FSU volleyball wraps up regular season with SMU on Wednesday

[Bob Ferrante]

FSU sports information:

The Florida State volleyball team (20-8, 12-6) wraps up its regular season with a match against No. 10 SMU on Wednesday at noonon ACCNX before hitting the road for the regular season finale at Wake Forest on Friday at 1 p.m. on ACCNX.

Noles Look to Finish the Season Strong

• The Noles will look to have a strong finish to the season and improve their NCAA Tournament seeding this week with matches against No. 10 SMU and Wake Forest.
• The Noles will be looking for its fifth ranked win of the season against SMU which would tie the program record for most ranked wins in a season.
• FSU will be looking for its first-ever win against SMU. The two teams have met just twice before with SMU taking both matches.
• FSU will be looking for its 18th consecutive win over Wake Forest. FSU has not lost to Wake Forest in Winston Salem since 2005.
• FSU currently ranks 26th in the RPI.

Noles Pick Up Signature Win Over Georgia Tech

• The Noles picked up its signature win for the 2024 season last Friday night as they defeated No. 15 Georgia Tech.
• The win snapped an eight-match losing streak to the Yellow Jackets in the five-set thriller.
• It was FSU's highest ranked win of the season after going 0-5 against top 15 teams before Friday.

Noles Reach 20 Win Mark Again

• With back-to-back wins last weekend, FSU eclipsed the 20-win mark for the 12th time under Head Coach Chris Poole.
• This is the first time FSU has had back-to-back 20-win season since 2015-16.

Koenig Has Historic Match Against Wake Forest

• Audrey Koenig had one of the best individual performances you'll ever see on Nov. 8 against Wake Forest.
• Koenig recorded 20 kills in three sets which was her career high in a three-set match. Koenig is one of four players in the ACC this season to record 20 kills in a three-set match.
• More impressively, Koenig recorded eight service aces against the Demon Deacons which was the second-most in FSU history. Her eight aces are the second-most by anyone in the country for a three-set match.

Louis Reaches 1,000 Kills

• Khori Louis reached 1,000 kills on Nov. 8 against Wake Forest.
• Louis became just the seventh Nole to reach 1,000 career kills in the rally scoring era.
• Louis is just the second middle blocker in program history to reach 1,000 kills in the rally scoring era. Brianna Barry was the other middle blocker to reach 1,000 career kills.

Noles Started on the Right Foot in ACC Play....Again

• FSU has consistently started off ACC play in the win column in the last decade.
• Excluding the 2021 spring season where there were no non-conference matches, FSU has won its last 10 ACC openers.
• FSU has started 2-0 in the ACC in eight out of the last 10 seasons.
• FSU has never finished worse than 5th in the ACC under Head Coach Chris Poole.

Not Slowing Down on Offense

• FSU has proven to be one of the top offenses in the ACC and the country so far this season.
• As a team, FSU ranks 19th in the country and third in the ACC with a .276 hitting percentage.
• The Seminoles have been spreading the wealth as they have three players who have recorded 200 or more kills this season and five players who have recorded 100 or more kills this season.

Climbing the Ranks

• FSU was ranked No. 21 in this week's AVCA/TARAFLEX Coaches Poll. The Noles were ranked 15th in week one which was the program's highest ranking since 2017.
• FSU has been ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll for 16 consecutive weeks which is the program's longest streak since when the Seminoles were ranked in every poll from Aug. 30, 2011, to Sept. 17, 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.
• FSU has picked up four ranked wins this season already with wins over No. 15 Georgia Tech, No. 25 Georgia and No. 25 Miami. It was the first time since 2014 that FSU had multiple ranked wins before October 1.

Koenig Saving Her Best Season for Last

• 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 leads the team with 371 kills and 45 aces in 27 matches and is third on the team with 228 digs.
• Koenig's 45 aces are already the most by any Seminole since Mira Djuric in 2009.
• Koenig has tallied 260 kills in ACC play which is third in the conference. Koenig's serve has also come on strong in ACC play as she has recorded 35 aces in ACC play which is tied for third in the ACC.
• Koenig has recorded 10 or more kills in her last 25 matches which is the longest streak by any FSU player in the rally scoring era.
• Koenig was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 30 after tallying 36 kills in two wins over Miami and on Nov. 11 for tallying 31 kills and 11 aces against Wake Forest and NC State.
• Koenig also earned 2023 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors for the first time in her career.
• Koenig's 13 double-doubles last season were the 13th-most in FSU history. Koenig is up to eight double doubles this season.
• Koenig has recorded 1,328 kills during her career with the Garnet and Gold. Koenig became just the sixth player in FSU history to surpass 1,000 career kills in the rally scoring era. Her 1,328 kills is the second-best mark in school history in the rally scoring era.

Louis Continuing to Stay Hot for the Noles

• 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 in 2023 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 has picked up right where she left off as she is hitting .417 with 299 kills which is second to Koenig's 371 kills. Louis also leads the team with 120 blocks which is the most she has ever had in four seasons as a Seminole.
• Louis's .417 hitting percentage ranks 13th in the entire country and is second in the ACC.
• Louis earned her first-ever ACC Offensive Player of the Week award last week as she record 35 kills in two matches against Clemson and Georgia Tech while hitting .607.
• Louis holds a career hitting percentage of .380 which is currently the best mark in FSU history. The previous record is .371 which is held by Brianna Barry.
• Louis was second on the team with 271 kills and 93 blocks in 2023.
• In her career, Louis has recorded 1,056 kills which is 6th in program history in the rally scoring era.
• Louis also ranks top 15 in program history in the rally scoring era in solo blocks, assisted blocks and total blocks.

Taylor Head Heating Up for the Noles

• The Seminoles made one of the biggest transfer moves in college volleyball last season as they picked up transfer Taylor Head from 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 leads the team with 301 digs and is third on the team with 275 kills.
• Head has played very well in her last 14 matches as she has recorded eight double doubles in her last 14 matches.
• In her career, Head has recorded 1,812 kills which is the 11th-most among active Division I players.
• 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 is Back and Making an Impact

• 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 has played in 104 out of the 105 sets this season with 138 digs.
• 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 has also been terrific behind the service line recording 57 aces in three 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 Becoming a Force in the Middle for the Noles

• After redshirting at Iowa State last season, Perry has become a force in the middle for the Seminoles.
• Perry is currently second on the team with 103 blocks and 1.12 blocks per set.
• Perry had a season-high five kills in the win at Boston College on Oct. 18.
• Perry had seven total blocks against No. 25 Georgia which was just one block off her career high.
• Perry also has recorded 56 kills on 135 attempts.

Filimaua: A True Swiss Army Knife

• Kyleene Filimaua is a true do-it-all for Florida State volleyball.
• Filimaua has played in 102 out of the 105 sets for the Noles and has played all over the court including starting at libero in eight matches this season.
• Filimaua has recorded 146 kills this season and has recorded six double-digit kill matches after recording just one double-digit kill match last year.
• To go along with her 146 kills this season, Filimaua has also recorded 240 digs, 64 assists, 23 aces and 27 blocks.

Phelan Becoming a Force on the Service Line and on Defense

• Kenna Phelan has shown off her nasty serve this season, and it became a game-changer for FSU.
• In 10 sets on opening weekend, Phelan recorded 10 aces from the service line. Her 10 aces were the eighth-most in the entire country on opening weekend.
• Phelan has recorded 30 service aces in 28 matches so far this season.
• Phelan had a career weekend as she broke her career high with 30 assists against Georgia Tech then broke it again with 33 assists against Clemson.
• Phelan recorded 19 digs against Auburn and 15 digs against North Florida. It was the first time in her career that Phelan has had back-to-back matches with 10 or more digs.
• Phelan has also been great as a setter in FSU's 6-2 system as she has recorded 525 assists.

Henke Off to Strong Start for the Garnet and Gold

• After missing opening weekend, Iane Henke has come right in and been a very valuable asset for the Seminoles.
• In her debut, Henke tallied 10 kills and six blocks against Cal Poly.
• Henke recorded a season-high 11 kills at Boston College on Oct. 18.
• In total, Henke has had 138 kills, 53 digs, 69 blocks and five aces in 26 matches for the Noles.