Box Score FORT COLLINS, Colo. (Sept. 7, 2012) – The FIU volleyball team fell to New Mexico State, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-17), at the Rams Volleyball Classic on Friday evening at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 2-5 while the Aggies improve to 6-1 on the season.

NMSU jumped out to a 13-4 advantage in set one before FIU fought back to within two at 18-16 on a tip by sophomore Silvia Carli. Carli came through with a service ace and then combined with freshman Gloria Levorin for a block to knot the score at 18-18, forcing an Aggie timeout. Out of the break, an NMSU attack error gave FIU a 19-18 lead and a service ace by freshman Lucia Castro made it 20-18.

The Aggies would then post four-straight points to take a 22-20 lead before a double-contact call brought FIU back to within one at 22-21, but NMSU bounced back with two more scores to bring up set-point at 24-21. Carli and junior Kimberly Smith teamed up for a block to keep the Panthers alive before the Aggies registered a kill to take a 1-0 lead for the match on the strength of a 25-22 set win.

Set two saw a tie score at 12-12 before NMSU went on an 8-2 run to take a 20-14 advantage. Freshman Ashlee Hodgskin passed to Smith for a kill and a block by Smith and senior Marija Prsa made it 20-16, but three-straight Aggie points put the deficit back to seven at 23-16. Smith posted a kill and an NMSU attack error cut the gap to five at 23-18, however, an Aggie score brought up set-point at 24-18. FIU recorded two-straight points before an NMSU score gave the Aggies a 25-20 set win and a 2-0 match advantage.

In set three, NMSU ran out to an 18-9 lead before FIU rattled off three-straight points to put the score at 18-12. Following an Aggie timeout, the teams traded points and a kill up the middle by Smith made it 19-14. The squads would again trade scores to bring up a 20-15 score, before an attack error and a service ace by Prsa brought the Panthers
to within three at 20-17 and force an NMSU timeout.

Out of the break, the Aggies recorded three-straight points to make it 23-17. Following an FIU timeout, a violation call on the Panthers brought up match-point for NMSU. An FIU attack error would then give NMSU a 25-17 set win and a 3-0 match victory.

Smith led FIU with 10 kills and seven blocks, including one solo stop, as her six block assists and seven total blocks both mark career highs for her Panther career. Senior Ryanne Milligan posted a team-leading eight digs on the night, while Hodgskin notched a squad-best 16 assists. Hodgskin also tallied a pair of service aces to mark a career best, as Milligan and sophomore Carolyn Fouts also registered two winners.

FIU will continue action at the Rams Volleyball Classic on Saturday afternoon when the Panthers take on host Colorado State at 3 p.m. ET. The Panthers will then close out the tournament versus No. 12 Pepperdine at 7 p.m. ET. Live stats for both matches and live audio (free) and video (paid) feeds of FIU's contest with CSU can be accessed at www.CSURams.com. Fans can also follow @FIUVolleyball on Twitter for updates during both matches.

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/.