Box Score Pictured: Senior Marija Prsa (Photo Credit: Alex Hernandez)
BOX SCORE (PDF) / CUMULATIVE STATISTICS (PDF)
MONROE, La. (Oct. 21, 2012) – Senior Marija Prsa posted her eighth double-double of the season and the 18th of her career on Sunday afternoon, as FIU defeated Sun Belt Conference foe ULM, 3-1 (25-21, 16-25, 25-9, 25-13), at the ULM Activity Center. The victory marks FIU's second-straight, as the Panthers improve to 7-16 overall and 4-6 in league action while the Warhawks fall to 5-14 overall and 1-9 in SBC play.
Set one saw eight early tie scores before FIU ran out to a 20-16 advantage. Following a ULM timeout, the two squads traded points back and forth until a kill by redshirt senior Renele Forde brought up set-point for the Panthers at 24-20. The Warhawks managed one more point, but an attack error ended the set, giving FIU a 25-21 set win and a 1-0 lead for the match.
In set two, ULM bounced back with an early lead and never looked back, going on to knot the match at 1-1, by way of a 25-66 set victory. FIU would then retaliate in the third stanza, allowing a season-low nine points for the set and going on for a 25-9 set win and a 2-1 match lead.
Set four saw FIU take control from first serve, as the Panthers jumped out to a 20-11 advantage. A ULM attack error and a service ace by sophomore Carolyn Fouts put the score at 22-11, and the teams then traded points on two occasions to bring up match point for FIU at 24-13. Freshman Gloria Levorin would then register a service ace to give FIU a 25-13 set win and a 3-1 match victory.
Prsa led the FIU offense with a team-leading 11 kills, also chipping in with 10 digs, while Forde posted a squad-best 28 assists on the day. Freshman Lucia Castro tallied three service aces to lead the Panthers, as Fouts and Levorin added two winners apiece, and senior Ryanne Milligan added one service ace.
Defensively, Milligan recorded a team-high and career-high-tying 22 digs, while Fouts added 11 digs. Juniors Kimberly Smith and Brittany Spencer led the FIU blocking corps with four blocks apiece, including Spencer's fifth solo stop of the season.
FIU will return to action next weekend when the Panthers return to the friendly confines of U.S. Century Bank Arena to host nationally-ranked WKU (Oct. 26, 6:30 p.m.) and Middle Tennessee (Oct. 28, 1 p.m.). The contest versus the Hilltoppers will serve as FIU's annual Play Pink match. Stay tuned to www.FIUSports.com for more information.
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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