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MIAMI (Oct. 18, 2013) – The FIU volleyball team (9-11, 3-4) earned a 3-0 sweep (25-16, 25-21, 25-15) over the FAU Owls on Friday evening on Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena.

Leading the way for FIU with 12 kills and 12 digs was sophomore Lucia Castro, followed by 11 kills and four blocks from senior Kimberly Smith. As a team, FIU tallied a .250 hitting percentage while FAU hit at a .065 clip. The three-set victory is FIU's second consecutive sweep over FAU, dating back to last season.

The Panthers jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set, which included a service ace from sophomore libero Adriana McLamb. FIU held a lead as big as four until the Owls cut the lead to 16-15. The Panthers though put together five-straight points which included three attacking errors by FAU and a kill by Smith and Castro. FIU finished the set scoring nine of the final 10 points to earn a 25-16 win.

In set two, FIU jumped out to a 10-6 advantage and would maintain a three or four-point edge until the Owls cut it to 14-13. The Panthers created some brief separation by making it 18-15, but the Owls rattled off three-straight points to knot the set up at 18. From there, Castro earned two-straight kills to make it 20-18 which was then later followed by an attacking error by FAU to give the Panthers a 22-19 edge. Leading 23-20, senior Jessica Mendoza and Castro earned kills for two of the final three points to give FIU a 25-21 set two victory.

The third set started with a 5-5 tie, but the Panthers would create some distance and up its lead to 14-9. The Owls fought back and got it close at 16-13, but the Panthers rallied to score nine of the final 11 points to earn the match victory. The final three points came on FIU kills, two by Castro and one by junior Jessica Egan.

FIU is next back in action this Sunday at Tulane. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. ET.

Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUVolleyball) for all the latest FIU 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). The official FIU Athletics hashtag for the 2013-14 athletics year is #PantherNation.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. 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 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s 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. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.