Photo Credit: Sam Lewis
Live Stats
PantherVision (Live Video -- Available for FIU matches ONLY)
Conference USA Volleyball Notebook (PDF) -- Week 2
MIAMI (Sept. 4, 2013) – After opening the 2013 season on the road, the FIU volleyball team (1-2) returns to Miami to host the FIU Classic, held Sept. 5-7 at U.S. Century Bank Arena, featuring Houston Baptist, Alabama and UNCW. The Panthers will open their home season against HBU on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 5 p.m., before facing Alabama on Friday, Sept. 6 (3 p.m.), and UNCW on Saturday, Sept. 7 (6 p.m.).
A complete tournament schedule can be viewed HERE.
Keeping Up with the Panthers
Live stats will be available for all FIU Classic matches, and can be accessed via the FIU volleyball schedule page at FIUSports.com. A free live video stream for all FIU matches will be available via PantherVision, by clicking HERE, and fans can also follow the action live on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball).
A Glance at Houston Baptist
HBU is coming off a 3-0 sweep over Prairie View on Tuesday, as the Huskies bring a record of 3-1 into the weekend. Three players have posted 35-or-more kills thus far for second-year Head Coach Trent Herman, as HBU has registered 199 kills compared to 157 for the opposition. Kayla Armer leads the Huskies in the assist category (166, 11.07 aps) while Haley Mueller has picked up a squad-best 60 digs (4.00 dps). Leading the HBU blocking corps is Caiti Wenger with 15 stops for an average of 1.00 blocks per set.
Series History: Thursday's contest marks the first-ever meeting between HBU and FIU.
Scouting Alabama
Alabama opened the season at the Black Knights Invitational, posting 3-1 wins over Seton Hall and Army, and falling to Washington State in straight sets. Krystal Rivers led the Crimson Tide offense, hitting .475 on 36 kills against seven errors in 61 total attempts (3.27 kps), while Sierra Wilson registered 107 assists (9/73 aps). Rivers was also in control on the defensive side of the net, posting 10 blocks, including seven solo stops, for a blocks-per-set mark of 0.91. Alabama is coached by Ed Allen, in his third season with the Crimson Tide.
Series History: Alabama and FIU will square off for just the second time in each program's history on Friday. The Crimson Tide took the first meeting, 3-0, on Sept. 21, 2002.
A Look at UNCW
UNCW is 3-0 going into the weekend, as the Seahawks defeated Navy and UIC, 3-1, and Elon, 3-0, at the season-opening Kristen Dickmann Invitational in Annapolis, Md. Under the direction of Head Coach Amy Bambenek for the fifth season, UNCW out-blocked its opponents by a 35.0-13.0 margin last weekend, and posted 15 service aces, led by Morgan Kline's six winners. Christi Laite (44 kills, 4.00 kps) and Victoria Phillips (112 assists, 10.18 aps) led the Seahawk offensive attack, while Meredith Peacock averaged 1.55 blocks per set.
Series History: Saturday's meeting between UNCW and FIU will mark the first-ever between the two schools.
Last Time Out
FIU opened the 2013 campaign at the Gamecock Invitational last weekend, as the Panthers dropped a hard-fought, five-set loss to High Point and fell to host South Carolina, 3-0, before sweeping South Carolina State in straight sets. Redshirt junior Ksenia Sukhareva led the FIU offense in each match, and the Panthers had their best offensive outing against SCSU, hitting .326 as a team. Behind three service aces from junior Carolyn Fouts, FIU also hit a season-high mark in aces with 10 winners versus the Bulldogs, while the Panthers opened the campaign with a season-best 14.0 blocks against HPU. For the weekend, FIU out-blocked the opposition by a 20.0-16.0 margin, averaging 1.83 blocks per set, as senior CeCe Spencer and junior Silvia Carli each averaged 0.70 blocks per set.
Sukhareva Earns Gamecock Invitational All-Tournament Team Honors
Following a stellar performance on opening weekend, redshirt junior Ksenia Sukhareva was named to the Gamecock Invitational All-Tournament Team. Competing in her first season of indoor volleyball at FIU, Sukhareva totaled 37 kills across 11 sets of action (3.36 kps), registering a career-high 16 kills against HPU, seven kills versus USC, and 14 kills against SCSU. In addition, the outside hitter notched a career-best two service aces versus the Bulldogs to put her weekend total at four winners. Sukhareva was also active on the defensive side of the net, posting career bests of six digs and three blocks, including her first-career solo stop, against HPU. For the weekend, the Moscow, Russia, native recorded 4.0 total blocks to go along with 13 digs.
New Territory
The 2013 campaign marks FIU's inaugural season of competition in Conference USA. The Panthers were picked to finish ninth in the 2013 Conference USA Preseason Volleyball Poll, while Rice was predicted to come away with this year's C-USA title. Three-time defending C-USA regular season champion Tulsa and UTSA tied for second place.
Next Up
FIU will remain home next weekend to host the FIU Invitational, held Sept. 12-13 & 15 at U.S. Century Bank Arena. The Panthers will face Jacksonville on Thursday, Sept. 12 (6 p.m.) before going up against Chattanooga and South Dakota State on Friday, Sept. 13, at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. Tickets can be purchased by calling 305-FIUGAME or by logging on to FIUSports.com.
#PantherNation – #FIU Social Media
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/
--- www.FIUSports.com ---
