FINAL BOX (PDF)

Game Quotes (PDF)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (Nov. 21, 2013) - After dropping the first two sets, the FIU volleyball team won its first round C-USA Championship matchup against Middle Tennessee, 3-2, on the Blue Raiders' home court.

Sophomore Lucia Castro and junior Martyna Gluchowicz had a team-high 17 kills and finished with double-doubles. The 17 kills were a career-high for Gluchowicz., while sophomore Gloria Levorin had a career-high 16 kills. Junior Silvia Carli tied her career-high in blocks (8, Aug. 25, 2012 vs. Florida A&M). Gluchowicz also had a team-high 17 digs, while redshirt junior Jessica Egan registered six blocks and had a match-best 48 assists. Senior Kimberly Smith had nine kills and five block assists.

Middle Tennessee took the first set, 25-18. The Panthers took an early 5-4 lead after Carli tallied two blocks and a kill and Castro tacked on another kill. The Blue Raiders pulled ahead and never relinquished the lead after leading, 6-5. Castro led the set with four kills and a service ace, while Carli and Gluchowicz recorded two blocks and two kills apiece. Gluchowicz also recorded a service ace. Middle Tennessee committed three service errors in the set and was out-blocked by FIU, 3-1. 

Set two fell the Blue Raiders way, 29-27. Castro opened up with a strong kill to give the Panthers the early lead. After trading points back-and-fourth, Levorin registered her first kill of the night for a 4-3 Panthers' lead. FIU rattled off four-straight points, courtesy of a Silva block and two Blue Raider errors and ended up going on a 7-1 run to take a commanding 12-5 lead off kills from Gluchowicz and Levorin. Middle Tennessee tied the score at 20-all. Two Castro kills put the Panthers within one, 23-22. Egan and Smith had a set-stopping block with the Blue Raiders serving for match-point. The Panthers stopped three-consecutive match-points with two kills by Levorin and one by Castro before dropping the set on a kill by Tyler Richardson. FIU hit a match-best .323 for the set. 

FIU took the third set, 25-20. Middle Tennessee jumped ahead, 6-2, before the Panthers rattled off seven-straight points to take a 9-7 lead with the help of two Levorin and Gluchowicz kills, along with a Silva kill. A block and kill by Smith gave the Panthers a 16-10 lead. FIU had its largest lead of the set, eight points, when Smith and Levorin laid down kills to give the Panthers a 19-12 advantage. After the Blue Raiders cut the deficit to 21-17, FIU closed out the set going 4-3. FIU held a 17-8 advantage in kills and hit .178.

The Panthers evened the match, 2-2, with a 25-22 set four victory. FIU took the first point off a Smith kill and went on a 10-6 run to open the set. Back-to-back kills from Smith and Castro put FIU ahead, 15-11. A Middle Tennessee service error gave the Panthers a 22-18 lead before the Blue Raiders followed with a kill and two blocks. Castro's kill sent the match to a fifth set, with FIU never trailing by more than one-point at any time during the set.

The Panthers finished the five set match taking the fifth set, 15-11 . FIU opened the set with a 3-1 lead from two Blue Raiders attacking errors and a Smith kill. The two squads traded points until back-to-back kills from Gluchowicz and Castro put FIU up, 9-7. Coming out of a timeout with a 14-11 lead, Levorin sent the Panthers into the second round of the tournament off her sixteenth kill of the night. FIU outhit Middle Tennessee 66 percent to 50 perfect in the final set of the game.

The Panthers will now play No. 3 Tulsa in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET.