FSU volleyball plays at Auburn tournament

[Bob Ferrante]

FSU sports information:

The No. 15 Florida State volleyball team (3-0) hopes to continue its momentum from opening weekend as they travel to Auburn, Ala., to face Cal Poly (2-1) and Auburn (4-0) this weekend. FSU will face the Mustangs on Friday at 5 p.m. There will be no live stream for the matchup but fans can follow along on Statbroadcast.com. The Noles will face Auburn on Sunday at 1 p.m. on SECN+.

Noles Cruise Through Opening Weekend

• For the first time since 2011, the Florida State volleyball opened up its season inside of Tully Gym, and they delivered with three wins in the Seminole Invitational last weekend.
• FSU swept USF and UC Santa Barbara while taking down No. 25 Georgia in four sets. Both Georgia and UC Santa Barbara qualified for the 2023 NCAA Tournament while USF finished 22-12 last season.
• The win against No. 25 Georgia was FSU's 41st all-time win against a Top 25 opponent and its first ranked win against a non conference opponent since 2021.
• Out of the 10 sets the Seminoles' played last weekend, FSU only allowed 20 points in four of the sets.

Spreading the Wealth

• FSU spread the wealth offensively last weekend at the Seminole Invitational.
• FSU had three different kill leaders in each of the games. Kyleene Filimaua led the way against UCSB, Taylor Head led the way against USF and Audrey Koenig led the way against No. 25 Georgia.
• Four different players earned 40 or more attacks on the weekend.

Climbing the Ranks

• FSU was ranked No. 15 in this week's AVCA/TARAFLEX Coaches Poll which is the program's highest ranking since 2017.
• FSU opened the season ranked 20th in the preseason poll. It was the first time FSU was ranked to start the season since 2017.
• FSU picked up a ranked win against No. 25 Georgia. It was FSU's 41st ranked win in program history and was the first time FSU beat a ranked non conference opponent since defeating No. 14 Florida in 2021.

SHE'S BAAAACCCKKKKK

• The reigning 2023 ACC Co-Player of the Year Audrey Koenig is back for one last season with the Seminoles and will look to solidify herself as one of the top players in FSU history.
• Koenig was just the fourth Seminole to win the ACC Player of the Year award and was the first Nole to accomplish the feat since Payton Caffrey in 2018.
• Koenig earned 28 kills on opening weekend including a team-high 15 kills against No. 25 Georgia.
• Koenig also earned 2023 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors for the first time in her career.
• Koenig led the Noles in 2023 with 374 kills on 900 total attacks while hitting .300.
• Koenig was also great defensively as she was second on the team with 306 digs.
• Koenig's 13 double-doubles last season were the 13th-most in FSU history.
• Koenig has recorded 985 kills during her career with the Garnet and Gold. That mark is tied for seventh all-time in program history in the rally scoring era. Koenig will look to become just the sixth Seminole in the rally scoring era to surpass 1,000 kills. Koenig also ranks fourth all-time in the rally scoring era with 2,703 attacks.

Louis Coming Off Her Best Season as a Nole

• FSU senior and Tallahassee native Khori Louis put together her best season as a Seminole in 2023 as she earned First Team All-ACC honors and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention for the first time in her career.
• Louis hit a career-high .432 which ranked fourth in the nation and was the fifth-best mark in school history and the best mark since Sareea Freeman in 2012.
• Louis picked up right where she left off on opening weekend as she hit .533 with 27 kills.
• Louis holds a career hitting percentage of .366 which is fourth all-time in FSU history. Brianna Barry holds the program record for career hitting percentage as she hit .371 in her career from 2006-09.
• Louis was second on the team with 271 kills and 93 blocks.
• In her career, Louis has recorded 784 kills which is tied for 14th in program history in the rally scoring era. Louis needs just 73 kills to crack the top 10 list.
• Louis also ranks top 15 in program history in the rally scoring era in solo blocks, assisted blocks and total blocks.

Noles Make Transfer Splash with Taylor Head

• The Seminoles made one of the biggest transfer moves in college volleyball last season as they picked up transfer Taylor Head from Arkansas. Head will have one season with the Seminoles after three seasons with Arkansas.
• Head was one of the best hitters not only in the SEC but the entire country last season as she picked up AVCA Third Team All-America honors after recording 494 kills with a .231 hitting percentage for a Razorback team that qualified for the Elite Eight.
• Head led the way for the Noles on the weekend with 33 kills while also having a team-high 29 digs.
• Head was one of the best all-around players in the country last season as she was third in the entire nation with 22 double-doubles.
• Head ranked in the top 10 in the SEC in total kills, kills per set, total attacks, attacks per set, double-doubles, points and total digs.
• Last season, Head would've led the ACC in total kills, points, double doubles and total attacks. Head also would've ranked in the top five in kills per set, attacks per set and points per set.
• Head spent her spring with the Florida State beach volleyball team where she finished the season with a 8-2 record.

Dupes Ready To Get Back on the Court

• After a knee injury kept her off the court in 2023, libero Emery Dupes is ready to become a force for the Seminoles' defense once again.
• Dupes played in all 10 sets for the Noles on opening weekend and recorded nine digs and had a perfect service reception percentage on 36 attempts.
• Prior to injury, Dupes led the team with 287 digs in 2022 while playing in 94 sets.
• As a freshman, Dupes earned All-ACC honors and became the first freshman libero in FSU history to earn All-ACC honors.
• Broke the school freshman record with 3.88 digs per set and was also just the 12th player in FSU history to record over 400 digs.
• Dupes is currently averaging 3.37 digs per set in her career which ranks seventh all-time in FSU history.
• Dupes has also been terrific behind the service line recording 44 aces in two seasons. In 2021, Dupes recorded six service aces in a single match which is tied for the third-most ever by a Seminole in a single match.

Perry Shines on Opening Weekend

• After redshirting at Iowa State last season, Perry shined on opening weekend for the Noles.
• Perry totaled 14 total blocks on opening weekend including 1.40 blocks per set.
• Perry had seven total blocks against No. 25 Georgia which was just one block off her career high.
• Also recorded seven kills on 14 attacks without any hitting errors.

Filimaua: A True Swiss Army Knife

• Kyleene Filimaua is a true do-it-all for Florida State volleyball.
• Returning to her main position as an outside hitter after playing libero last season, Filimaua was FSU's kill leader in the season opener against USF with 10 kills while also adding 11 kills against UC Santa Barbara. Filimaua had just one double-digit kill game last season.
• To go along with her 28 kills on opening weekend, Filimaua also had 23 digs, 13 assists, five aces and two blocks for the Noles.

Phelan Shows Off Lethal Serve

• Kenna Phelan showed off her nasty serve this past weekend, and it became a game-changer for FSU.
• In 10 sets, Phelan recorded 10 aces from the service line. Her 10 aces were the eighth-most in the entire country on opening weekend.
• Phelan was also great as a setter in FSU's 6-2 system as she recorded 47 assists.

You Can't Teach Height

• The 2024 squad will be one of Head Coach Chris Poole's tallest teams as the head coach at FSU.
• The Seminoles have eight players at 6-2 or taller. The only year the Seminoles had more players taller than 6-2 was 2019 when the Seminoles had nine players 6-2 or taller.
• FSU also has one of the tallest teams in the entire ACC. No one has more players 6-2 or taller than FSU. Pitt and Virginia also have eight players that are 6-2 or taller.

No Better Teacher Than Experience

• Nothing can ever replace experience, and the Seminoles have a lot of experience on the 2024 squad.
• 10 out of FSU's 16 players have played in 25 or more matches.
• FSU has five players (Dupes, Head, Koenig, Louis, Robertson) who have played in 50 or more matches.
• FSU also added Iane Henke who played 66 matches for Cal State LA, a DII program.

Getting Challenged Early and Often

• The Seminoles will get tested early and often in the 2024 season.
• In 10 non conference games, four of those games will come against teams that made the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
• Nine out of the 10 teams that FSU will play in the non conference had a winning record in 2023.
• The Seminoles ACC schedule is no cupcake either as the Seminoles will play Elite Eight participants Louisville, Pitt and Stanford as well as NCAA Tournament qualifiers Georgia Tech, Miami (2x) and SMU (2x).