Box Score
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (Nov. 10, 2013) – The FIU volleyball squad improved to 11-15, 5-8 C-USA Sunday afternoon with a 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-22, 25-22) win over Southern Miss from Reed Green Coliseum.
After dropping the first set, 24-26, the Panthers fired back and took the next three sets, 25-22, each. Set one saw 11 tied scores and two lead changes. FIU went on a four-point and five-point run to take a commanding 16-9 lead, but the Golden Eagles closed out the set going 17-9. Sophomore
Lucia Castro and junior
Martyna Gluchowicz had a set-high five kills apiece, while senior
Kimberly Smith notched three kills. The Panthers hit .389 (16-36) for the set, which was a team-high for the day.
FIU tied the match, 1-1, with a 25-22 set-two victory. Sophomore
Gloria Levorin lead the way with six kills, and senior
Jessica Medoza recorded two service aces to bring her season total to 17, which is good for best on the team, tying redshirt junior
Ksenia Sukhareva. The Panthers had 16 total kills and hit .270 for the set.
The Panthers pulled ahead, 2-1, in set-three when Castro logged five kills and sophomore
Adriana McLamb added six digs, as the Panthers went on to finish the match outhitting the Golden Eagles, .379-.224.
The squad closed out a nicely played fourth set, 25-22, to secure an FIU victory. A service ace by redshirt junior
Jessica Egan put the Panthers ahead, 19-13, in a set that saw two lead changes and four tied scores. Southern Miss called a quick time-out, but two kills from Castro, and kills from Medoza, Gluchowicz and junior
Carolyn Fouts sent the Panthers home victorious.
Castro finished with a team-high 20 kills, with Levorin (13) and Smith (10) also registering double-figures in that category. McLamb's 24 digs were a match-high, while Smith's five blocks were also a high for the day.
The Panthers travel to familiar foe Florida Atlantic on Tuesday. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
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.
#####
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/
