OMAHA, Neb. – The Florida State Seminoles (7-2) fell to the No. 17 Creighton Bluejays (6-2) in five sets (19-25, 25-19, 27-29, 27-25, 12-15) on Friday night at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb.
“That was a disappointing loss. I loved our fight,” Head Coach Chris Poole said. “We proved that we can play with this caliber of a team, and we are going to move on and learn from this.”
It was back and forth to begin set one, but Creighton took the lead at the 9-8 mark and held their advantage for the rest of the set. The Noles kept the deficit at three to four points for most of the set but were unable to mount a comeback against the Bluejays, falling 25-19. Audrey Rothman led the offensive attack with four kills and Emery Dupes added six digs.
Florida State came out strong in the second set, taking an early 5-1 lead. Creighton would fight back though, tying things up at 13. The Noles responded with a crucial six-point run to set up their 25-19 set two victory. FSU posted a match-high .364 hitting percentage while holding the Bluejays to .143.
The third set started similarly to the second as the Noles got out to a 13-7 lead, but the pesky Bluejays wouldn’t go away, tying the set at 17. It was a nail-biter down the stretch as there were eight ties and three lead changes, but the Bluejays would prevail with a 29-27 win.
FSU had their backs against the wall in the fourth set as they found themselves down 24-25. The Noles rallied for three-straight points to take the set thanks in part to kills from Rothman and Sydney Conley in the closing points.
The fifth and final set was a close fight in the beginning as the teams were knotted up at six. The Bluejays found their stride though and went on a six-point run to take a 12-6 lead. Florida State made a comeback attempt with a four-point run to cut the deficit to two but fell short in the end, losing the set 12-15 and dropping the match 2-3.
Audrey Koenig led the Seminoles in kills with 17 and Emily Ryan tied her career mark with 12. Dupes and Rothman both posted career-highs in digs with 31 and 26.
The Noles travel to Gainesville on Tuesday to take on the #16 Florida Gators. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and ESPNU will have the coverage.
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