MIAMI (Aug. 23, 2017) -- The FIU volleyball program announces its final additions prior to the start of the 2017 campaign. Molly Feldmeth, Aleksandra Grigoreva, Lexie Mesa, Fabiola Plaza, Sheyanne Sullivan and Sofia Vasilantonaki were all among the 20 players to begin fall camp with the Panthers.
 
"I think the newcomers have done a great job to this point," said FIU Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett. "I think everybody came ready to go and they are all playing very hard. With classes starting this week, things are always going to be a little shaky, as they all have their heads filled with classes and things like that, but I just think they are doing a great job. I'm pleasantly surprised and I am very happy about them!"
 
Feldmeth is a setter and right-side hitter from the West Coast, hailing from South Pasadena, California. She finished her prep career winning three-straight, first-team all-league honors after earning a second-team nod as a freshman. The 2015 and 2016 Team MVP, Feldmeth was also a three-time All-Area All-Star and a three-time selection to the Under Armour All-America List. As a senior at South Pasadena High, which captured their league title in 2013, 2014 and 2015, the six-foot Heldmeth produced 300 kills, 159 digs and 235 assists, finishing second in her high school's division for hitting percentage (.316). She has an older sister and two cousins who played or currently play collegiate volleyball. Feldmeth was a seven-year member of the SG Elite Volleyball Club and plans to major in marketing.
 
Grigoreva arrived a few days into the preseason from Moscow. She has played volleyball for the past 10 of her 17 years, in addition to playing basketball, swimming, windsurfing, skiing and two years of beach volleyball. She was a member of the Russian Volleyball Select Team, winning the Russian Championship for the 2013-14 season, finishing second the year before and third the year after.
 
Despite being recruited out of high school by other programs, Mesa came to FIU for her education in the fall of 2016, but was spotted and recognized by coaches in open gym playing volleyball, and was later invited to a tryout with the team. She was added to the roster for the fall.
 
Plaza is a setter and transfer from South Carolina State. She played in all 25 games and 82 sets for the Bulldogs as a freshman, logging double-digit assists in all but four contests. She finished the season with 452 assists and 106 digs, adding 37 kills and a .202 attack percentage. She hails originally from Ponce, Puerto Rico, but attended Felix Varela Senior High in Miami. She earned Honorable Mention All-Dade County by the Miami Herald as a prep star.
 
Sullivan is also a transfer after playing two years at Santa Fe Junior College in Gainesville. The Miami native is one of seven children and earned 2013 Rookie of the Year and All-Dade County honors as a freshman. She registered 287 kills and 276 digs as a senior. Her last season at Santa Fe, she had 211 kills, 248 digs and 50 total blocks as a sophomore.
 
Vasilantonaki hails from Athens, Greece, and was part of the second-place Athens Conference Junior Championships team, finishing third in the championship the year before. She has played club volleyball for the past eight seasons. Her sister, Anthi, is a professional volleyball player in Greece. Sofia plans to major in psychology, with plans to play volleyball professionally after graduation.
 
The Panthers begin with two games Friday at the FGCU / Hilton Garden Inn Invitational. FIU takes on Georgia Southern at 10 am. before facing the host FGCU Eagles at 7 p.m. Their weekend concludes with a 2 p.m. contest Saturday against IUPUI in Fort Myers.
 
For volleyball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUVolleyball) for all the latest FIU softball 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 eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. 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 with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.