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

BOX SCORE (PDF) / CUMULATIVE STATISTICS (PDF)

MIAMI (Sept. 6, 2013) – The FIU volleyball team fell to Alabama, 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-23), on Friday afternoon at the FIU Classic, held on Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena in Miami. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 2-3 while the Crimson Tide improves to 3-2.

Senior Kimberly Smith and sophomore Lucia Castro led the FIU offense with nine kills apiece, as Smith was flawless on the day, committing zero errors in 19 attempts (.474). Freshman Anabela Sataric registered a squad-high 13 assists and sophomore Ashlee Hodgskin chipped in with 12 helpers, while senior Jessica Mendoza posted a team-high two service aces.

Leading the FIU defense was Mendoza with 12 digs, and Smith spearheaded the Panther blocking efforts with seven total blocks, including a career-high three solo stops. For the match, FIU out-blocked Alabama, 9.5-5.0, but the Panther offense hit at a clip of .109 compared to an attack percentage of .214 for the Crimson Tide.

Set one saw Alabama take a 17-12 advantage, but the Crimson Tide reeled off five-straight points to push its lead to 22-12, forcing an FIU timeout. Out of the break, the Panthers managed just two more points as Alabama came away with the 25-13 set win.

With Alabama holding a 1-0 lead for the match, the squads fought to a 17-17 tie in the second stanza. The Crimson Tide would then go ahead and hold an advantage for the remainder of the set, going on to take a 2-0 lead for the match by way of a 25-21 set two victory.

Tied at 22-22 in set three, Sataric passed to Castro for a kill to put FIU on top, 23-22, before Alabama retaliated with a kill of its own to bring up a 23-23 tie score. A pair of Panther errors would then end the match, as the Crimson Tide won set three, 25-23, en route to a 3-0 match victory.

The Panthers will close out action at the FIU Classic on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. when FIU takes on UNCW.

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, and fans can also follow the action live on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball).

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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