MIAMI (March 29, 2013) – The No. 6 FIU sand volleyball team fell to No. 1 Pepperdine, 5-0, and defeated Florida Atlantic, 3-2, on day one of the Doctors Hospital FIU Surf & Turf Tournament.

Including dual matches played in today's event, the Panthers are 4-4 (1-0 Pairs Tournament) on the season, and will look to improve their record against Tulane and Georgia State on Saturday.

FIU's 5-0 loss to top-ranked Pepperdine marks its second of the campaign, as the Waves took all but one match in straight sets. Playing at the No. 5 spot, the Panther duo of Emily Podschweit and Tina Toghiyani pushed Pepperdine's Emily Cook and Katie Messing to three sets, winning set one by a 21-13 score before dropping the final two sets, 21-17, 20-18.

In a 3-2 victory over FAU, all three FIU wins came in straight sets beginning with the Panthers' top tandem of Kate Stepanova and Ksenia Sukhareva. After suffering its first loss the season versus Pepperdine, the duo bounced back to improve to 9-1 on the season with a 23-21, 21-11 victory over Jelena Javanovic and Alessia Pizzoccheri.

Also winning in straight sets were the No. 2 Panther pair of Jessica Mendoza and Maryna Samoday, and FIU's No. 5 squad of Podschweit and Toghiyani. Mendoza and Samoday improve to 8-2 on the year with the victory, as the duo gave up just 12 points across two sets of action.

The Panthers' No. 3 team of Jessica Gehrke and Camila Rosado dropped a hard-fought, three-set decision, while Maria Coukoulis and Laura Duffy also fell in three sets at No. 4.

The Doctors Hospital FIU Surf & Turf Tournament will continue on Saturday at Ft. Lauderdale on South Beach Park (1098 Seabreeze Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale FL 33316). Action will begin at 9 a.m. CLICK HERE for a full tournament schedule.

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
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DAY ONE – DOCTORS HOSPITAL FIU SURF & TURF TOURNAMENT – TEAM DUALS
March 29, 2013 – Miami, Fla.
 
No. 1 Pepperdine (PEP) def. No. 6 FIU (FIU), 5-0

1. Lilla Frederick/Kim Hill (PEP) def. Kate Stepanova/Ksenia Sukhareva (FIU) 23-21, 21-11

2. Lara Dykstra/Caitlin Racich (PEP) def. Jessica Mendoza/Maryna Samoday (FIU) 21-14, 21-18

3. Kelley Larsen/Kellie Woolever (PEP) def.  Jessica Gehrke/Camila Rosado (FIU) 21-9, 23-21

4. Victoria Adelhelm/Taylor Racich (PEP) def. Maria Coukoulis/Laura Duffy (FIU) 21-12, 21-8

5. Emily Cook/Katie Messing (PEP) def. Emily Podschweit/Tina Toghyani (FIU) 13-21, 21-17, 20-18

Exhibition

6. Jazmine Orozco/Lauren Sieckmann (PEP) def. Elly Citron/Bridget Keller (FIU) 21-12, 21-5

No. 6 FIU (FIU) def. Florida Atlantic (FAU), 3-2
 
1. Kate Stepanova/Ksenia Sukhareva (FIU) def. Jelena Javanovic/Alessia Pizzoccheri (FAU) 21-17, 21-10

2. Jessica Mendoza/Maryna Samoday (FIU) def. Isabelle Arboleda/Megan Evans (FAU) 21-7, 21-5

3. Darija Sataric/Andrea Galinis (FAU) def. Jessica Gehrke/Camila Rosado (FIU) 21-16, 15-21, 15-12

4. Megan Knapp/Alisha Noble (FAU) def. Maria Coukoulis/Laura Duffy (FIU) 21-16, 19-21, 15-8

5. Emily Podschweit/Tina Toghyani (FIU) def. Jennifer St. Sume/Nicole Pombrio (FAU) 21-10, 21-17
 
About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of the Sun Belt Conference and an affiliate member of Conference USA (men's soccer). 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 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's 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 and enrolls nearly 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu