Pictured: Redshirt senior Renele Forde (Photo Credit: Richard Lewis)
MIAMI, Fla. (Nov. 8, 2012) – The FIU volleyball team will close out its 2012 home schedule this weekend as the Panthers host Sun Belt Conference foes Troy and South Alabama on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The contest versus the Trojans will serve as Go Green Night, while the match against the Jaguars will mark Senior Night, as four seniors enjoy their final match in the friendly confines of U.S. Century Bank Arena. First serve for both contests is slated for 6:30 p.m. at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
WEEKEND VIEWING INFORMATION – Panther fans unable to attend this weekend's matches in Miami can tune into PantherVision for a free live video feed of each contest. 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 updates.
LAST TIME OUT – FIU is coming off a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-22) loss to in-state foe Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday. Senior Marija Prsa led the FIU offense with 10 kills, as she has now reached the double-digit kill plateau in 18 matches this season, including in 14 of the last 16 contests. Redshirt senior Renele Forde registered a team-leading 27 assists against the Eagles, and freshmen Lucia Castro and Gloria Levorin each tallied one service ace on the night. Senior Ryanne Milligan posted a team-high 14 digs, while sophomore Silvia Carli led the Panther blocking corps with four stops.
PANTHER BLOCK PARTY – FIU ranks atop the Sun Belt Conference in blocks, as the Panthers have registered 240.5 total stops this season for a per-set average of 2.64. Led by junior Kimberly Smith (96.0 blocks, 1.05 bps), who ranks fifth in the league in the category, FIU has out-blocked the opposition by a 240.5-213.0 margin.
PREVIEWING TROY – Troy brings an overall record of 19-10 and a Sun Belt Conference ledger of 9-4 into the final weekend of regular season league action. The Trojans have been victorious in seven of their last nine matches, and rank first in the conference in digs (16.07 dps) behind Courtney Cohen's SBC-leading 4.67 digs-per-set average. FIU leads the all-time series with Troy, 13-1, as the Panthers suffered their first-ever loss to the Trojans earlier this season by way of a 3-1 decision on the road.
SCOUTING SOUTH ALABAMA – South Alabama has lost four-straight matches and the Jaguars bring an overall record of 13-15 and a Sun Belt Conference ledger of 6-7 into the weekend. The Jaguars will go up against Florida Atlantic on Friday before traveling to Miami for Saturday's contest. FIU leads the all-time series with USA by a 19-5 mark, as the Panthers dropped a 3-0 decision to the Jaguars earlier this season on the road.
FIU AT "THE BANK" – FIU is a force to reckon with on its home court as the Panthers own a record of 66-15 since 2005 when playing in the friendly confines of the U.S. Century Bank Arena (formerly known as Pharmed Arena).
NEXT UP – The Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Championship is slated for Nov. 15-17 in Bowling Green, Ky. Stay tuned to FIUSports.com and SunBeltSports.org for the release of the official tournament bracket.
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), 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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