ATLANTA, Ga. (Seminoles.com) — Florida State Volleyball snapped its season-long five-match win streak on Sunday, falling at No. 14 Georgia Tech, 3-1 (14-25, 22-25, 25-23, 16-25), at O’Keefe Gymnasium.
The Seminoles (17-6, 10-4) played without returning All-ACC outside hitter Morgan Chacon for the second straight match, and were without the services of redshirt junior setter Lily Tessier against Georgia Tech. Both were out with injuries.
“I’m proud overall of how hard this team fought today,” FSU Head Coach Chris Poole said. “We were without two full rotation players with both Morgan (Chacon) and Lily (Tessier) currently injured. They were replaced by two true freshmen with us playing five freshmen in our regular rotation tonight.
“Georgia Tech is a very good team with a lot of experience. Our young guns battled the whole match. We just aren't quite there yet but this group continues to fight through adversity, sickness and injuries every week. Such a fun, competitive team.”
Freshman setter Ava Pitchford made her first career start for FSU against a difficult opponent and also near her hometown of Norcross, Ga., but impressed in what was her eighth match played this season. She recorded 34 assists, had five digs, three blocks and added three kills.
Despite being short-handed, FSU put together a valiant effort. It was highlighted by winning the third set, 25-23, against a Top 15 opponent on the road in the Yellow Jackets (21-3, 12-2). In that frame, FSU got behind 14-11, but used some strong hitting from freshmen Skye Ekes and Audrey Koenig to turn things around, as well as some stellar defense against Georgia Tech’s sharp hitters.
A kill by Koenig put FSU ahead 24-22 in the third set, and following a kill by Georgia Tech’s Erin Moss, Ekes responded with a cross-court kill from the left side to extend the set.
Ekes and Koenig each led the Seminoles with nine kills apiece, while freshman middle blocker Khori Louis had eight kills and three blocks. Lauryn Burrows and Emery Dupes, a couple of Marietta, Ga., natives, led FSU with 12 digs each. Caroline Golden contributed with nine digs.
Georgia Tech was able to hit .374 in the match, while FSU recorded a .162 hitting percentage.
Florida State has a quick turnaround as it hosts North Florida (22-4) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in a match that airs on ACC Network Extra. The match was added during the season after FSU lost one match earlier in the season at LSU due to Hurricane Ida.
Tuesday’s match will be a Junior Recognition Match as Florida State Volleyball honors its two outstanding juniors in Lauryn Burrows and Emma Clothier. The first 25 fans in attendance will receive a black Seminoles drawstring bag, and the first 50 receive a customized FSU Volleyball button.
