Pictured: Sophomore Lucia Castro (Photo Credit: Richard Lewis)

BOX SCORE (PDF) / CUMULATIVE STATISTICS (PDF)

MIAMI (Sept. 27, 2013) – The FIU volleyball team kicked off its inaugural Conference USA campaign with a 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-15, 18-25, 15-12) victory over Charlotte on Friday night on Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena. With the win, the Panthers improve to 7-6 overall and 1-0 in C-USA play, while the 49ers fall to 10-6 overall and 0-1 in league action.

Sophomore Lucia Castro led three Panthers in double-digit kills with a season-high 17 spikes, while senior Kimberly Smith and redshirt junior Ksenia Sukhareva added 16 and 14 kills, respectively. Leading FIU in the assist category was sophomore Ashlee Hodgskin with 23 helpers, and Smith posted her first-career service aces with a team-high two winners on the night.

The Panthers out-blocked the 49ers, 14.0-10.5, for the match, led by Smith's six stops. Senior CeCe Spencer chipped in with five blocks.

The teams split the first two sets, as set one saw Charlotte go on for a 25-23 victory after a 19-19 tie score, and set two saw FIU come away with a 25-21 set-win following a 19-19 tie score. The Panthers took a 2-1 match advantage with a dominating 25-15 victory in the third stanza, but the 49ers would not go away.

Set four saw 10 ties early in the period before Charlotte pulled ahead, 20-14, eventually going on for a 25-18 set win, knotting the contest at 2-2.

FIU ran out to a 6-3 advantage in the final stanza, but once again Charlotte fought back, bringing up what would be the only tie score of the set at 9-9. The Panthers would then tally three-straight points to put the score at 12-9 before an FIU service error ended the rally to make it 12-10. The teams traded kills and a Charlotte service ace brought the 49ers to within one at 13-12, but the Panthers retaliated with consecutive points to come away with a 15-12 set-five win and a 3-2 match victory.

The Panthers return to action on Sunday, Sept. 29, when FIU takes on C-USA foe Marshall. First serve versus the Thundering Herd is slated for 1 p.m. on Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena. Tickets can be purchased by calling 305-FIUGAME or by visiting FIUSports.com.

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/

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