Aug. 25, 2007
Final Stats
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida State Seminoles won a tightly contested match, 3-1 (25-30, 30-23, 16-30, 27-30), Saturday night in the finale of the FSU Invitational. The Frogs were led offensively by
LeMeita Smith's 18 kills.
Lauren Otto tallied her second double-double of the season with 10 kills and 10 digs.
The Frogs stormed out to an early 7-3 lead in game one thanks to two kills from LeMeita Smith and a solo stuff from Devon Kirk. The Seminoles put together a rally and battled back to tie the game at seven. From there, the game went back and forth with neither team able to build a big lead.
Florida State took a three-point lead at 16-13 forcing TCU to use a timeout. Smith and Lauren Otto made it a one-point game with back-to-back kills, but Mira Djuric ended the Frog rally with a loud kill down the middle. The kill spurred a 7-2 Seminole run that resulted in a 24-17 lead.
TCU rallied again behind the serving of Irene Hester to pull back within three, but a Florida State timeout killed the rally. A service error by Hester out of the break ended the rally. The Seminoles scored four of the next five points to gain a 29-22 advantage. Trying to build momentum for game two, the Frogs put together three straight points before Makini Thompson ended game one with a kill off the block for a 30-25 Florida State win.
Just like in game one, the Frogs stormed out to the early lead but this time they were able to withstand a late Seminole rally to earn the 1-1 tie. Always one to roll points off of her serve, Loren Barry served the Frogs to a 6-1 lead. The Seminoles cut into the lead, but a service error ended their rally. A Kourtney Edwards solo block followed by a Smith blast gave the Frogs a 9-3 lead.
The Seminoles cut it to two points, 12-10, but the Frogs went on a 9-2 run to make it a 21-12 contest. Outstanding defense by Barry in that stretch helped the Frogs run some offense and Smith provided the power with two kills.
TCU's lead continued to grow as it stretched it out to 26-15. Florida State showed some life late in the match behind the serving of Djuric as she tattled of seven points on her serve to get within three, 26-23. Otto killed the rally with a loud blast followed by and Edwards and Christy Hudson denial on the outside. A Devon Kirk ace and an Edwards solo block tied the match at one.
Game three was tight early on, but a 4-0 rally by the Seminoles with the score knotted at five opened the game up. TCU was able to pull within one on kills from Otto and Kirk, but a Florida State timeout killed the rally. The Seminoles got the three points back out of the break to increase their lead to 14-10.
Again Djuric put the Seminoles on her back and served them to a 20-11 lead with help from three service aces in that stretch. TCU couldn't recover and Florida State claimed the 30-16 game three win.
In game four, both teams had their chances to pull away, but they were able to get the crucial side out to keep the match close. The Frogs took the early lead, only to see the Seminoles recover to regain the lead. A 6-2 run by the Frogs pushed them to an 11-9 lead and Edwards and Smith kept it going. A Hudson blast gave the Frogs their biggest lead of the game at 15-12.
The Seminoles answered with a five-point rally of their own on the serve of the Lauren Rosenthal. TCU was able to creep back and regain a two-point advantage on a Seminole hitting error. From there the teams battled to a 27-27 tie, but a kill by Jordana Price put the Seminoles back on top and they closed out the 30-27 win.
Nirelle Hampton and Kourtney Edwards were named to the all-tournament team.
The Frogs fall to 2-1 on the young season. They will hit the road next week when they travel to Maine for the Maine Invitational. TCU will play three matches beginning with an afternoon tilt against the host school on Friday.
