Seminoles Rally to Stun Gators, Advance to Round of 16

Florida State’s volleyball team was forced to dig deep Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Gainesville and dig deep, it did.

After getting hammered in the first two sets, the Seminoles rallied to take the final three and end rival and No. 11 national seed Florida’s season, 13-25, 15-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-12.

After dropping the first two, it appeared as though FSU (26-5) may go down in straight sets as it trailed 16-12 in the third. From there, the Seminoles closed the set on a 13-7 run and won again in the fourth to force a fifth set.

FSU trailed 11-9 in the fifth set against the rival Gators, but scored six of the next seven points. An ace from Melanie Keil ended the match and the season for Florida (27-4).

Alex Holston and Carli Snyder each had double-doubles for Florida in the loss. Holston finished with a match-high 23 kills and 14 digs. Snyder had 18 kills and 17 digs. Caroline Knop finished with a match-high 23 digs in the defeat.

Katie Horton had a double-double for the second straight day for the Seminoles with 18 kills and 12 digs. Milica Kubura added 14 kills in the victory while Cecilie Woie and Hailey Luke had 19 and 14 digs, respectively.

With the win, FSU will move on to face either Boise State or Stanford in the round of 16 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson