A number of Florida State programs are at or approaching the midway points in their seasons.
FSU football may be idle this coming weekend, but there are a number of significant contests upcoming for the Seminoles that could shape the course of the season. As usual, we tell you what to watch for in FSU athletics over the next week:
1. FSU volleyball prepares for key battle with Pittsburgh
Six volleyball teams remain undefeated through two ACC matches and two of them will meet in Tallahassee on Sunday. To cap a 2-game home stretch, Florida State will play host to No. 4 Pittsburgh in a contest that could determine an ACC champion. Both teams are 2-0 in conference. The Seminoles are 8-3 overall while Pittsburgh is 13-1. The Panthers took both match-ups between the schools last season and that was the difference in the ACC as they finished 17-1 in conference to 15-3 for the Seminoles.
FSU is led by reigning ACC Player of the Year, Payton Caffrey, who ranks third in the ACC in kills per set. Taryn Knuth is the conference’s blocks leader. Kayla Lund leads Pittsburgh in kills and ranks fifth in the ACC in that category and 10th in hitting percentage. The teams will meet on Sunday at noon EST in a match that will air on ACC Network. On Friday night, FSU will host Virginia at 6:30 p.m. EST. The Cavaliers are 9-6 and 1-1 in conference.
2. FSU soccer hosts Pittsburgh
Florida State and Pittsburgh will battle on the volleyball court on Sunday, but the day prior, the two schools will meet on the soccer field. FSU will look to earn its eighth straight win and improve to 4-0 in conference on Saturday. With 22 points, FSU forward Deyna Castellanos is tied for the ACC lead in that category and leads the Seminoles with seven goals and eight assists. Pittsburgh is led by Amanda West, who has seven goals and seven assists this season. The teams meet at 1 p.m. EST on Saturday on ACC Network.
3. FSU men’s golf heads to Ohio
Florida State men’s golf will spend the early parts of next week in Dublin, Ohio for the Jack Nicklaus Invitational. After finishing last out of 15 teams at the Maui Jim Invitational, the Seminoles finished eighth out of 15 teams at the Fighting Illini Invite. While FSU has underwhelmed as a team thus far, Jamie Li and John Pak each finished in the top 15 in Illinois. Li finished fourth at even par and has been the top finisher for the Seminoles in each of the first two tournaments.
4. FSU swimming and diving opens season
The swimming and diving season will open on Friday in South Bend against Notre Dame. On the women’s side, sophomore Nina Kucheran is one to watch in the breaststroke while senior Molly Carlson should be a force on the high dive. On the men’s side, junior diver Joshua Davidson is the guy to watch for the Seminoles. The FSU men are coming off a fifth-place finish in the ACC and a top-15 finish at the NCAA Championships. The FSU women finished sixth in the ACC last season and 34th at the NCAA Championships.
5. FSU cross country heads to South Bend
Florida State’s swimming and diving teams won’t be the only group of Seminoles in South Bend on Friday. The cross country team will compete in the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. The FSU women have won both meets they’ve participated in so far, although the competition wasn’t very stiff at the UAH Charger Open over the weekend. Erin Phelps took her first individual title. After winning the Covered Bridge Open in August, FSU’s men settled for second in Blacksburg behind host Virginia Tech. In two meets thus far, FSU’s Kasey Knevelbaard has first and second-place finishes.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.
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