MATCH STATS
- No. 15 Florida State def. Baylor 3-1 (25-20, 12-25, 25-21, 25-22)
- Florida State moves to 1-0; Baylor drops to 0-1
- Waco, Texas
- Box Score
WACO, Texas – Despite winning nearly every statistical category, Baylor could not bring the record-home crowd of more than 3,600 a season-opening victory, instead falling to No. 15 Florida State in four sets Friday evening.
The Bears outhit the Seminoles .225 to .203, outdid them 57-45 in kills and outserved them 8-2, but fell short. Florida State won both defensive categories: blocks (11.5 to 10) and digs (56-51).
Senior outside hitters Milica Kubura and Natasha Calkins led the FSU offense with 13 and 12 points respectively. Freshman middle blocker Taryn Knuth added nine kills on a .600 hitting effort, with no errors in 15 swings, while also putting up a team-best six blocks. Freshman middle Deja Williams added five stuffs, while Kubura registered four blocks. Senior libero Cecilie Woie and junior setter Brianne Burkert led the defense with 19 and 18 digs respectively. Burkert rounded out a double-double with 31 assists.
Redshirt senior outside Katie Staiger downed a match-high 19 kills and wrapped up a double-double with 11 digs. Redshirt sophomore middle Shelly Fanning (11) and freshman outside Yossiana Pressley (10) followed with double-digit kill tallies. Senior middle/outside Camryn Freiberg added eight kills on a team-best .467 hitting effort, while also managing a team-leading nine blocks. Pressley chipped in six blocks and a team-high three aces. Three players posted double-digit dig efforts: senior libero Jana Brusek (15), junior outside Aniah Philo (14) and Staiger (11).
The teams were back and forth throughout Set 1, leading to an 18-all tie. FSU closed out the set with seven of the final 10 points, including three kills by Kubura and two by Staiger.
The Seminoles jumped ahead 6-3 to start Set 2, but the Bears rallied with a 22-6 run, including 10 FSU hitting errors en route to the 25-12 victory.
Florida State shook off the loss at intermission and started Set 3 on fire to the tune of a 10-4 lead as Knuth and Calkins chipped in two kills each. Baylor pulled within two at 11-9, but soon pushed the advantage to eight at 20-12 as four different players turned in kills. The Bears narrowed the gap to three at 23-20 and held off FSU’s first set-point chance at 24-20, before succombing to a kill by Kubura to close it out at 25-21.
The final stanza saw FSU go up by six at 13-7. Baylor would not go easily, however, narrowing the gap to one at 17-16 on a kill by Tola Itiola, and again at 21-20 on a stuff by Freiberg and Pressley. A Christina Ambrose putaway and two Baylor miscues made it 24-21. A Knuth kill ended the night two serves later.
Florida State continues its stay at the Hampton Inn and Suites Waco North Baylor Invitational at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, while Baylor returns to action at 8 p.m. ET Saturday against the Redbirds.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Florida State Athletics
The No. 15 Florida State volleyball team beat the Baylor Bears in four sets on Friday night (Aug. 25), the first of three matches for the Seminoles at the Hampton Inn & Suites Waco North Baylor Invitational.
Florida State took the first set, but the Bears wouldn’t let the Seminoles’ lead extend to more than two points throughout the first half. FSU was able to pull away towards the end, when a Baylor error gave it a 21-18 lead. Senior Milica Kubura extended the lead with a kill, and the set was finished off with a pair of kills from senior Natasha Calkins and Kubura to take the first 25-20.
Baylor found its momentum in the second set, holding the Seminoles to only 12 points. The Bears held the lead throughout the set, outhitting FSU and giving the Noles the chance to make its own errors. The Seminoles regrouped in the third set, outhitting the Bears .432 to earn a quick 25-21 win. Freshman middle blocker Taryn Knuth stood out in the third set, notching four kills and two assisted blocks.
While the Bears narrowly outhit the Seminoles in the fourth set, the front row held down the offense for Florida State – three kills each from Christina Ambrose, Calkins and Kubura helped FSU stay ahead of Baylor. The Bears put up a fight until the end, but a kill from Knuth gave Florida State its first win of the season.
Quoting head coach Chris Poole
“I’m really proud of this team. We struggled at times, but we knew that may happen early in the season. Our consistency will need to improve as we go on, but they really showed a lot of heart tonight. There was a great crowd here of about 3,600 fans which made for a very intense atmosphere. This was a good start, and we have a lot of room to grow.”
Notes
Florida State improves to 4-0 all-time against Baylor
Head coach Chris Poole is now 9-1 in season opening matches in his ten years at Florida State.
A crowd of 3,617 helped set a new record for the Baylor volleyball program.
Courtesy: Baylor Athletics
In front of the largest crowd in program history, Baylor volleyball went toe-to-toe with 15th-ranked Florida State but ultimately fell in four sets, 25-20, 12-25, 25-21, 25-22, to open the 2017 season.In the program’s #PackTheHouse Night, 3,617 fans shattered the previous record set on Oct. 2, 2013 against Texas where 3,044 fans were in attendance.
Redshirt senior Katie Staiger paced the Bears with 19 kills and 11 digs in the contest, good for her 21st career double-double. Redshirt sophomore Shelly Fanning recorded 11 kills in her return from injury, and freshman Yossiana Pressley had 10 kills in her career debut.
Freshman Hannah Lockin got the nod at the starting setter spot, posting 36 assists in her first match with the Bears.
Ultimately, the Bears (0-1) had a combined 40 errors in tonight’s contest (23 attack errors, 16 service errors, one blocking error).
Both teams fought it out in the opening frame, as set one had 12 ties and four lead changes. Senior Jana Brusek led a 3-0 run for the 13-11 lead, forcing a FSU timeout. The Seminoles roared back to make it 15-all and used a 5-2 run to take the set.
After falling behind 5-1 in set two, the Bears used a Fanning ace to tie it up at 7-all and later fuel a huge 10-0 run with junior Aniah Philo at the line. Lockin dumped the final point for the 13-point set win.
The Bears couldn’t hold any momentum in set three, falling behind by five midway through and ultimately dropping it, 25-21.
BU played from behind throughout the fourth frame, but a Tola Itiola kill brought the Bears within one, 17-16. However, attack errors hurt the Bears’ chance to force a fifth set to finish the match in four.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Katie Staiger led all players with 19 kills and added 11 digs for her 21st career double-double.
• Setter Hannah Lockin recorded 36 assists in her first collegiate match.
• Aniah Philo helped Baylor steal the second set behind a 10-0 run.
• The Bears are now 0-4 all-time against Florida State.
STAT OF THE MATCH
3,617 – the record-setting crowd at the Ferrell Center Friday night.
TOP QUOTE
“Extremely disappointed (about the service game). We addressed it a little bit, but you give them a chance if you’re giving away free points. Even in that first set, we gave away too many free points offensively. You can’t do that and win matches against good teams because you’re fighting back and forth. To give that many away is just not typical. It’s something we’ve got to be a lot sharper at.” -head coach Ryan McGuyre
WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears stay at home to play Illinois State as part of the Hampton Inn & Suites Waco North Baylor Invitational Saturday at 7 p.m.
TOP FERRELL CENTER CROWDS
Date Opponent Result Att.
1. 8/25/17 Florida St. L, 1-3 3,617
2. 10/02/13 Texas L, 1-3 3,044
3. 10/10/09 Texas A&M L, 1-3 3,022
4. 10/27/93 Texas L, 0-3 2,111
5. 10/7/15 Texas L, 0-3 1,861
6. 11/19/14 Texas L, 1-3 1,683
7. 11/3/99 Texas W, 3-2 1,651
8. 10/14/92 Texas A&M L, 0-3 1,611
9. 11/3/12 Kansas W, 3-1 1,524
10. 9/20/00 Texas L, 2-3 1,438
11. 10/19/11 Texas L, 1-3 1,402
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