FIU Notes | C-USA Notebook

MIAMI (Oct. 23, 2014) - FIU (6-15, 3-5) continues Conference USA action this weekend with road matches at Western Kentucky (RV) and North Texas. The Panthers open the week with a Friday evening match against the Lady Toppers (20-5, 8-1), with first serve scheduled for 8 p.m. ET from E.A. Diddle Arena.  FIU ends the week in Denton, Texas with a Sunday afternoon match against the Mean Green (13-9, 4-5), with first serve scheduled for 3 p.m. ET from the Mean Green Volleyball Center.
 
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FIU posted an 0-2 record last week after posting back-to-back five-set losses at home against Middle Tennessee and Southern Miss. With the two losses, FIU fell to 1-4 at home; however, the Panthers are 3-4 in away matches this season.
 
The Panthers remain in eighth place in the Conference USA standings, which is right inside the bubble to get into the conference tournament in four weeks. For the season, the Panthers are one of the best defensive teams in the conference ranking second in the league with 2.26 blocks-per-set, seventh with 14.9 digs-per-set and fifth in opponent hitting percentage at a clip of .200.
 
Lucia Castro has reached double-digits in digs in 11-of-21 matches as well as in kills in 10-of-21 matches this season. Castro leads the team with 237 kills this season to average 3.04 kills-per-set, which is good for 10^th in C-USA. Additionally, she leads the team with 218 total digs (2.79 dps) and points with 269.5 (3.5 pps). Jennifer Ene averaged 2.00 kills-per-set last week, posting 11 kills in the five-set loss to Middle Tennessee and nine against Southern Miss. For the season, Ene is fourth on the team with 133 kills to average 1.77 kills-per-set and during conference play, she is tied for second on the team with 63 kills to average 2.10 kills-per-set. Kiona McSwain dished out 79 assists to average 7.9 assists-per-set in the two matches last week. McSwain has 211 assists this season and leads the team with 7.80 assists-per-set.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN KENTUCKY
Western Kentucky enters Friday's match with a 20-5 overall record and is second in C-USA with an 8-1 record. The Lady Toppers continue to hold strong in the national polls, receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) to rank No. 36 while moving to No. 41 in the NCAA RPI. The only C-USA loss for WKU came to UTSA last Friday on Oct. 17. The Lady Toppers lead the conference in hitting percentage (.282) and blocks (2.47 bps) and are third in C-USA in kills (13.82 kps) and assists (12.85 aps). Western Kentucky also averages 1.22 aces-per-set and 14.44 digs-per-set. 
 
Leading the Lady Topper offensive attack are C-USA Preseason Player of the Year Noelle Langenkamp and Alyssa Cavanaugh, who ranks ninth in C-USA with 3.18 kills-per-set. Langenkamp leads the team and ranks sixth in the league with a hitting clip of .354, while averaging 2.46 kills-per-set. Setter Jessica Lucas is right behind Langenkamp, ranking seventh in the league with a percentage of .348. Lucas also is second in the conference dishing out 10.64 assists-per-set. Georgia O'Connell has a team-high 4.36 digs-per-set to rank third in C-USA.
 
Western Kentucky holds a 29-8 advantage in the series against FIU after winning the last outing earlier in the season in Miami. Cavanaugh led all players in the match with 12 kills, while Langenkamp had nine and a .421 hitting percentage. Georgia O'Connell led all players with 14 digs.
 
SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
North Texas enters the weekend with a 13-9 record and is ranked right in front of FIU in the C-USA standings with 4-5 conference record. The Mean Green have lost three of their last four matches, and will face Florida Atlantic Friday night. North Texas leads the league in service aces with 133 to average 1.56 aces-per-set and is fourth in C-USA with 13.65 kills-per-set The team's .234 hitting percentage ranks third in the conference.
 
Carnae Dillard leads the league and ranks fourth in the country with 5.25 kills-per-set. Hanna Forst and Holly Milam are averaging over two kills-per-set, as Forst is second on the team with 2.87 kps and Milam is third with 2.02 kps. Dillard is also seventh in C-USA with 22 aces on the year. Amy Henard is fifth in the conference with 9.79 assists-per-set.
 
Sunday's match will mark the 22^nd meeting between the two schools. Following the three-set win over the Mean Green last year on Nov. 17, FIU has won the last six meetings between the two schools.
 
NEXT UP
Next week the Panthers will remain on the road when they travel to intra-state rival Florida Atlantic on Wednesday, Oct. 28, with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The final two-match home weekend of the season will take place Halloween weekend against the Rice Owls on Friday, Oct. 31, and the Charlotte 49ers on Sunday, Nov. 2.
 
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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 FIU Arena and Ocean BankField at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers 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 contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.