TAMPA – Kyleene Filimaua had a career high 22 kills, but it was not enough as the Florida State volleyball team (2-1) fell to USF (1-3) in five sets (22-25, 17-25, 25-20, 27-25, 12-15) on Friday night at the Yuengling Center. 

USF jumped out to an early lead in set, but the Noles continued to scratch and claw to cut the lead to two at 16-14. The Bulls extended their lead to four at 22-17, but the Noles were not done as they rattled off four consecutive points to cut the lead to one thanks to a couple of kills from Iane Henke. The Bulls responded and were able to score three out of the final four points of the set to take the first. 

The Noles were unable to get any rhythm in the second set as the Bulls cruised to a 25-17 victory to go up 2-0.

The Noles were able to get going in the third set,, but the Bulls were able to match them through the first half of the set. The Noles held a slight 19-18 lead, but they took four out of the next five points  and went on to win the set 25-20. 

The teams traded runs in the first half of the fourth set as the two teams were tied at 15. Neither team was able to get any separation as the match stayed within two points for the remainder of the set. The Bulls had match point at 24-23, but a huge block from Kelsey Perry and an ace by Filimaua gave the Noles their first set point. The Bulls were able to tie it up, but back-to-back errors from USF forced a fifth set. 

The Noles took control of the fifth set early on and were the first team to 10 with a 10-7 lead. USF rattled off five of the next six points to take the lead, and the Noles were unable to overcome the surge to suffer its first loss of the season. 

Filimaua led all players with 22 kills on 54 attacks. Henke added 16 kills while Nenu Kpea added 10 kills for her first double digit kill match of the year. Mio Yamamoto led the Noles with 16 digs. 

The Noles will be back in action at 3 p.m. against South Carolina. 

For updates and exclusive content, follow the Smeinoles on X (FSU_Volleyball), Instagram (fsuvolleyball) and Facebook (Florida State Seminoles Volleyball).