Photo Credit: Richard Lewis

FIU Stats Package (10/11/12) -- PDF

MIAMI, Fla. (Oct. 11, 2012) – The Panther volleyball squad will hit the road for a pair of Sun Belt Conference contests this weekend as FIU (5-13, 2-4 SBC) takes on No. 20 WKU (20-3, 6-0 SBC) in Bowling Green, Ky., on Friday, and Middle Tennessee (5-16, 2-4 SBC) in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Saturday. First serve against the nationally-ranked Hilltoppers is set for 7 p.m. ET, while the Panthers' contest against the Blue Raiders is slated for an 8 p.m. ET start.

WEEKEND VIEWING INFORMATION – Live stats and a live audio feed for Friday's match at WKU can be accessed via the volleyball schedule page at www.WKUSports.com. For Saturday's contest at Middle Tennessee, live stats, live audio and live video can be accessed at www.GoBlueRaiders.com/Live. Fans can also follow @FIUVolleyball on Twitter for live updates during both matches.

LAST TIME OUT – FIU is coming off a 3-1 (25-13, 12-25, 25-17, 25-19) loss to Sun Belt Conference foe Louisiana, suffered last Friday at U.S. Century Bank Arena in Miami, Fla. Senior Marija Prsa led the FIU offense with 16 kills, while senior Ryanne Milligan registered a team-leading 14 assists and redshirt senior Renele Forde chipped in with 12 helpers. Forde also contributed a squad-best and career-high-tying two service aces. Freshman Lucia Castro (5 BA, 1 BS), sophomore Silvia Carli (4 BA, 2 BS) and junior Kimberly Smith (6 BA) led the FIU blocking corps, as the Panthers out-blocked the Ragin' Cajuns, 16-8, for the match. The two solo stops for Carli marked a career high, as did the five block assists and six total blocks for Castro. Leading the Panthers in the digs category was sophomore Carolyn Fouts with 17 digs.

PANTHER BLOCK PARTY – As of Oct. 11, FIU ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference in blocks, as the Panthers have registered 158.0 blocks for a per-set average of 2.43. Individually, junior Kimberly Smith has totaled 71.0 blocks (1.09 bps) to rank third in the league, and sophomore Silvia Carli has registered 50.0 blocks (1.00 bps) to rank fourth in the conference. For the season, FIU is out-blocking its opponents by a 158.0-145.0 margin.

SCOUTING WKU – Nationally-ranked WKU has won 12-straight matches and boasts an overall record of 20-3, a mark which includes an undefeated Sun Belt Conference ledger of 6-0. Offensively, three Hilltoppers have tallied 200-or-more kills on the season, as WKU leads the conference with a kills-per-set average of 14.00 and a team attack percentage of .294. Melanie Stutsman has recorded a league-leading 867 assists (11.12 aps), while Jordyn Skinner (22) and Sarah Rogers (20) lead the Hilltoppers in the service ace category. The WKU defense is led by Ashley Potts (356 digs, 4.56 dps) and Heather Boyan (68 blocks, 0.87 bps).

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS WKU – WKU leads the all-time series with FIU, 25-7, as the Hilltoppers have won six-straight in the series. The most recent meeting between the two squads took place in the 2011 Sun Belt Conference Championship semifinals as WKU came away with a 3-0 victory, eventually going on to win the tournament title.

SCOUTING MT – After suffering an 11-match losing streak, the Blue Raiders have won two of their last four contests, moving to 5-16 overall and 2-4 in Sun Belt Conference play. The MT offense is led by Chelsea Ross (290 kills, 3.82 kps) and Ashley Adams (201 kills, 3.65 kps), while Ross leads the team in service aces (17) and Shelby Anderton has registered a squad-best 556 assists (7.41 aps). Defensively, the Blue Raiders are led by Bri McCombs (285 digs, 3.75 dps) and Tyler Richardson (93 blocks, 1.24 bps).

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS MT – Middle Tennessee leads the all-time series with FIU, 20-7, as the two squads have split the last eight meetings evenly, at 4-4. A season ago, the Blue Raiders swept the Panthers, 3-0, in both regular-season contests.

NEXT UP – FIU will return to action next weekend when the Panthers hit the road for a pair of SBC contests at North Texas (Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. ET) and ULM (Oct. 21, 2 p.m. ET).

KEEPING UP WITH THE PANTHERS – Fans can visit www.FIUSports.com, follow @FIUVolleyball on Twitter, and "Like" FIU volleyball on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/FIUVolleyball) for the latest Panther volleyball news.  Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), Pinterest (FIUAthletics), and Instagram (FIUathletics).

About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of the Sun Belt Conference and an affiliate member of Conference USA (men's soccer). Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor'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 is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls nearly 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.

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