Box Score FORT COLLINS, Colo. (Sept. 8, 2012) – Senior Marija Prsa led three Panthers in double-figure kills as FIU dropped a hard-fought, 3-1 decision to Colorado State (25-15, 25-17, 24-26, 33-31) at the Rams Volleyball Invitational on Saturday afternoon at Moby Arena. With the loss, FIU falls to 2-6 while CSU improves to 6-3 on the season.

Set one saw CSU take a 20-12 lead before a kill by Prsa made it 20-13. The Rams got the point back on a kill and then connected for another kill to put the score at 22-13.

Freshman Gloria Levorin would then tally a kill to make it 22-14 but a Panther service error and a CSU kill brought up set-point at 24-14. A net violation call on the Rams put the score at 24-15 before a final kill gave CSU a 25-15 set win and a 1-0 lead for the match.
 
In set two, FIU took an 11-9 lead and the teams battled back and forth to a 16-16 tie until CSU went on a 5-0 run to take a 21-16 advantage. The squads traded points to put the score at 22-17, and the Rams notched two-straight points to bring up set-point. A kill up the middle would then put CSU on top, 2-0, for the match by way of a 25-17 set victory.
 
FIU took an early 11-8 lead in set three before CSU went ahead, 21-15. Freshman Lucia Castro connected for a hard kill on the left side to make it 21-16 and a Ram attack error put the score at 21-17. Castro registered a service ace to bring up a 21-18 score, and a CSU kill put the deficit back to four at 22-18. FIU would then record three-straight points to put the score at 22-21, forcing a CSU timeout.
 
Out of the break, Prsa registered a solo block to knot the score at 22-22 and a Prsa kill made it 23-22 in favor of FIU. CSU got the point back on a kill of its own to tie the score at 23-23 and a double-contact call on the Rams put the Panthers in set-point position at 24-23. An FIU double-hit violation brought up another tie at 24-24 and a kill by Prsa brought up set-point for the Panthers at 25-24 before a CSU attack error gave FIU a 26-24 set victory.
 
With CSU leading the match, 2-1, the Rams took a 19-15 advantage in set four. The teams traded points to make it 20-16 and two-straight kills by Castro brought the Panthers to within two at 20-18. The squads once again traded points to make it a two-point contest at 21-19 and a CSU attack error cut the gap to one at 21-20. Castro would then pick up her second solo block of the day to knot the score at 21-21.
 
Following a CSU timeout, both teams committed attack errors, knotting the score at 22-22, and a service ace by Castro put FIU ahead, 23-22. Nine tie scores ensued, including eight match-point opportunities for CSU and one for FIU, before the Rams came away with a 33-31 set win and a 3-1 match victory.
 
As a team, FIU registered 61 kills compared to 55 kills for CSU, and the Panthers came up with 59 assists, against 53 assists for the Rams. FIU also won the service ace battle by an 8-5 margin.
 
Prsa registered her fourth double-double of the season and 14th of her career with a match-high 23 kills and a career-high 23 digs, while Castro chipped in with 16 kills and junior Kimberly Smith added 11 kills. Freshman Ashlee Hodgskin tallied a career-high 53 assists, while Castro, senior Ryanne Milligan and sophomore Carolyn Fouts each recorded two service aces, and Milligan added a team-leading 13 digs.
 
Castro, Prsa and Smith posted two blocks apiece, as Castro and Prsa each notched one solo stop. FIU was out-blocked, 16.5-4.5, for the match, and the Panthers out-dug the Rams, 65-55.
 
FIU will close out action at the Rams Volleyball Invitational on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET against No. 12 Pepperdine. Live stats can be accessed at www.CSURams.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