Freeman added six kills and three blocks.
Setter Duygu Duzceler established her season high with 31 assists, while sophomore Patricia Figueiredo added 24. FSU recorded 61 assists as a team, tying for their most this season.
"It's been three matches in a row that we have been down 2-0 and then fought back," head coach Chris Poole said. "I'm proud of the way they are fighting to come back, but it is hard to come all the way back on the road. We are struggling to replace Rachael (Morgan) right now as we do not have another player with her experience to replace her."
For the sixth time in 13 Atlantic Coast Conference matches, FSU was forced to play five sets. The Cavaliers (12-11, 6-7) took an early 5-3 lead in the final frame on a block by Sydney Hill and McKenzie Adams, but FSU fought back with a block by Neff and Neville and later a kill by Yildirim to take a 6-5 advantage.
Virginia scored three consecutive points on kills by Simon Asque and a service ace by Emily Rottman. A ball-handling error by Virginia's Rachael Gray cut FSU's deficit to 11-10, and a kill by Djurdjevic kept FSU in the set at 13-11. Yildirim and Neville followed later with kills that tied the match at 13-13 and 14-14, respectively, but kills by Asque and Adams gave Virginia its first win over FSU since Sept. 20, 2007 - a span of six matches.
Asque led the Cavaliers with 20 kills, while Jessica O'Shoney added 14. Setter Beth Wildermuth led all players with 49 assists.
"Our confidence has really taken a hit over the last few weeks and we are continuing to adjust our lineup based on who is healthy," Poole added. "I believe that if we can overcome the adversity it will make us a better team and program in the future."
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 2 2 3 12 -0.083 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 2.5
6 Stephanie Neville 5 17 4 41 0.317 0 0 0 0 5 0 4 0 0 19.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 5 20 4 53 0.302 4 0 2 2 22 0 2 0 0 21.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 0 0 0 0.000 31 3 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 3.0
22 Sareea Freeman 5 6 3 17 0.176 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 7.5
23 Lauren Young 5 2 1 9 0.111 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 4.5
---Substitutes---
7 Fatma Yildirim 4 12 4 33 0.242 0 1 0 1 15 0 2 1 0 14.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 1 2 4 -0.250 24 0 2 0 6 0 0 0 1 1.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 0 0.000 2 0 0 3 27 0 0 0 0 0.0
14 Ashley Neff 5 1 0 3 0.333 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 2 0 5.5
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 61 21 172 0.233 61 4 4 9 87 1 24 3 1 78.0
Opp 5 68 20 194 0.247 63 9 6 4 85 1 8 2 2 82.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Virginia |
Seminoles Sting Georgia Tech.
Florida State defeats Yellow Jackets in three sets for big road win.
ATLANTA, GA - The Florida State University volleyball team picked up one of its biggest conference wins of the season as it earned a flawless 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-18) victory over Georgia Tech on Friday evening in front of 1,013 fans at O'Keefe Gymnasium.
In one of their more complete efforts of the season, the Seminoles (16-8, 8-6) were powered by their 13.5 blocks on defense, while also using an efficient .290 hitting percentage to ride past one of the ACC's best offensive groups in the Yellow Jackets (15-11, 8-6). FSU's high percentage on offense is its best since hitting .324 in the conference-opener at Miami on Sept. 18.
The Seminole's 13.5 blocks are also their most in a three-set match this season, and their third-highest total overall. The two highest outputs this season of 19 and 15 against North Carolina and Kansas State, respectively, came in five-set matches.
Tonight's victory puts FSU into a third-place tie with Georgia Tech in the ACC standings. The Seminoles also exacted a bit of revenge on the Yellow Jackets, falling to them in 3-0 fashion on Oct. 10 in Tallahassee. It was at that point in the season where FSU began to suffer some unfortunate outside circumstances, which may now be in the rearview mirror after tonight.
"The adversity that we had to face in the month of October started on the weekend we were home with Georgia Tech," head coach Chris Poole said. "The team has kept a great attitude through everything and continues to believe. I'm very proud of the girls and the way they kept pushing tonight with a large noisy crowd."
Juniors Jekaterina Stepanova and Visnja Djurdjevic each led FSU with 11 kills apiece. The Seminoles earned their first three-set victory in over a month, when they defeated Virginia on Sept. 24. Djurdjevic hit .304 and added four digs, while senior Stephanie Neville had another fine performance with seven kills, a .333 hitting percentage, four digs and four blocks.
The combination of middle blockers Ashley Neff and Lauren Young as well as new right-side hitter Sareea Freeman provided plenty of mayhem for the Yellow Jackets. Neff, a freshman from Kennesaw, Ga., led the Seminoles with seven blocks. Young and Freeman added six blocks apiece as Georgia Tech managed to hit at just a .113 clip, the fourth-lowest total FSU has allowed this season.
"We played the way we did the first six weeks of the season," Poole added. "It was nice to see the team step up. Sareea is getting more comfortable in Rachael (Morgan's) position, which will be a key for us the next few weeks."
Senior Jenna Romanelli led the team with 12 assists, while setters Duygu Duzceler and Patricia Figueiredo had 19 and 17 assists, respectively.
The first set saw FSU hit at a .344 clip while recording 15 kills to make a strong opening impression. Stepanova recorded seven kills in the set as FSU went neck-and-neck with the Yellow Jackets. A big play came when Djurdjevic recorded a kill to break a 19-19 tie, which was followed by a Georgia Tech attack error and a block by Neff.
Neville recorded four kills and two blocks to pace FSU in the second set, as the Seminoles posted five blocks and 15 kills. Once again, both teams hung tough throughout the frame, but a block by Freeman and Neff ended Georgia Tech's chances of tying the match in the second set.
FSU ran away with the third set, as Georgia Tech recorded eight kills and nine attacks errors for a -.037 hitting percentage. Duzceler had seven assists in the frame, while Djurdjevic led FSU with four kills.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 11 6 28 0.179 1 0 1 1 6 0 1 0 0 11.5
6 Stephanie Neville 3 7 1 18 0.333 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 0 0 9.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 11 4 23 0.304 1 0 1 1 4 0 2 0 0 12.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 0 0 1 0.000 19 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 1.0
22 Sareea Freeman 3 5 2 8 0.375 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 8.0
23 Lauren Young 3 3 0 5 0.600 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 6.0
---Substitutes---
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 1 0 1 1.000 17 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 1 1 1 3 12 0 0 0 0 1.0
14 Ashley Neff 3 4 2 9 0.222 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 8.0
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 42 15 93 0.290 41 2 4 6 31 1 25 0 0 57.5
Opp 3 36 25 97 0.113 35 6 6 2 31 1 12 2 0 49.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Georgia Tech |
Clemson Tops Florida State.
Seminoles find difficulty on offense in road loss to Tigers.
CLEMSON, SC - A sluggish night offensively led the Florida State University volleyball team to a 3-0 (20-25, 18-25, 19-25) loss at Clemson on Saturday evening at Jervy Gymnasium.
After hitting .290 in a key victory the night before at Georgia Tech, the Seminoles (16-9, 8-7) struggled against a Clemson unit that recorded nine team blocks. FSU was held to a .140 attack percentage, while the Tigers' (15-11, 6-8) Sandra Adeleye recorded 11 kills in 22 attacks to spark her team to a .273 hitting percentage.
"We played one of our very best matches last night but were completely out of sync tonight," head coach Chris Poole said. "There should be no excuses to play so flat. There is plenty of talent and they haven't shown that at times this year. However, we have been plagued with inconsistency all year."
FSU, which defeated Clemson by a 3-1 score earlier this season, was led by the offense of junior outside hitter Jekaterina Stepanova. The Riga, Latvia, native continued her good stretch with 10 kills in 22 attacks and 10 digs, marking her seventh double-double of the year.
Senior Lauren Young had six kills and a .273 hitting percentage, and led FSU with two blocks. The Seminoles' three team blocks are their lowest of the season.
Visnja Djurdjevic recorded nine kills and 10 digs, and Stephanie Neville had six kills of her own. Setter Patricia Figueiredo led the team with 16 assists, while Duygu Duzceler followed with 15.
FSU got off to a slow start in the first set, although they were sparked by Young's four kills and two blocks. FSU trailed 15-8 before going on a run of eight unanswered points that was capped by a block from Young and Sareea Freeman. Clemson bounced back by winning six of the next seven points, and put FSU away on a set-ending block by Alexa Rand and Moneshia Simmons.
A tough second set was highlighted by a .050 hitting percentage from FSU. Clemson's Serenat Yaz led her team with six kills as the Tigers eventually pulled away late to take a 2-0 advantage.
The Seminoles took an early 6-3 lead in the third set, but Clemson fired back with a 12-6 run to take control of the final frame. Stepanova registered six kills in the set, but Clemson compiled 15 kills in 33 attacks to make things difficult for FSU's defense, and came away with a clean sweep of the match.
"We still have a lot to play for this season," Poole said. "If we can reach 21 wins we still have a chance for the NCAA Tournament with a lot of young players getting critical playing time."
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 10 4 22 0.273 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 1 0 10.0
6 Stephanie Neville 3 6 2 17 0.235 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 9 9 36 0.000 1 1 1 1 10 0 1 0 0 10.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 0 1 2 -0.500 15 1 0 0 7 0 0 0 1 1.0
22 Sareea Freeman 3 3 1 12 0.167 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.5
23 Lauren Young 3 6 3 11 0.273 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 7.0
---Substitutes---
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 0 0 0 0.000 16 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 3 0 1 3 10 0 0 0 0 0.0
14 Ashley Neff 3 3 1 14 0.143 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.5
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 37 21 114 0.140 35 2 4 5 39 0 6 2 1 42.0
Opp 3 44 14 110 0.273 41 5 4 2 48 3 12 1 0 58.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Clemson |
FSU Scores Big Win.
Seminoles defeat North Carolina in five sets for quality victory.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - A relentless effort by the Florida State University volleyball team propelled it to a 3-2 (25-18, 25-20, 21-25, 18-25, 15-12) victory over second-place North Carolina on Friday evening at Tully Gym.
"I was very proud of the way we fought back in set five," head coach Chris Poole said following his 619th career win. "Volleyball is a huge momentum sport. We played well in the first two games, lost the momentum in the third and fourth, and I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to pick it back up."
Big plays by outside hitters Visnja Djurdjevic and Jekaterina Stepanova allowed the Seminoles (17-9, 9-7) to edge the Tar Heels (21-8, 12-4) in a nail-biting fifth set. A key turning point in the match came late when North Carolina's Emily McGee recorded a kill to tie the set at 11-11. Stepanova, however, came right back and hit a missile that ricocheted off McGee for a kill, then followed with another giant kill to put FSU ahead at 13-11.
"Those two players played well in set No. 5," Poole added. "They were a big difference. In the third and fourth sets we struggled passing and communicating. But this was certainly a big win for us considering UNC is No. 17 in the RPI and beat us earlier this year."
UNC came right back in the fifth with a kill by Suzanne Haydel, but Cayla Shortley proceeded to foot fault on the next serve to give the Seminoles match point. Junior Patricia Figueiredo ended the suspense with a well-placed service ace to give FSU an important victory over the 17th-ranked RPI squad.
FSU now has six wins over the current Top 50 RPI teams, which includes a five-set win over No. 8 Duke.
Djurdjevic finished with 18 kills and 13 digs for her 13th double-double of the season. She also added three service aces, entering tonight's contest tied for the fourth-most service aces per set in the ACC. She had five of her kills in the final frame.
Djurdjevic now has 317 kills this season, within striking distance of Mira Djuric's 320 from last season and Lauren Richardson's 321 from the 2009 season. Djurdjevic has also missed two of FSU's 26 matches.
FSU relented an early 2-0 advantage, but stormed through the first two sets of the match because of its defense. On the evening, the Seminoles recorded 14.5 blocks and held the talented Tar Heels to a .200 attack percentage. UNC recorded a .000 percentage in the first set and just a .150 hitting percentage in the second frame.
FSU's 14.5 blocks are its third-most this season.
Senior Lauren Young made her presence felt with a match-high nine blocks, six kills and a .455 hitting percentage. Setter Duygu Duzceler recorded 27 assists and 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the year, and managed to find some open space on the opposing court by mustering three kills.
Stepanova and Stephanie Neville added eight kills apiece, while Neville had five blocks and Stepanova posted nine digs. Senior Jenna Romanelli had 18 digs, moving her up two spots to sixth place on the school's career list with 1,093. She is now 57 shy of tying Nancy Gaspadarek (1986-89) for fifth all-time.
Coupled with tonight's ACC matchups, FSU sits in a five-way tie for third place in the conference with Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia Tech and Maryland. The Seminoles have both the Hurricane and Terrapins on their remaining home schedule to finish out the season.
FSU recorded six blocks in set No. 1, helping offset its low number of kills (8) in the first frame. Young recorded five blocks of her own in just the first set, as FSU jumped out to a 14-4 lead on a service ace by Figueiredo, her first of two. UNC fought back to reduce its deficit to 22-18, but FSU won the next three points courtesy of two attack errors by the Tar Heels.
The Seminole offense came alive in the second set, recording 14 kills and just five errors in 40 attacks. FSU trailed for much of the set until Djurdjevic's kill made it 12-12. Both teams traded points, but a kill by Young gave FSU a two-point advantage at 17-15. UNC took back the lead at 20-19, but Neff's kill followed by four consecutive attack errors from UNC contributed to a second-set win for FSU.
The Seminoles host the second match of their five-match homestand against N.C. State on Sunday, Nov. 14, at 1 p.m. at Tully Gym. Seniors Taylor Wilson, Neville, Romanelli and Young will be honored before the match as part of senior day.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 5 8 3 35 0.143 1 0 0 4 9 0 3 1 0 9.5
6 Stephanie Neville 5 8 3 31 0.161 1 1 0 0 4 0 5 1 0 11.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 5 18 6 43 0.279 3 3 2 4 13 0 2 0 0 22.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 3 0 5 0.600 27 1 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 4.0
22 Sareea Freeman 5 7 3 17 0.235 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 1 0 9.0
23 Lauren Young 5 6 1 11 0.455 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 0 0 11.0
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 3 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 1 0 2 0.500 19 2 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 3.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 1 2 18 0 0 0 0 0.0
14 Ashley Neff 5 4 4 15 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 6.5
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 55 20 159 0.220 51 7 4 10 62 1 27 3 0 76.5
Opp 5 62 29 165 0.200 58 10 7 7 78 2 10 3 3 79.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | |||||
| Florida State |
Seminoles Down Wolfpack.
Florida State goes perfect for the weekend; sweeps N.C. State.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - A thorough offensive performance allowed the Florida State University volleyball team to earn a 3-0 (25-11, 25-13, 26-24) victory over North Carolina State on senior day at Tully Gym.
Prior to the match, four seniors in Jenna Romanelli, Stephanie Neville, Lauren Young and Taylor Wilson were honored for their tremendous contribution to the Seminole volleyball program. All four players played a big role in defeating the Wolfpack (13-16, 3-14) for the 22nd straight match, which dates back to Sept. 29, 2000.
"All four seniors played real well. I am really happy for them," head coach Chris Poole said. "For the most part it was a good day. We are still trying to focus on our consistency and really trying to blend our strengths together on the court. We're still not where we want to be, it's a work in progress, but I do think the seniors have shown great leadership on this team."
The Seminoles (18-9, 10-7) recorded a .292 hitting percentage, their second-highest against a conference opponent this season. Neville led the way with 12 kills and a .375 hitting percentage, and has averaged a .304 hitting percentage over her last nine matches.
Romanelli and Wilson were very active on the back line, as Romanelli racked up 16 digs in three sets played while Wilson added four digs and an assist.
Young finished with a team-high four blocks, and added five kills in nine attacks. Young is now averaging 1.19 blocks per set this season.
Junior outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic added seven kills, six digs, one block and a .545 hitting percentage. Djurdjevic's 324 kills marks the highest single-season total by a Seminole since Mira Djuric had 438 in 2007.
Jekaterina Stepanova finished with nine kills and five digs, while Duygu Duzceler added 18 assists, two service aces and four digs. Patricia Figueiredo added 15 assists and three digs.
FSU was efficient offensively in the first set, but also benefitted from a bevy of attack errors by the Wolfpack. The Seminoles had 12 kills, led by Neville's four and Djurdjevic's three kills. Duzceler had four assists in the frame, as FSU led by as many as 15 points in the set, including scores of 17-2 and 23-8, and ended the frame on a service error by the Wolfpack's Anna Moore.
FSU's 25-11 first-set victory ties for the third-lowest point total in a set by an FSU opponent this season. The Seminoles defeated New Mexico State in the fourth set of the season-opener, 25-10, and also beat FIU 25-10 in the second set of its 3-0 victory on Aug. 28. FSU also defeated USF by a 25-11 score in set No. 2 of its 3-0 win in the third match of the year.
The Seminoles' offense was working again in the second set, tallying 13 kills and three aces. Figueiredo had six assists, while Djurdjevic had four kills and a block.
Young's three kills and two blocks ignited FSU in what was a competitive third set. N.C. State tallied 15 kills, while FSU had 16 and hit .238. Both teams exchanged points throughout most of the set, but the Seminoles strung together three consecutive points to break a 20-20 tie. Later, a ball-handling error by Brie Merriwether gave FSU match point at 25-24, and Neville followed through with a kill to give the Seminoles their second consecutive victory.
FSU's victory marks the sixth consecutive year the Seminoles have recorded double-digit conference wins.
The Seminoles are now in a four-way tie for third place in the ACC standings, sharing the spot with Georgia Tech, Miami and Maryland.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
4 Taylor Wilson 3 0 0 1 0.000 1 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 0.0
6 Stephanie Neville 3 12 3 24 0.375 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 12.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 2 7 1 11 0.545 0 0 0 0 6 0 1 0 0 7.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 2 0 3 0.667 18 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 4.0
22 Sareea Freeman 3 3 1 7 0.286 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 4.5
23 Lauren Young 3 5 0 9 0.556 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 0 7.0
---Substitutes---
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 9 4 23 0.217 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 1 0 9.5
7 Fatma Yildirim 2 1 0 8 0.125 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 2.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 0 1 2 -0.500 15 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 3 0 1 0 16 0 0 0 0 0.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
14 Ashley Neff 3 1 2 8 -0.125 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2.5
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 40 12 96 0.292 37 4 3 2 47 1 10 3 0 50.0
Opp 3 30 19 111 0.099 29 2 9 4 37 0 10 1 1 37.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina State | |||
| Florida State |
Morgan's Return Sparks FSU.
Seminoles take down Maryland in three sets; break third-place tiebreaker with Terrapins.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Junior right side hitter Rachael Morgan returned for the first time since Oct. 22 to spark the Florida State University volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20) victory over third-place Maryland on Friday evening at Tully Gym.
Morgan's return signified a fully healthy lineup for the Seminoles (19-9, 11-7), who were without the returning AVCA Honorable Mention All-American for the last seven matches after she suffered a stress fracture. The New Zealand native finished with eight kills, one block and one dig, but more importantly allowed the rest of her teammates to return to their normal positions on the floor.
"I thought even the first couple swings Rachael was hitting well. After the first game she was hitting around .500," head coach Chris Poole said. "She was a big lift in that first set. She set the tone for everyone else to settle down in their positions. She's been out for the last month, and that caused some of our players to overplay in making up for some lack of experience.
"We haven't used this group in six weeks. It was good to get in our positions and be playing again. Maryland certainly played hard and gave us some runs, but it was good for us to shut those down and win those games."
The match was as important as any for FSU, which entered the contest in a four-way tie for third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Seminoles shared their spot in the standings with Georgia Tech and Miami as well, but now hold just a tie with the Hurricane after losses by the Yellow Jackets and the Terrapins (19-11, 10-8) tonight. Miami defeated upcoming opponent Boston College this evening, and face FSU in a regular season home finale next Friday at Tully Gym.
Junior Jekaterina Stepanova was an offensive force yet again, recording a match-high 13 kills, 10 digs and three service aces. She finished the night with 16 points, another match high, while Visnja Djurdjevic added nine kills and five digs.
Sophomore Sareea Freeman played well, recording five kills and six blocks. She came up big in set No. 3 for the Seminoles, recording four kills and two blocks to help FSU recover from its five-set loss to Maryland on Oct. 17.
Senior Jenna Romanelli was solid on the back line for FSU, recording 16 digs to match her season-high in a three-set match. Romanelli also had 16 digs earlier in the season against Florida and last weekend against N.C. State.
Duygu Duzceler added 19 assists on the night, while Patricia Figueiredo had 17. FSU managed just a .178 hitting percentage, but Maryland had three players with negative numbers as it mustered just a .101 attack percentage. Freshman Mary Cushman led the Terps with 12 kills and a .370 hitting percentage.
Morgan came back strong in her first match in seven contests, getting consecutive kills for FSU's first two points as it won a close first set. Stepanova tallied three service aces and six kills in the frame, making good on half of her total attacks. Morgan posted a .500 hitting percentage in the frame, and Duzceler added two aces. Maryland helped the Seminoles with six attack errors and two service errors.
FSU fell behind in set No. 2, trailing 15-12 midway through. FSU then won eight of the next 10 points, which included a solo block by Freeman to take a 17-16 lead. Djurdjevic posted five kills in the set, while Stephanie Neville added three kills and two blocks. The Seminoles did not record a service ace in the frame, but used 16 kills to its advantage. Through two sets, FSU tallied six blocks and held the Terrapins to a .114 hitting percentage.
The third set was also close, but Maryland's five attack errors allowed FSU to break away at the end. Both teams exchanged leads throughout, and Maryland seemingly took control when Lisa Scott blocked an attack by Lauren Young to put the Terrapins ahead at 17-15. A service error by Maddi Lee was followed by a block from both Freeman and Neville to tie the set at 17-17.
After a 20-20 tie, FSU took control of the next five points to win the match. Young countered with a block to take a 22-20 lead, two attack errors followed by Maryland before Djurdjevic ended the match on a well-placed kill.
FSU has now defeated nine teams in the Top 60 of the current RPI standings. The Seminoles will look for their 20th win in their next match, which would mark the first time in school history FSU has had three consecutive 20-win seasons since joining the ACC in 1991.
The Seminoles return with a televised match against Boston College on Sunday at Tully Gym. The match will be televised on FOX Sports Florida, with an official start time of 1:06 p.m. Following the match, the Seminoles will run their second "Paint it Pink" clinic of the season.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 3 8 5 16 0.188 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 8.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 13 7 32 0.188 0 3 1 0 10 0 0 0 0 16.0
6 Stephanie Neville 3 5 3 12 0.167 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 7.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 9 5 27 0.148 1 0 0 0 5 0 1 1 0 9.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 0 0 1 0.000 19 3 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 3.0
23 Lauren Young 3 3 2 8 0.125 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 4.5
---Substitutes---
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 0 0 2 0.000 17 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 3 0 0 3 16 0 0 0 0 0.0
22 Sareea Freeman 3 5 2 9 0.333 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 2 0 9.0
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 43 24 107 0.178 40 6 3 4 41 4 10 3 0 58.0
Opp 3 30 20 99 0.101 29 4 5 6 36 1 17 2 0 43.5
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | |||
| Florida State |
Seminoles Grab Win No. 20.
FSU reaches third consecutive 20-win season for the first time ever since joining the ACC.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Despite playing without two of its top hitters in Rachael Morgan and Jekaterina Stepanova, the Florida State University volleyball team managed to get past Boston College in 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 26-24) fashion on Sunday afternoon at Tully Gym.
The victory was significant, marking the first time the Seminoles (20-9, 12-7) have recorded three straight 20-win seasons since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1991. In 2008, FSU finished 21-9 overall, then ended the 2009 campaign with an unprecedented 31-3 record before reaching its 20th win this season.
FSU received another huge boost from senior outside hitter Stephanie Neville, who compensated for the undermanned lineup by recording 14 kills, a .440 hitting percentage, five digs and four blocks. It was Neville's second-highest hitting percentage effort in conference play this season, and the seventh-best percentage by an FSU player this season.
The Cambridge, Ontario, native found the right spots on her attacks throughout most of the day, committing just three errors in 25 total attacks. Since her tremendous 16-kill performance against Duke on Oct. 24, Neville has hit at a .312 clip with 98 kills and 2.8 kills per set over the team's last nine matches.
Making her seventh start of the season was sophomore Fatma Yildirim, who had 10 kills and a .259 hitting percentage with six digs. The Istanbul, Turkey, native posted 11 kills and seven digs against the Eagles (8-24, 0-19) in the last meeting between both teams, and once again hurt them with several hard-hit kills that found openings in B.C.'s defense.
Visnja Djurdjevic displayed her versatility again with eight kills, eight digs and two service aces. She has recorded at least one service ace in 17 of FSU's 29 matches this season, averaging a team-best 0.31 service aces per set.
Sophomore setter Duygu Duzceler helped guide FSU to a .269 hitting percentage, tallying 24 assists and adding six digs. Junior Patricia Figueiredo added 10 assists and seven digs, and libero Jenna Romanelli pitched in with 11 digs and four assists.
The Eagles had opportunities in the match, but were hurt by their 13 service errors, the second-highest total by an FSU opponent this season. On Oct. 29, Virginia Tech committed the most with 17.
Leading B.C. was outside hitter Tsvetelina Dureva, who had 11 kills. Setter Dani Moskitis added 38 assists, and senior Kristen Baader contributed with a team-high 16 digs.
Yildirim tallied a team-best four kills in the first frame as FSU battled a resilient Boston College squad. Neville added three kills and two blocks to ignite the offense. The Seminoles held a 10-6 lead on a kill by Yildirim, but B.C. later responded with a kill by Dureva to cut the deficit to 15-13. FSU rattled off six consecutive points late in the set, capped by an attack error by Rainey Hanley, and finished the set with a service error by Brennan Clark.
Duzceler had 11 assists in the second set to help her hitters tremendously. Neville had another strong frame with five kills and one block and Djurdjevic recorded two service aces and three kills. B.C. held tough once again, but FSU posted 14 kills compared to just four attacks errors. After being down 11-7, the Seminoles strung together seven straight points, as Neville finished the key stretch with a kill. The set ended on a block by Lauren Young and Ashley Neff to put FSU up by two sets.
The third set was another tussle, but the Seminoles were once again ignited by Neville's six kills. B.C. hit .333 in the set, but was hurt by its six service errors. The Eagles held five-point advantages of 15-10, 18-13 and 19-14, but FSU managed to come back and tie the set at 23-23 on a big block from Yildirim and Sareea Freeman. Later, an attack error by Dureva ended the match to bolster FSU's NCAA Tournament hopes with its 20th win.
With Miami's 3-0 win against Maryland, FSU wraps up its regular-season home finale with third place in the ACC on the line against the Hurricane. The match is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 26, at 1 p.m. at Tully Gym.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
6 Stephanie Neville 3 14 3 25 0.440 0 0 0 0 5 0 4 0 0 16.0
7 Fatma Yildirim 3 10 3 27 0.259 1 0 0 0 6 0 1 1 0 10.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 8 3 19 0.263 0 2 1 1 8 0 0 0 0 10.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 3 3 1 9 0.222 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3.5
14 Ashley Neff 2 0 2 3 -0.667 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 0 1 2 -0.500 24 1 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 1.0
---Substitutes---
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 0 0 2 0.000 10 1 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 1.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 4 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 0.0
22 Sareea Freeman 3 2 1 4 0.250 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 3.5
23 Lauren Young 2 2 0 2 1.000 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 3.0
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 39 14 93 0.269 39 4 2 2 44 1 12 2 0 50.0
Opp 3 43 17 109 0.239 40 2 13 4 35 0 12 0 2 51.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | |||
| Florida State |
Seminoles Fall Short.
Djurdjevic sets season high in kills in losing effort.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The Florida State University volleyball team trailed by two sets, made a comeback in the third and fourth frames, but ultimately fell in a five-setter to Miami, 3-2 (18-25, 17-25, 26-24, 25-22, 17-19) in one of the most exciting matchups of the season on Friday afternoon at Tully Gym.
The loss means the Seminoles (20-10, 12-8) will finish the conference season in fourth place. The Hurricanes (23-8, 13-7) grabbed the third-place spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which was as competitive as ever throughout the season.
Junior outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic had a career performance this afternoon, setting a team high for the season with 25 kills and adding 16 digs for her 14th double-double of the year. Djurdjevic also recorded a season-high 27.5 points, and showed a .382 hitting percentage as she anchored the offense.
Junior Jekaterina Stepanova also played well, recording 16 kills and 10 digs for her ninth double-double of the year. FSU had a .219 hitting percentage, while Miami showed its potency on offense with a .284 attack percentage.
Also stepping up was sophomore middle blocker Sareea Freeman. The Fresno, Calif., native had a career-high 11 kills, a .529 hitting percentage and three blocks. With the five-set match, FSU recorded 13 team blocks, tying for its fifth-most this season.
Setter Patricia Figueiredo led the Seminoles with 28 assists. The total is one short of her season-high at FSU, which also came against Miami in a 3-1 victory earlier in the season. Sophomore Duygu Duzceler added 25 assists, and recorded 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the year.
Senior Jenna Romanelli had 26 digs for FSU, giving her 1,162 career digs and moving her past Nancy Gaspadarek (1986-89) for fifth all-time. She is now 24 away from passing one of the school's all-time greats in Maggie Philgence (1987-90) for fourth on the career list.
Miami's Lane Carico led her squad with 21 assists and added 14 digs. Libero Ryan Shaffer posted 30 digs, and Ariell Cooke had 18 kills and a .517 hitting percentage to lead the Hurricane attack. Tallahassee native Alex Johnson had seven kills, 19 digs and five assists.
FSU rebounded offensively after falling hard in the first two frames. In the third set, FSU hit at a .333 clip and was sparked by Djurdjevic's five kills and one block. Miami held match point at 24-23, but an attack error by Carico was followed by a kill from Stepanova and block from she and middle blocker Ashley Neff to extend the match.
FSU recorded 16 kills in the fourth frame, and trailed 19-15 until reeling off seven consecutive points late in the set. Leading 22-20, Marija Milosavljevic and Freeman amassed consecutive kills, and an attack error by Christine Williamson of Miami forced a fifth set.
The final frame was a back-and-forth thriller. In the end, FSU had two separate match points, leading by scores of 15-14 and 16-15. In its first match point, a long rally ensued until Carico gave the Hurricane life with a kill. In the second opportunity, Taylor Hollins added a kill to tie the set at 16-16. Miami also had a chance to put the match away leading 17-16, but Stephanie Neville came through with one of her four kills. However, Carico fittingly ended the match on a kill to help Miami take down its biggest conference rival.
FSU wraps up its regular season on Saturday at noon when it faces Florida A&M at the Al Lawson Center in Tallahassee.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 3 2 2 14 0.000 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 5 16 9 57 0.123 0 1 1 1 10 0 1 0 0 17.5
6 Stephanie Neville 5 4 1 24 0.125 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 4.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 5 25 4 55 0.382 0 1 2 2 16 0 3 0 0 27.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 1 0 3 0.333 25 1 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 2.0
23 Lauren Young 2 0 2 5 -0.400 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1.0
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 2 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.5
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 1 1 4 0.000 28 2 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 3.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 0 0.000 2 0 0 1 26 0 0 0 0 0.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 3 4 0 11 0.364 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 5.5
14 Ashley Neff 4 2 2 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 6.5
22 Sareea Freeman 5 11 2 17 0.529 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 12.5
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 66 23 190 0.226 57 5 4 5 71 3 20 3 0 84.0
Opp 5 78 24 190 0.284 66 5 5 5 92 1 12 2 0 90.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | |||||
| Florida State |
Seminoles Finish Regular Season with Win.
FSU has superb offensive performance against Florida A&M.
TALLAHASSEE, FL - A dominant offensive performance by the Florida State University volleyball team propelled it to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-14) win over Florida A&M on Saturday afternoon at the Al Lawson Center.
The victory gives the Seminoles (21-10, 12-8) a 9-2 nonconference record in the regular season. FSU was led once again by junior outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic, who tallied 14 kills, a .480 hitting percentage and five digs.
Stephanie Neville added nine kills and a .615 hitting percentage, while Fatma Yildirim, Ashley Neff, Marija Milosavljevic and Sareea Freeman added five kills apiece.
"We were pretty strong today," head coach Chris Poole said. "We were able to rest some players so we can be healthy for the NCAA Tournament. Our team looked sharp offensively and was able to rebound from a disappointing loss yesterday."
FSU recorded a .434 hitting percentage, its highest this season. Duygu Duzceler had 19 assists, while Patricia Figueiredo added 15. Senior Jenna Romanelli had a team-best nine assists, while Duzceler recorded seven. The Seminoles also had 11 blocks, led by Freeman's six.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
6 Stephanie Neville 3 9 1 13 0.615 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 10.0
7 Fatma Yildirim 3 5 4 12 0.083 1 0 1 1 6 0 0 0 0 5.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 3 14 2 25 0.480 0 1 1 0 5 1 2 0 0 17.0
12 Marija Milosavljevic 3 5 1 7 0.571 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 6.0
14 Ashley Neff 3 5 1 10 0.400 0 0 0 0 3 2 2 0 0 8.0
20 Duygu Duzceler 3 0 1 1 -1.000 19 2 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 2.0
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 3 0 0 0 0.000 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 3 1 0 1 1.000 15 0 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 1.5
10 Jenna Romanelli 3 0 0 0 0.000 5 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0.0
15 Amanda Saxton 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
22 Sareea Freeman 3 5 1 7 0.571 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 0 0 8.5
Team 2
=========================================================
6 FSU 3 44 11 76 0.434 42 3 3 4 38 4 14 0 0 58.0
Opp 3 30 18 94 0.128 32 4 3 3 22 3 4 0 1 39.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||
| Florida A&M |
Seminoles Reach Round Two.
Performances by trio of hitters help FSU break past Georgia Southern.
GAINESVILLE, FL - Outside hitters Visnja Djurdjevic, Stephanie Neville and Jekaterina Stepanova combined for 42 kills to help the Florida State University volleyball team get past a stingy opponent in Georgia Southern, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-13), The victory is a program-builder for the Seminoles (22-10, 12-8), marking the first time in the school's history that it has reached the second round of the NCAA Championship in consecutive postseason appearances.
"Our girls have shown character all year. We've had to make adjustments in the middle of the year, and they continue to come back and step up," head coach Chris Poole said. "Even in matches that we've lost, we've hung in there. Today we didn't play grea Neville, Djurdjevic and Stepanova took turns taking over sets one, two and four. Neville, a Cambridge, Ontario, native, was as consistent as ever with 14 kills, a .419 hitting percentage and three blocks. It is the sixth time this year she has picked up Fellow All-Atlantic Coast Conference honoree Djurdjevic was just as productive, totaling a game-high 16 kills with nine digs. Stepanova, who sat out the first set after battling sickness, wound up with 12 kills, a .345 hitting percentage and nine digs i FSU's two setters in Duygu Duzceler and Patricia Figueiredo made a big difference in the match. Duzceler tied her season high with 31 assists, the third time she has reached that number this year. Patricia Figueiredo had 16 assists and 12 digs for her s Jenna Romanelli had 18 kills, giving her 485 on the season to move past Ashlee Moon for third on the single-season list. She also has 1,189 for her career to place her fourth past one of the school's all-time greats in Maggie Philgence (1987-90).
FSU's offense held strong in the first set, garnering a .265 hitting percentage against a tough Eagles squad. Djurdjevic recorded five kills in nine attacks for a .444 attack percentage, while Neville mustered four kills on seven attacks. FSU held GSU t One of the turning points of the set occurred when the Seminoles rattled off five consecutive points, turning a 10-9 deficit into a 14-10 lead. In that span, four different players in Fatma Yildirim, Lauren Young, Djurdjevic and Neville recorded kills, FSU faced a tough stretch in the second frame, holding a 17-12 lead that turned into an 18-18 tie after GSU won six of seven points. GSU recorded two blocks in its run, while Rachael Morgan provided the lone point for the Seminoles on a kill down the ri Several ties and lead changes were exchanged in the third set. Keeping FSU alive in the frame was Stepanova, whose bevy of kills was highlighted by a hustling continuation ball that slipped over the head of an Eagle back-row player for a difficult kill Following a timeout by FSU with the third set knotted at 20-20, GSU took a brief lead on an attack error, but the Seminoles scored four unanswered points, including a tie-breaking kill by Ashley Neff on a set from Figueiredo to make it 22-21. GSU's Hann Heading into the first timeout of the fourth set, FSU built a 7-2 lead on the hitting of Djurdjevic, who recorded two kills in the early going. The Seminoles finally pulled away with ease to set up a possible match tomorrow against top-ranked Florida.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 4 9 3 23 0.261 0 0 1 0 5 0 4 1 0 11.0
6 Stephanie Neville 4 14 1 31 0.419 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 15.5
7 Fatma Yildirim 1 2 2 7 0.000 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2.0
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 4 16 6 38 0.263 1 2 1 0 9 0 1 0 0 18.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 4 0 1 3 -0.333 31 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1.0
23 Lauren Young 4 2 1 4 0.250 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3.5
---Substitutes---
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 3 12 2 29 0.345 0 0 1 1 9 0 0 0 0 12.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 4 1 0 2 0.500 16 1 0 0 12 0 0 0 0 2.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 4 0 0 0 0.000 6 0 0 0 18 0 0 0 0 0.0
14 Ashley Neff 3 4 2 9 0.222 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 5.0
22 Sareea Freeman 2 2 3 8 -0.125 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3.5
=========================================================
6 FSU 4 62 21 154 0.266 54 4 4 1 61 0 16 1 1 74.0
Opp 4 53 22 144 0.215 50 1 8 4 64 2 12 3 1 62.0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | ||||
| Georgia Southern |
FSU Falls In Five To Florida.
Florida State volleyball team's season comes to an end in the second round of the NCAA Championship Saturday night.
GAINESVILLE, FL – The Florida State University volleyball team pushed No. 1 seed Florida to the brink of elimination before losing in five sets, 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-17), in the second round of the NCAA Championship on Saturday evening at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
The Seminoles (22-11) endured some tough-luck breaks in tonight's contest, especially late in the fifth set. Aside from Penn State defeating the Gators (29-1) early in the season, no team had pushed UF like FSU did tonight. FSU showed its grit in all facets of the game, getting underneath several attacks, blocking a powerful Florida offense and staying efficient with consistent kills throughout.
Jekaterina Stepanova led the Seminoles with 15 kills and 11 digs, while junior Visnja Djurdjevic was tireless tonight with 14 kills and 11 digs. Rachael Morgan was proficient with 12 kills, and Jenna Romanelli added 22 assists. Patricia Figueiredo and Duygu Duzceler excelled once again as the team's setters, amassing 25 and 22 assists, respectively.
Sareea Freeman gathered five blocks on the evening, while FSU tallied 10 as a unit. FSU recorded a .155 hitting percentage, and Florida finished with a .195 clip.
"We're certainly proud of our girls coming into this environment and this kind of situation," head coach Chris Poole said. "I battled Florida for many years when I was at Arkansas, and that's what I came here to do, to add another team to Florida. I respect the Gators and they're a winning program, and that's what we are trying to bring to this university as well. Our girls tonight had a lot of character, fight and heart, and we're proud of them for that."
Through the first media timeout, the Seminoles led by a 15-13 score in the first set. There had already been nine ties but just two lead changes through that point, as FSU went into the break winning the last two points on a kill by Neville and an attack error on Kelly Murphy. The Seminoles built an early 9-6 lead on a kill by Morgan, but Florida showed its grit by garnering three consecutive points to tie the match back at 9-9.
FSU extended its lead to 19-14 on a kill by Djurdjevic, which trickled off a Florida front-line player and landed out of bounds. Later, a service error by Cassandra Anderson sailed out of bounds past FSU's service line to give the Seminoles the first set. Morgan and Djurdjevic combined for nine kills in the opening frame, while Figueiredo added seven assists.
The Seminoles would not give up in set No. 2, even with the top-ranked Gators holding a late 23-19 lead. Stepanova placed a nice kill, and an attack error by Kristy Jaeckel put the deficit at 23-21. However, UF's final four points of the set were courtesy of Murphy, who ended the frame on a kill after she was previously dug in the same rally.
FSU hung in with the Gators once again in the third set. UF took a 15-12 advantage heading into the break. Although the Seminoles received consecutive points coming out of the timeout on a service error from Callie Rivers and an attack error by Jaeckel, UF rallied for three consecutive points to force an FSU timeout and take an 18-14 lead.
Following that short intermission, FSU stormed right back and used three consecutive attack errors by Rivers to take a 22-20 lead. After Lauren Bledsoe followed with a kill, Stepanova countered with an on-point attack to put FSU ahead 23-21. Later, another kill by Stepanova and an attack error by Murphy gave FSU the third frame at 25-22.
The fourth continued the back and forth trend. UF reached an 11-9 lead on an attack error by FSU, but a service error by Murphy and an attack error by Bledsoe tied the set at 11-11. But the Gators utilized Murphy time and time again, as she recorded three consecutive kills to put UF up 20-15. After a couple of small comebacks by the Seminoles, the Gators forced a fifth set on a block by Rivers, Anderson and Murphy.
The Seminoles took a 7-5 lead after the first break in the fifth set. Freeman aided FSU's attack with two kills on the slide, and Taylor Wilson subbed in and had three key serves that resulted in kills by Neff, Stepanova and Djurdjevic to take an 11-7 lead.
It was not too long after when a hard-luck call was made that gave Florida a bit of life in the match. FSU appeared to have match point with a 14-11 lead after the Gators were called for hitting the ball four times on their end. After 2-3 minutes of discussion, a replay of the point was enforced, which resulted in a block by UF and a 13-12 score.
Later, a kill by Morgan gave FSU match point at 15-14, but Murphy responded with a kill. Florida then followed with two consecutive kills by Jaeckel to snatch the match from the Seminoles.
Tonight's match brings an end to the excellent careers of Lauren Young, Wilson, Neville and Romanelli. All four student-athletes leave their imprint as being part of one of the greatest four-year stretches in FSU volleyball history, which includes an Elite Eight appearance in 2009 and a second-round appearance this season.
-----ATTACK----- SET SERVE SRV DEF BLOCK GEN
NO NAME SP K E TA PCT A SA SE RE DIG BS BA BE BHE PTS
== ========================= == == == === ====== === == == === === == == === === =====
1 Rachael Morgan 5 12 4 31 0.258 1 1 4 0 4 0 3 1 0 14.5
3 Jekaterina Stepanova 5 15 8 45 0.156 0 0 1 1 11 0 1 1 0 15.5
6 Stephanie Neville 5 7 5 25 0.080 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 9.5
9 Visnja Djurdjevic 5 14 7 41 0.171 0 0 2 1 11 0 3 0 0 15.5
20 Duygu Duzceler 5 1 1 4 0.000 22 0 1 0 8 0 0 0 0 1.0
23 Lauren Young 5 3 1 8 0.250 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3.5
---Substitutes---
4 Taylor Wilson 1 0 0 0 0.000 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0
8 Patricia Figueiredo 5 0 0 1 0.000 25 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 1 0.0
10 Jenna Romanelli 5 0 0 1 0.000 4 0 0 1 22 0 0 0 0 0.0
14 Ashley Neff 3 1 0 3 0.333 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2.0
22 Sareea Freeman 5 5 3 16 0.125 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 7.5
Team 1
=========================================================
6 FSU 5 58 29 175 0.166 52 1 9 4 63 2 16 4 1 69.0
Opp 5 66 33 169 0.195 63 4 15 1 78 5 23 1 1 86.5
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | |||||
| Florida |