Noles Survive

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- For the fourth time this season, No. 6 Florida State (9-0) won a five-set match, 3-2 (25-17, 26-28, 17-25, 25-16, 15-8), this time topping Auburn (5-5) in Tully Gym on Tuesday.

“We had some players step up at critical times tonight,” head coach Chris Poole said, “That’s encouraging. We’re still finding a way to win the match which is the most important thing.”  

In the fifth, FSU grabbed an 8-5 lead after a pair of blocks, both involving middle blocker Sarah Burrington. A kill from outside hitter Nicole Walch made it 9-5 and forced Auburn to call a timeout.

Out of the break, the Seminoles committed a pair of errors cutting the lead to 9-7.

The Seminoles recharged and went to the clutch hand of Burrington for the kill before setter Sarah Wickstrom delivered a huge ace. An Auburn attack error gave FSU breathing room at 12-7.

Auburn earned the side out, but the Seminoles charged to the win by taking the next three points as Burrington and Walch stood tall for a block to seal the match, 15-8.

“We had a lot to of things to talk about and a lot we needed to work on,” Burrington said. “That’s what we did and we came out and gave it our best.”  

Walch led the Seminole attack with 16 kills and Burrington put up 14 while hitting .522 percent. Middle blocker Kiara Wright set a new career high with 11 kills and hit for .350 percent.

“This team is a lot different than any other team I’ve been a part of,” Wright said. “We had a lot of character and heart and when we’re down, we don’t think about being down, we think about getting momentum and coming out and playing.”

The Seminoles put up 14 total blocks as Burrington registered nine block assists with Wright posting four. Walch had five block assists and outside hitter Katie Horton produced four on top of one solo stop.

Libero Katie Mosher produced her second career 30-dig effort, while posting three assists and an ace.

Wickstrom tallied 38 assists while setter Hailey Luke amassed 16 assists.

Here's a look at tonight's stat recap of the 3-2 win over Auburn.