Box Score Pictured: Freshman Gloria Levorin (Photo Credit: Richard Lewis)
BOX SCORE (PDF) / CUMULATIVE STATISTICS (PDF)
MIAMI, Fla. (Oct. 26, 2012) – The FIU volleyball team dropped a hard-fought decision to No. 19 WKU on Friday night at U.S. Century Bank Arena, as the Panthers fell to the Hilltoppers, 3-1 (25-17, 26-28, 25-20, 25-15). With the loss, FIU falls to 7-16 (4-7 SBC) while WKU picks up its 17th-straight win, improving to 25-3 (11-0 SBC).
In set one, WKU took control early, running out to a 22-12 advantage. FIU scored three-straight points to make it 22-15, and a Hilltopper kill would then make it 23-15. The Panthers retaliated with two-consecutive points to put the score at 23-17, but WKU scored the final two points of the set to go ahead 1-0 for the match, by way of a 25-17 set victory.
Set two saw 10 tie scores and four lead changes, as the teams battled back and forth until FIU came away with a 28-26 set win, knotting the match score at 1-1. Prior to FIU's set-win over WKU in the second stanza, the Hilltoppers had not lost a set in 11-straight matches, or in Sun Belt Conference play. The last time WKU dropped a set was on Sept. 15 versus Eastern Michigan.
The two squads fought through six tie scores and three lead changes in the third stanza, with the last tie coming at 15-15. After that, FIU put up a fight but could not get to within less than one point, as WKU went ahead 2-1 for the contest, courtesy of a 25-20 set win.
In set four, the Hilltoppers once again jumped out to an early advantage, going on for a 25-15 set win and a 3-1 match victory.
Two Panthers notched double-digit kills in the loss, as the FIU offense was led by senior Marija Prsa (15 kills) and junior Kimberly Smith (11 kills). Redshirt senior Renele Forde registered a season-high 37 assists on the night. Defensively, a trio of Panthers posted double-digit digs, led by senior Ryanne Milligan (15 digs), while sophomore Carolyn Fouts added 14 digs and freshman Lucia Castro chipped in with 13 digs.
The FIU blocking corps amassed a season-high 17 blocks on the night, compared to 10 stops for WKU. Leading the charge was freshman Gloria Levorin with a career-high seven blocks, followed by Forde's six blocks.
FIU will return to action on Sunday versus Sun Belt Conference foe Middle Tennessee. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. at U.S. Century Bank Arena. Panther fans unable to attend the match can tune into PantherVision for a free live video feed. For more information, log onto FIUSports.com and access "Live Events" from the "Multimedia" tab. Live stats will also be available via FIUSports.com, and fans can follow @FIUVolleyball on Twitter for live updates.
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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