Football
Florida State began the season 1-0 — but the 34-17 win was one full of missed opportunities and mistakes, something Mike Norvell acknowledged after the matchup:
Our staff offered their thoughts in our first 5 questions, 5 answers of the year:
FSU now turns its attention towards SMU — the Seminoles are currently a 3.5-point underdog (+134 moneyline) to the Mustangs in next Monday’s matchup according to FanDuel, with the over/under at 53.5.
77% of you believe Duce Robinson will break 1000 yards again this season — is that still the case after Saturday?
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FSU volleyball bounced back from a season-opening loss to BYU with back-to-back wins, taking down VCU and FGCU:
Against VCU, the Seminoles were led by junior middle blocker Delaney Ewing, who recorded a career- and match-high 14 kills while leading all players with 16 points. Freshman outside hitter Sofia Moss followed with 13 kills, nearly doubling her total from her Seminole debut. Sophomore middle blocker Nenu Kpea also recorded double-digit kills, tallying 12 on a .444 hitting percentage.
Junior setters Emma Lilo and Callie Keiffer combined for 50 assists, with Lilo leading the way with 30 after recording 23 against No. 24 BYU in Friday’s season opener. Keiffer added 20 assists.
Junior libero Maile Chan led all players with a career-high 13 digs.
Florida State finished the match with 61 kills, 46 digs, nine total blocks and 10 aces, marking the first time the Seminoles have recorded double-digit aces since Oct. 26, 2025, against Virginia Tech, when FSU tallied 12.
Florida State came out strong in the opening set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. VCU cut the deficit to three, but the Seminoles continued to build their advantage, taking a 21-15 lead before closing out the set, 25-19. Moss led FSU with seven kills in the opening frame.
The second set remained closely contested throughout, with neither team able to create much separation early. VCU took a 16-14 advantage before Florida State answered with two straight points to level the score. The Rams then pulled away late, taking the set 25-19 to even the match at 1-1.
The third set was a back-and-forth battle, featuring nine ties and five lead changes. With the score tied at 17-17 FSU went on a 4-1 run to take a 21-18 advantage.
The Seminoles held on to win the set 25-22 and took a 2-1 lead in the match, with Ewing recording five kills in the set.
The fourth set was another hard-fought battle. Trailing 15-12 at the media timeout, the Seminoles battled back to tie the set at 17-17. FSU then won seven of the next 12 points to take a 24-22 lead. VCU fought off two match points to tie the set at 24-24, but the Seminoles closed out the Rams with the next two points to win 26-24 and secure the 3-1 victory.Against FGCU, Seminoles were led by senior outside hitter Kyleene Filimaua, who recorded a season-high 19 kills to lead all players while recording a .600 hitting percentage. She also finished with a match-high 21 points. Junior middle blocker Delaney Ewing followed up her career-high performance against VCU with 13 kills, while freshman outside hitter Sofia Moss added 12 kills.
Florida State also controlled the net, outblocking the Eagles 11-4. Sophomore middle blocker Nenu Kpea led all players with a career-high 7.0 blocks. Junior setter
Emma Lilo continued her strong weekend with her second consecutive 30-plus assist performance, finishing with 32 assists.
FSU finished the match with 60 kills while hitting .363 and adding nine aces.
For the third consecutive match, the Seminoles controlled the opening set. FSU opened the match with three straight aces with FGCU later tying the set at 15-15. The Seminoles then closed the set on a 10-4 run to take the opening frame, 25-19.
FGCU responded in the second set, taking a 25-19 victory to even the match at 1-1.
The third set belonged to Florida State, as the Seminoles jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never lost control. The Eagles cut the deficit to three at 22-19, but two Seminole kills followed by an FGCU attack error gave FSU a 25-21 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set featured the closest battle of the afternoon, with 17 ties and seven lead changes. FSU trailed 19-15 before using a 4-0 run to even the set and force a FGCU timeout. The Eagles later reached set point at 24-23, but Filimaua answered with a kill to keep the Seminoles alive. With the set tied at 25-25, Filimaua recorded her 19th kill of the match to give FSU match point. Kpea and junior opposite hitter Johanna Sova then teamed up for a block to seal the 27-25 set victory and give the Seminoles their second consecutive 3-1 win.
The Seminoles remain on the road next weekend, traveling to Nashville for the LUV Invitational hosted by Lipscomb. FSU will face No. 15 Kansas on Friday, Sept. 4, at 4 p.m., before taking on Lipscomb on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with live stats available on Seminoles.com.
