MATCH STATS
- Florida State def. Syracuse 3-1 (25-17, 25-19, 28-30, 26-24)
- Florida State moves to 13-10, 7-8 ACC; Syracuse falls to 17-11, 9-6 ACC
- Tallahassee, Florida
- Attendance
- Box Score
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – It took a little longer than expected, but Florida State coach Chris Poole notched his 800th career Division I victory on Friday as Florida State topped Syracuse. Poole recorded his 800th overall win in 2016, but needed 13 wins to boost his Division I total to the plateau. Poole is currently the fifth-winningest active Division I coach, and boasts 823 career victories across divisions.
| Head Coach | Institution | Seasons | Wins | 2017 Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Bock | Navy | 41 | 1,346 | 21 |
| Russ Rose | Penn State | 38 | 1,237 | 24 |
| Mick Haley | Southern Cal | 34 | 951 | 18 |
| Mary Wise | Florida | 31 | 895 | 20 |
| Chris Poole | Florida State | 31 | 800 | 13 |
| Joe Sagula | North Carolina | 36 | 792 | 12 |
Senior outside hitter Natasha Calkins (17), senior outside Milica Kubura (16) and redshirt junior outside Christina Ambrose (13) each turned in double-digit kill efforts and hit .300 or better to lift FSU to victory.
As a team, the Seminoles hit at a .311 clip, besting the Orange’s .241 effort. FSU also outserved Syracuse 5-2 in aces, and outdug them 63-60. ‘Cuse won the block 7-5.
Freshman middle blocker Taryn Knuth paced the Seminoles at the net with four stuffs, while senior libero Cecilie Woie notched a team-leading 17 digs. Junior defensive specialist Logan Holanchock added nine saves and three of the team’s five aces, while sophomore outside Bozena Culo also notched nine digs.
Four Syracuse played posted double-digit kill efforts, led by junior outside Anastasiya Gorelina‘s 17, but it was not enough. Senior middle Amber Witherspoon (11), junior middle Santita Ebangwese (11) and redshirt junior middle Christina Oyawale (10) rounded out the group. Witherspoon also put up a team-high four stuffs. Senior libero Belle Sand (20), junior setter Jalissa Trotter (10) and sophomore outside Kendra Lukacs (10).
After dropping the first two sets, Syracuse rallied from down 21-16 in the third to seemingly earn the first set-point try of the stanza at 24-23. Kills by four different players buoyed the rally, with Lukacs and Gorelina chipping in two apiece. The final point of the rally was overturned via challenge and Ambrose added a kill to give FSU a match-point try at 25-24. The Seminoles would have three more as Knuth and Calkins added putaways, but Syracuse answered the call each time. A stuff by Oyawale and Witherspoon knotted the score at 28 and two Florida State hitting errors capped the Orange victory at 30-28.
The teams split the first 22 points of Set 4, before Syracuse surged ahead with a 6-0 run. Gorelina downed three kills and Dana Valelly added an ace as the Orange went up 17-11. Florida State chipped away, starting with a 5-0 run to narrow the gap to three at 19-16. Calkins notched two kills and three Cuse miscues aided the Seminole cause. Kubura and Ambrose came through to cut the deficit to one at 21-20. An Oyawale kill and FSU miscue put Syracuse up 23-21. An Ambrose kill and an error knotted the score at 23. A Gorelina putaway had Syracuse poised to send the match to a decisive fifth set at 24-23, but Florida State stopped that attempt with an Ambrose kill and a block by Knuth and Calkins gave FSU another match-point try. A hitting error by Gorelina clinched the milestone win for Coach Poole and snapped a three-match losing skid.
A huge congrats to @Chris_PooleFSU, who earned his 800th career Division I win tonight with our victory over Syracuse! pic.twitter.com/ptdsEZ9hE3
— FSU Volleyball (@FSU_Volleyball) November 11, 2017
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