TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida State volleyball team begins ACC play this week with matches against Notre Dame and No. 2 Louisville at Tully Gym.
Friday’s match with the Fighting Irish will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed on ACCNX. Sunday’s match with the second-ranked Cardinals can be seen nationally on ESPN with first serve at 3 p.m. Admission to all home games is free and doors will open one hour before the match. During Friday’s match, there will be a prize giveaway for Family Weekend.
Spotlight Noles
The Seminoles will be a part of history on Sunday afternoon, as their matchup with No. 2 Louisville will be the second regular season women’s college volleyball game to every appear on ESPN. ESPN broadcasted last week’s matchup with Louisville and Kentucky that drew 302,000 viewers, the most for any regular season volleyball match on the ESPN Networks. This will be the first time that the FSU volleyball program will appear on ESPN.
New Blood
The Noles have added three new key pieces to the 2022 squad. Freshman Audrey Rothman, senior Andjelija Draskovic and graduate student Emily Ryan have all had
immediate impacts for the Noles.
The 2021 USA Today Girls Volleyball Player of the Year has been as good as advertised. Rothman has tallied 79 kills and also leads the team in digs with 86 and has nine aces this season as well.
The setter and middle duo of Draskovic and Ryan has been phenomenal for the Noles this season. Draskovic, a transfer from UMBC, has a team-high 250 assists, and Ryan is second on the team in kills with 98 and leads the team in blocks with 39.
Spreading the Wealth
The Noles have several athletes who are factors at the net. The Noles have five athletes with more than 75 kills through 11 matches this season. FSU is the only team in the conference to accomplish this feat.
The Best Birthday Present
Senior setter Andjelija Draskovic made history on her 22nd birthday in the Garnet and Gold. On Sept. 8 against Nebraska-Omaha, Draskovic reached 1,000 career assists at the Division I level. Draskovic tallied 846 assists last season at UMBC and currently has 250 assists in 11 matches. this season. Draskovic became the 20th Seminole setter to tally 1,000 career assists. Draskovic is 487 assists from cracking the top 15 list for total career assists in program history.
Serving Up Aces
Sophomore Audrey Koenig has been a great surprise for the Noles behind the service line this season. A 2021 ACC All-Freshman Team selection, Koenig leads the team in aces with 17 and is averaging 0.47 aces per set which ranks sixth in the ACC. This comes after Koenig rarely served last year for the Seminoles and did not record a single ace during the 2021 season.
Starting Quick
The Noles have gotten to great starts in the majority of their matches this season. The Noles have been the first team to 15 in 23 out their 39 sets this season. The Noles are 17-6 in sets where they are the first team to reach 15 points.
