Deacs Battle Seminoles in ACC Home Opener | Freshmen Lead FSU in Five-Set Win at Wake Forest – Fl…

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Deacs Battle Seminoles in ACC Home Opener

Sanaa Williams notched a new career high in blocks on Friday night.

Freshmen Lead FSU in Five-Set Win at Wake Forest – Florida State University

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Florida State volleyball team (8-4, 2-1) pulled out a gritty five-set victory (22-25, 25-13, 25-22, 25-23, 15-25, 15-12) over Wake Forest (7-2, 1-2) on Friday night at Reynolds Gym in Winston-Salem, N.C. FSU has now won 19 consecutive matches against Wake Forest and 27 out of the last 28 meetings. 
 
The Noles got off to a great in set one and jumped out to a 10-4 lead, but the Demon Deacons stormed back and took a 15-13 lead. Wake Forest kept the lead and took the first set 25-22. 
 
The second set was all Seminoles as an 11-1 run fueled the Seminoles as they cruised to a 25-13 set two win. The Noles hit .400 with three blocks to dominate the set and tie the match.  
 
The third set was a set of rallies as the Noles used a 5-1 run to take a 16-11 lead, but the Demon Deacons used a 5-0 run to tie the set at 19. The teams traded points but a kill from Victoria David a block from Kyleene Filimaua and Nenu Kpea gave the Noles a 23-21 lead. The Noles picked up another block to get to set point, and Payton Whalen tipped one over to end the set. 
 
Wake Forest dominated the fourth set as it ran away with the set in a 25-15 win to force a fifth set. 
 
The Noles quickly shifted the momentum back to their side in the fifth set from the very first point as libero Mio Yamamoto made a terrific dig to keep the point alive to give the Noles the first point. The Noles raced out to an 8-2 lead thanks to three blocks and couple of kills from David and Whalen. Wake Forest would not go away quietly as it fought back to cut the lead to two at 14-12 on a controversial two-hit call. Kpea quickly put the first ball away, but the officials let the rally play on but ultimately consulted that the ball was down to give the Noles the win. 
 
With the Noles' kill leader Iane Henke unavailable, the Noles got great production from the freshman trio of Lexie Mason, Victoria David and Nenu Kpea. Mason had a career-high 13 kills on 29 attempts while David tallied 10 kills in her first career start. Kpea added 10 kills on 22 swings to go along with a career-best nine blocks. Lily Nicholson picked up another double double with 26 assists and 10 digs for the Noles. Filimaua also had a double double with 10 kills, 13 digs and a career-high six blocks. 
 
The Noles will be back in action at NC State on Sunday at 1 p.m. on ACCNX. 
 
For updates and exclusive content, follow the Seminoles on X (FSU_Volleyball), Instagram (fsuvolleyball) and Facebook (Florida State Seminoles Volleyball). 
 

Wake Forest Hosts Florida State and No. 22 Miami in ACC Volleyball Showdown

Wake Forest volleyball (7-6, 1-1 ACC) is poised for its first Atlantic Coast Conference home weekend, starting with a match against Florida State on October 3rd, followed by a clash against No. 22 Miami on October 5th. Both matches will be held at Varsity Arena, highlighting the team's focus on improving home performance after last weekend’s mixed results against ranked opponents. The Deacs are expected to leverage their recent win against Duke and bolster their competitive edge at home.

In the upcoming matches, Wake Forest aims to build momentum against both Florida State and Miami, enhancing their rankings and asserting their home court advantage. Victory against Miami could significantly impact their standings within the ACC.

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