The Girls Did the Work. The Boys…. Did Not.
Ladies, pour the coffee. Or the wine. We are fifty-something and we have earned the right to celebrate the women who actually finished the job this week — and to roll our eyes so hard at Miami and our own football program that we might need a new pair of readers.
Volleyball Did What Football Cannot: Beat Miami
Wednesday night in Tully Gymnasium, the Florida State volleyball team took the University of Miami — yes, that Miami, the one that treats a turnover as a personality — and beat them 3–2 in the ACC opener. Short recap:
The Seminoles smashed the first set 25–14 like they had somewhere better to be. Then the Canes remembered they own a nickname and stole sets two and three, 25–22 and 25–22, and started acting like they had invented volleyball. Down 2–1, FSU did the unfashionable thing: they kept swinging. Set four went 26–24. Set five went 15–11. Match over. Garnet and gold. Miami can take the Turnpike home and think about their 2–8 record on the ride.
Kyleene Filimaua led the way with 18 kills and 15 digs. Freshman Sofia Moss dropped a career-high 16 kills. The Noles piled up 58 kills, 14 blocks, and a 7–1 ace advantage, and held Miami to a hitting percentage that looked like a typo: .088. Sixth straight ACC-opener win for FSU volleyball. Miami is 0–1 in conference and still looking for a personality that is not orange and green.
They play again Sunday in Coral Gables. Pack the sunscreen and the attitude, girls. We will be cheering from the couch in something cute and washable.
Meanwhile, a Sophomore Ran the Whole Conference
While we were still yelling at the television about set four, the ACC handed Florida State sophomore Rylee Blade the Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week. And she earned every syllable of it.
Blade opened her sophomore season by winning the Pre-Regional Meet on FSU’s own course at Apalachee Regional Park. Time: 20:39.2 in the 6K. That is not a jog around the neighborhood with a podcast in your ears, ladies. That is a young woman putting her head down and making the rest of the field look like they stopped for a latte. She led the Seminoles to a team title with a near-perfect score of 17. Coach Cody Halsey said she followed the pack plan to perfection. Coach Matt Kane said she is in a great place fitness-wise. We say: this is what it looks like when someone actually does the assignment.
From Corona, California, to Tallahassee, and already collecting hardware. Midlife note: we used to think a “personal best” was getting the grocery bags in one trip. Rylee is out here winning conference weeks. We are obsessed. Give that girl a Speedy and a standing ovation.
And Then There Is Football
Which brings us, unfortunately, to the men. Florida State football is 1–2, 0–1 in the ACC, freshly dropped to the basement neighborhood of the national re-ranks — USA TODAY has them around No. 62, which is not a zip code anyone asked for — after blowing a 21–6 lead and losing 50–36 to Alabama. Hope lasted until the second delay. We have said that already. We will say it again, because apparently nobody in the building is listening.
Mike Norvell is in year seven. The last two seasons were losing seasons. The seat is not warm. The seat is on fire and someone is still rearranging the throw pillows. No coordinator shakeup. No staff reset. No public admission that the product on Saturday looks like a group project where one person did the work and six people put their names on the slide. They host Central Arkansas this weekend — Norvell’s old school — which is the football equivalent of a participation trophy with a kickoff time.
We are midlife women. We have raised children & pets, sat through 5th grade recorder concerts, and fired a hairdresser for less. We know what accountability looks like. It does not look like “same staff, different Saturday, please clap.” The volleyball team rallied from 2–1 down against a rival we cannot stand. The cross country team put a sophomore on the conference podium. The football program is ranked at the bottom of the conversation and still acting like the problem is the lighting in Doak.
So here is this week’s Sideline Notes, from two women who will keep showing up in garnet and gold anyway: celebrate the girls. Side-eye The U. And if the football coaches will not change themselves, do not expect two midlife women to keep pretending Saturday is fine.