The University of Miami volleyball team fell to archrival No. 12 Florida State 3-0 on Wednesday evening.
“I thought we made too many errors in games one and two, so it was an uphill battle from there on,” Miami Head Coach José “Keno” Gándara said.
Miami (8-13, 2-7 ACC) lost to the Seminoles (15-3, 8-1 ACC) in three straight sets 25-12, 25-15 and 25-22.
The Canes and Noles traded points early in the first set, but an effective timeout by Florida State Head Coach Chris Poole sparked a run for the Seminoles. They would win 17 of the next 25 points to close out the set 25-12. It was a set that included 10 hitting errors for Miami compared to just three attacking errors by Florida State.
Miami looked sharper early on in the second set leading 4-2, but Florida State clawed its way back and ultimately went on a run to down the Canes 25-15 in the second set and take a two to nothing advantage into the intermission. FSU was able to limit UM to a -.061 hitting percentage in the second set.
The Hurricanes came out of the break firing, giving the Seminoles a 15-13 battle until a media timeout. However, Miami couldn’t fend off the Florida State attack for long, as the Noles closed out the three-set victory with a 25-22 win in the final set.
“I think we settled a little bit and cut back in errors a lot,” Gándara said of his team’s adjustments out of the intermission. “We got opportunities. They made some errors and we got to play a little bit more and that was the key. I thought we served a little tougher in game three.”
The Seminoles were able to neutralize junior outside hitter Olga Strantzali, who leads the ACC in kills (344) and kills per set (4.53). Strantzali finished with nine kills but was forced to 11 errors.
Freshman setter Hannah Sorensen tallied 25 assists for the Canes. She has totaled at least 25 assists in every match since taking over the setting duties for injured preseason All-ACC junior setter Haley Templeton.
Florida State limited Miami to a hitting percentage of .010, courtesy of nine Seminole blocks. The Noles attacked the ball at a clip of .226 percent.
Miami bounced back against Virginia on Saturday night, sweeping the Cavaliers 3-0. The Hurricanes won the sets 25-19, 26-24 and 25-18 to get its third ACC win of the season.
Junior outside hitter Strantzali led the Canes with a team-high 14 kills and nine digs, while sophomore outside hitter Anna Haak tallied 12 kills, seven digs and a block.
Miami will next travel to South Bend, Indiana, to play Notre Dame, as the team tries to earn back-to-back victories for the first time since August. The match will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday.