FInal Stats (HTML)

RUSTON, La. (Oct. 27, 2013) – Led by sophomore Lucia Castro's second-straight double-double, the FIU volleyball team (10-13, 4-6 C-USA) defeated the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (7-17, 1-8 C-USA), 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-20) on Sunday afternoon at the Memorial Gym in Ruston, La.

Castro, who led FIU on Friday with 17 kills and a career-high 19 digs, notched 11 kill and 11 digs on Sunday for her third double-double of the season

FIU open the match with a 25-19 set one victory and a 1-0 lead. The set began tightly-contested, with FIU tying the score at 6-6. The Panthers took their first lead at 7-6, following a kill by senior Jessica Mendoza. The Lady Techsters tied the match 7-7; however, FIU rattled off four-straight points to take an 11-7 lead. The Panthers would never look back, taking set one.

FIU extended its lead to 2-0, following a 25-21 win in set two. LA Tech held a lead throughout most of the set until the Panthers stormed back and tied the score at 17-17, as Castro notched a service ace. With the score tied at 19-all, FIU out-scored the Lady Techsters, 6-2, for the four-point victory.

Set three saw the Panthers down LA Tech 25-20 for the 3-0 victory. The set saw four lead changes and six ties, before a kill by senior CeCe Spencer gave FIU a 16-15 lead. The Panthers out-scored LA Tech 10-5 to close out set three with a 25-20 win and 3-0 sweep of LA Tech.

Castro led all Panthers in kills (11), followed by senior Kimberly Smith (7) and Spencer (5). The 11 digs by Castro were also a team high as both sophomore Adriana McLamb and junior Martyna Gluchowicz each had eight digs apiece.  

FIU hit .177 for the match while holding LA Tech to a .062 hitting percentage in the three-set victory. Both teams notched seven total blocks, as the Panthers recorded 34 kills to the Lady Techsters 31.

The Panthers return home to host the Rice Owls on Sunday, Nov. 3. The match is set for 1:00 p.m. ET from Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena.  
 
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/