The University of Miami volleyball team fell to in-state rival Florida State, 3-2, on Wednesday night at Tully Gymnasium. Miami is now under .500 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for the first time since the 2020 season after dropping its second straight match.
After losing the first two sets, 26-24 and 25-22, Miami (9-7, 2-3 ACC) made a great comeback effort by winning the next two, 25-20 and 26-24. However, the final set was won by FSU (11-5, 3-2 ACC), 15-10, to take the match.
“I am proud of the way we hung in there and fought back to get to the fifth set on the road,” Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara said in a Miami Athletics release. “We certainly had our chances to win the match. We will learn from this, regroup and be ready for Duke on Sunday.”
Miami was competitive throughout, as it held leads in each set but couldn’t always hold on.
The ‘Canes started the match slowly, letting FSU take a commanding 7-0 lead in the first set. However, the Hurricanes hung around and later took three consecutive points to even the score at 24. Then, two straight Florida State kills by Skye Ekes and Audrey Koenig clinched set one for the Seminoles.
The competitiveness at the end of the first set continued in the second. Both teams never held more than a three-point lead until Miami broke the trend at 14-10. More back-and-forth scoring allowed Miami to hold on to the lead, 22-19, late in the set. However, UM collapsed, allowing six straight points to hand FSU the set.
Even down two sets, the Hurricanes didn’t stop fighting.
The third set was a strong showing for the Hurricanes, as they held one of their largest leads of the night at 17-10. Multiple kills by senior outside hitter Janice Leao helped Miami take the set, 25-20.
The fourth set was much closer. Down 24-21 and only one point away from losing the match, all hope seemed lost for Miami. However, two kills by redshirt junior Angela Grieve and errors by FSU gave the Hurricanes five straight points to win the set, 26-24. Grieve led the team with 25 kills on the night, a season-high.
The fifth and final set was the most competitive of the entire match.
Both teams went back and forth, each showing their desire to win. However, with FSU leading 11-10, the Seminoles went on a four-point run to clinch the match. Errors by Leao and freshman Flormarie Heredia Colon accounted for two of those four points.
Next up, Miami returns to Coral Gables to face the Duke Blue Devils at the Knight Sports Complex on Sunday at 1 p.m.