MIAMI (February 29, 2017) – The ladies of the FIU beach volleyball team are back in action as it starts the 2017 season. The Panthers will travel to Boca Raton, Florida, this Thursday to open competition with two matches at Florida Atlantic University before the UNF Beach Invitational in St. Augustine, Florida, March 4-5. On Thursday FIU will face Webber International at 12:30 p.m. and the host Owls at 2:30 p.m.
 
Last season, the Panthers finished 13-9 and 5-3 in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA). Advancing as the No. 3 seed, they represented FIU at the first ever CCSA Conference tournament last April. They fought hard, with an early victory in their first match of pool play defeating Florida Atlantic 3-2, but were upended in the quarterfinals by the South Carolina Gamecocks, 4-1.
 
The Panthers graduated four key players, but welcome a 2017 class of dynamic student-athletes with vast international experience. With a diverse recruiting class and rigorous off-season training schedule, the Panthers are coming back looking for a title. FIU has their sights set on the conference tournament championships and getting their first bid to the NCAA Championships.
 
Fans are encouraged to support the Panthers this Thursday in Boca Raton, Fla.
 
Click here for directions to Florida Atlantic Sand Courts.

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Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUVolleyball) for all the latest FIU volleyball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A.Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, theWolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA andhas over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.