The No. 14 ranked University of Miami women’s volleyball team secured a hard-fought 3–2 victory over rival Florida State on Saturday afternoon, outlasting the Seminoles in a back-and-forth battle in Tallahassee.
Miami entered the season with one of its strongest starts in program history at 16–1, but a three-match losing streak from Oct. 12–19 raised concerns of a midseason collapse. Since then, the Hurricanes have regained their form, as Saturday’s win marks their sixth straight victory, reestablishing the dominance they showed early.
Senior outside hitter Flormarie Heredia Colón led the Miami offense with an outstanding 32 kills, and redshirt sophomore setter Ariana Rodriguez operated the offense with poise, finishing with 48 assists and 10 digs.
Florida State started the match strong, opening with four unanswered points and controlling the tempo on the way to a 25–17 first-set win. Miami struggled to settle in, posting a negative hitting percentage and committing costly errors across the court.
The Hurricanes responded immediately in the second set. Miami pulled ahead 13-11 before a timely block by Marin Wilson sparked a run that stretched the lead to 17–12. Behind efficient attacking and a sharp .429 hitting percentage, Miami closed out a convincing 25–15 win to tie the match at 1–1.
Set three was tightly contested from the start. Colón made her presence felt at the net with five blocks, but Florida State swung the momentum with a 7–0 run to take a 16–15 lead. Despite a late push from Miami, the Seminoles held on for a narrow 25–23 win to go up 2–1.
Miami flipped the script in the fourth set, delivering one of its best defensive frames of the match. The Hurricanes held FSU to just .150 hitting, applying pressure on every rally. Freshman Amina N’Diaye provided the spark, serving three consecutive aces to help Miami roll to a 25–16 victory and force a fifth set.
The final set opened with Florida State jumping ahead 8–4, but Miami refused to back down. Consecutive kills from freshman Sonja Danilovic helped the Hurricanes seal the match 15–10 after a reviewed call confirmed an FSU touch on a ball that sailed out of bounds.
With the win, Miami improves to 21–4 overall and 11–3 in ACC play, climbing to third in the conference standings. Florida State falls to 7–7 in the ACC, snapping its recent four-match winning streak.
Miami travels to Notre Dame on Nov. 14, looking to build on its late-season resurgence and strengthen its hold at the top of the conference.
