Standout freshman Khori Louis makes instant impact for FSU Volleyball

When standout freshman and Tallahassee product Khori Louis takes the court for the Florida State volleyball team, it’s been a long time coming.

Louis, whose father was a star basketball player at FSU in the 1990s, originally committed to the Seminoles when she was only in the eighth grade. Now midway through her freshman season with the Seminoles, she’s a full-time starter at middle-blocker and has helped guide FSU to an 11-4 record.

Just last week, she was named ACC Freshman of the Week.

“She’s doing amazing," veteran Seminoles head coach Chris Poole said. "[Her early commitment] was one of the biggest thrills of my career -- to get that commitment in line. I knew that she was going to be big-time. It was a great get for us, and she’s done amazing.”

Don't miss out on any of our great FSU Sports coverage. Get your 30-day FREE trial!

Louis has started all 15 matches for FSU this season, and she is tied for second on the team with 138 kills. She also leads the Seminoles and ranks No. 8 in the ACC with 61 blocks.

As a team, Florida State is 6-0 at home and is currently ranked 21st in the country in RPI and 5th in the ACC standings with a 4-2 conference record.

Not only is Louis a Tallahassee native, she even attended Florida State’s charter lab school, Florida High. And she was thrilled with the chance to stay home for college.

“It’s been amazing, having my family, friends, everyone supporting me,” Louis said. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. ... It’s been exciting because I have been waiting on this point for a very long time, going from Florida High to Florida State. It’s just been exciting. I couldn’t wait for this experience.”

Louis' Florida State ties run deep. Her father was former Seminoles basketball standout Corey Louis, a four-year starter who scored over 1,000 points from 1994-'98.

Now standing at 6-foot-3 and with great leaping ability, Louis also excelled in basketball growing up. But she made the choice to focus solely on volleyball when she was in high school.

“Sticking to volleyball helped me a lot," Louis said. "I was very dedicated to volleyball and I was able to stick with it and mainly focus on that instead of trying to balance out the two. Being dedicated to one sport helped a lot.”

As talented as she is, the athletic freshman said she knows she still has plenty to learn about the college game. But she credited her teammates and coaches with helping her get on the fast track since she enrolled in January.

“Learning from my teammates has been great. They give me advice, they let me know ahead of time how things will be,” Louis said. “Being able to lean on them at any time has been amazing.”

“Khori is so eager to improve, to get better, to work, and she does. She is very open to teammates turning to her [to give her guidance],” Poole said. “Khori is always welcoming of those things. Some players don’t want other players to tell them what to do or give them advice, they take it personal. But Khori does not. She is very open-minded, she wants to learn and wants to get better. And that’s why she’s as good as she is now.”

Florida State will stay at home to face Virginia in Tully Gym on Friday at 6:30 p.m.; it is the Seminoles' annual "Paint it Pink" match, with goals of raising funds and awareness to battle breast cancer. FSU then will host No. 4 Pittsburgh on Sunday at 1 p.m.

---------------------------------------------------

Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council