CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (seminoles.com) – The 17th-ranked Florida State indoor volleyball team was powered by a season-best performance on the offensive end to sweep Boston College, 3-0 (25-23, 25-8, 25-13), and improve to 2-0 in the ACC on Sunday afternoon at Power Gym.
The Seminoles (9-4, 2-0) are off to their first 2-0 start in conference play since 2011 after registering a .478 hitting percentage. Florida State put together 39 kills and just seven errors in 67 swings on Sunday, garnering its highest hitting percentage since attacking at a .481 clip against UC-Irvine on Sept. 3, 2011.
After enduring a close back-and-forth first set with the Eagles (8-6, 0-2), Florida State dominated the second set with 15 kills and just two errors in 21 attacks, leading to a .619 hitting percentage. The hot-hitting effort set the tone for the rest of the match, as FSU held one of the conference’s top outside hitters in Katty Workman to a -.240 hitting mark and five kills.
“We started slow again today but caught fire and played very well on our side of the net the last two sets,” head coach Chris Poole said. “We really limited our errors and had a lot of great performances from different individuals. We still have one more away trip before we get back home from this long stretch of road matches. These young ladies continue to push through the challenge.”
FSU senior middle blocker Ashley Neff helped Florida State with five kills in seven attacks, and added six blocks. The Kennesaw, Ga., native crossed the 500-block plateau in Sunday’s match, making her just the seventh Seminole to reach the milestone. Neff now has 504 total blocks for her career, tying with former player Julie Brown (1979-83) for sixth on the school list.
Neff’s 433 block assists push her into third place in school history, moving past former standout Vicki Zinkil.
Sophomore Nicole Walch led Florida State with 12 kills and recorded a .556 hitting percentage. Senior Elise Walch added 10 kills and a .500 attack mark. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Sarah Burrington concluded her stellar weekend with seven kills, seven blocks and a .667 hitting percentage.
Junior setter Sarah Wickstrom finished with 23 assists, while freshman Hailey Luke added 10 assists. Defensively, Florida State gave itself a big edge in the blocking game, out-blocking the Eagles 13-4.
Freshman Izzy Carmona was also a key component to the win. One of her three kills came with FSU clinging to a 24-23 lead in the first set, as she hammered down a kill from the right side to end the first frame.
FSU finishes its nine-match trip away from home with an ACC matchup at Georgia Tech on Friday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. The ‘Noles then head to Clemson on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m.
Follow Florida State indoor volleyball on Seminoles.com as well as on the team’s official Twitter (@FSU_Volleyball) and Facebook pages (Facebook.com/FSUVolleyball).
