Kyleene Filimaua recorded 23 kills, 16 digs and a match-high 24 points as the Florida State volleyball team rallied to defeat No. 16 Kansas 3-2 on Sept. 4, 2026, at the LUV Invitational in Allen Arena in Nashville. Florida State won 26-24, 21-25, 19-25, 28-26 and 15-13 to improve to 3-1, while Kansas fell to 1-3. The victory was Florida State’s first against a ranked opponent since defeating No. 15 North Carolina on Nov. 21, 2025.
The five-set victory was also Florida State’s first since defeating Notre Dame on Nov. 16, 2025. Filimaua, a senior outside hitter, posted a season-best 23 kills and recorded her second double-double of the season with her 16 digs. Her 24 points led all players in the match.
Florida State gets major contributions
Nenu Kpea added a career-high 17 kills while hitting .536. Sofia Moss recorded a career-high 14 kills, and Delaney Ewing finished with 10 kills while hitting .556 on 18 attempts. Florida State had four players reach double-digit kills.
Emma Lilo directed the offense with a season-high 40 assists. Maile Chan led all players with a career-high 17 digs. Kpea, Moss, Ewing, Lilo and Chan all contributed to Florida State’s comeback victory.
Seminoles overcome 2-1 deficit
Florida State opened the match by closing the first set on a 6-3 run to win 26-24. Kansas answered with 25-21 and 25-19 victories in the second and third sets to take a 2-1 lead. The Jayhawks built a 14-10 advantage in the fourth set before Florida State responded with a 5-0 run.
The teams eventually reached a 22-22 tie in the fourth set. A solo block from Filimaua and a Kansas attack error gave Florida State set point at 24-22, but Kansas answered with three straight points to take a 25-24 lead. Florida State fought off two match points before kills from Filimaua and Moss helped set up the 28-26 victory that forced a deciding set.
Florida State broke a 7-7 tie in the fifth set with three consecutive points to take a 10-7 lead. Kansas cut the deficit to 12-11, but Filimaua responded with back-to-back kills to give Florida State match point. After Kansas pulled within 14-13, Filimaua delivered her 23rd kill to complete the comeback.
Florida State faces Lipscomb next
Florida State will remain in Nashville for the LUV Invitational and play host Lipscomb Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with live statistics available on Seminoles.com.
Source: Original report