Pictured: Sophomore Ashlee Hodgskin (Photo Credit: Richard Lewis)

BOX SCORE (PDF) / CUMULATIVE STATISTICS (PDF) / CONFERENCE-ONLY STATISTICS (PDF)

MIAMI (Sept. 29, 2013) – The FIU volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-20) decision to Conference USA foe Marshall on Sunday afternoon on Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena.  With the loss, the Panthers fall to 7-7 (1-1 C-USA) while the Thundering Herd improves to 8-9 (2-0 C-USA).

Junior Martyna Gluchowicz led the FIU offense with a career-high seven kills, committing zero errors in 11 total attempts, good for a career-best .636 attack percentage. Sophomore Ashlee Hodgskin registered a team-leading 17 assists, and Gluchowicz posted a squad-best five digs while senior Kimberly Smith recorded four blocks to mark a team best.

For the match, the Thundering Herd out-blocked the Panthers, 7.0-4.0, and Marshall posted nine service aces compared to three winners for FIU. Hitting at a clip of .302, Marshall is just the third team to hit over .300 against the Panthers this season.

Set one saw Marshall take control early, forcing an FIU timeout at 21-14. The Panthers managed three more points before the Thundering Herd tallied three-straight points to come away with a 25-17 set victory and a 1-0 lead for the match.

In set two, Marshall took a 17-12 advantage and added to its lead with three-consecutive kills, putting the score at 20-12. FIU kept fighting, but the deficit was too great, as the Thundering Herd took a 2-0 match lead by way of a 25-18 set win.

The third stanza saw three lead changes with the last coming at 15-15. Marshall would then pull ahead for good, going on for a 25-20 set win and a 3-0 match victory.

FIU will hit the road next weekend, as the Panthers travel to Texas to take on a pair of league opponents. FIU will face UTSA on Friday, Oct. 4, before going up against UTEP on Sunday, Oct. 6.

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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