MIAMI (Nov. 11, 2013) – The FIU volleyball squad closes out the 2013 road slate at Conference USA foe Florida Atlantic on Tuesday, with first serve being set for 7 p.m.
Keeping Up with the Panthers
Live stats will be available and can be accessed via the FIU volleyball schedule page at FIUSports.com or by clicking
here.
Last Time Out
The Panthers are coming off a 3-1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-22, 25-22) win over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles Sunday afternoon from Reed Green Coliseum. A well-played first set saw the Panthers post their best hitting percentage (.389, 16-36) for the day, although the Panthers dropped the close-played set, 24-26. FIU swept the next three sets, 25-22, and improved its season record to 11-15, 5-8 C-USA. Kills from sophomore
Lucia Castro, senio
r Jessica Mendoza and juniors
Martyna Gluchowicz and
Carolyn Fouts following a Southern Miss timeout gave the Panthers the set and match win. Castro finished with a team-high 20 kills, with sophomore
Gloria Levorin (13) and Smith (10) also registering double-figures in that category. Sophomore
Adriana McLamb's 24 digs were a match-high, while Smith's five blocks were also a high for the day.
For the season, Smith (256 kills, 2.81 kps), Castro (253 kills, 2.81 kps) and redshirt junior
Ksenia Sukhareva (233 kills, 2.88 kps) lead the Panther offense, while Mendoza owns a team-leading mark of 252 digs (2.68 dps) and is tied with Sukhareva for team-high in service aces (17). Smith also leads the FIU defense with 99 total blocks (1.09 bps).
A Look at Florida Atlantic
With Fernanda Nelson at the helm for her second season, the Owls are 11-15 (3-9 C-USA), with a 5-6 record at home. Florida Atlantic hosts FIU after losing to Middle Tennessee on Sunday, 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 22-25, 24-26). The Owl offense is spearheaded by Kristi Tekavec (223 kills, 2.53 kps) and Alessia Pizzoccheri (215 kills, 2.34 kps),while Jelen Jovanovic leads her team in assists (818, 9.09 aps). Nathalie Rosado has a team-best 319 digs (3.43 dps), while Kat Stepanovic bests the team in blocks (72 blocks, 0.85 bps). Pizzoccheri and Jovanovic are one and two in service aces with 24 and 23, respectively.
Series History
Following a sweep of the Owls, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-15), on Oct. 18, the intrastate rivalry is all knotted up at 24-24.
Interesting Side Notes
Tomorrow's match is set to be a family reunion for freshman setter
Anabela Sataric and her sister, Darija, who is in her senior year with the Owls. The Swiss sisters were both members of VBS Konis, where they finished second in the Swiss U21 Swiss Championships in 2010. It's the second time the sisters will face each other this year.
Next Up
FIU will honor its seniors on Sunday, Nov. 17, where the squad will close out the regular season hosting North Texas on the team's senior day. Match time is set for 1 p.m. 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/
