MIAMI (Nov. 7, 2013) – The FIU volleyball squad (10-14, 4-7 C-USA) begins its final weekend road trip of the season, first facing Middle Tennessee tomorrow at 8 p.m., before traveling to Southern Miss for a 1 p.m. matinee on Sunday.
Keeping Up with the Panthers
Live stats will be available for both of this weekend's matches and can be accessed via the FIU volleyball schedule page at FIUSports.com.
Last Time Out
The Panthers are coming off a tough loss to the Rice Owls on Sunday. FIU won set-one, 25-23, but the Owls took the next three sets, 25-22, 25-13, 25-21, and ultimately won the match, 3-1. Sophomore
Lucia Castro finished with a team-high 15 kills, while senior
Kimberly Smith recorded 10. Redshirt junior
Jessica Egan registered 38 assists, and three Panthers notched double-digits in digs (
Adriana McLamb – 17- career-high;
Martyna Gluchowicz and
Jessica Mendoza - 13).
For the season, Smith (242 kills, 2.88 kps), Castro (229 kills, 2.76 kps) and redshirt junior
Ksenia Sukhareva (220 kills, 2.82 kps) lead the Panther offense, while Mendoza owns a team-leading mark of 248 digs (2.85 dps). Smith also leads the FIU defense with 90 total blocks (1.07 bps), while Sukhareva's 17 service aces is also a team-high.
Scouting the Blue Raiders
With Matt Peck at the helm for his tenth season, Middle Tennessee is 15-9 (6-3 C-USA), with a 7-5 record at home. The Blue Raiders broke a two-game losing skid on Tuesday, defeating Austin Peay, 3-0. The offense is spearheaded by Chelsea Ross (308 kills, 3.31 kps) and Jale Hervey (277 kills, 2.98 kps), while Shelby Anderton leads the team in assists (591, 6.35 aps). Kendall Howard has a team-best 320 digs (4.16 dps), while Tyler Richardson bests the team in blocks (114, 1.23 bps). Anderton also leads with 26 service aces, while Ross (25) and Howard (22) are second and third, respectively.
Series History
The Panthers are 7-22-0 all-time against the Blue Raiders and last won, 3-1, in 2010.
Scouting the Eagles
Under the direction of Interim Head Coach Amanda Berkley, Southern Miss also broke a two-game losing streak by defeating East Carolina, 3-0. The Eagles will host Marshall on Friday before taking on the Panthers on Sunday. Leading the way for Southern Miss is Quinci Hayward (367 kills, 4.03 kps) and Jasmine Crowell (231 kills, 2.54 kps), along with Mary Pursell, who has a team-best 427 digs (4.69 dps). Shelby Russell leads Southern Miss with 40 service aces, while Elise Ames has a team-best 74 blocks.
Series History
FIU won the lone match in this series, 3-0, in 2009.
Next Up
FIU travels to Florida Atlantic on Tuesday before closing out the regular season against North Texas on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. on Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena. The game will serve as senior day for Smith, Spencer, Egan and Mendoza.
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/
