MIAMI (Oct. 3, 2014) - The FIU volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (14-25, 25-27, 18-25) Conference USA loss to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Friday night from Lime Court at FIU Arena. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 3-13 overall and 0-3 in C-USA play. The Hilltoppers improve to 15-4 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
 
WKU, who posted its 10^th straight set victory of the season, out-hit FIU .294 to .104 in the match, as the Hilltoppers posted 45 kills compared to 28 by the Panthers. The Hilltoppers also out-dug FIU 43 to 34, and had four aces compared to two by the Panthers.
 
Leading the offensive attack for FIU was freshman Lea Montavon and junior Lucia Castro as the pair led the way with eight and seven kills, respectively. Freshman Jennifer Ene chipped in with five. Freshman Kiona McSwain dished out a career-high 17 assists.
 
Montavon led the team with a .227 hitting percentage, posting her eight kills on 22 swings with three errors to go along with nine digs. Senior Kristine Monforte paced the Panthers defensively with 10 digs, while senior Martyna Gluchowiz and Ene had three solo blocks in the match.
 
 
WKU's Alyssa Cavanaugh led all players in the match with 12 kills, while preseason C-USA Player of the Year Noelle Langenkamp had nine kills and a .421 hitting percentage. Georgia O'Connell led all players with 14 digs.
 
FIU got off to a slow start as the Hilltoppers held the Panthers to a -.069 hitting percentage in the first set. Although the Panthers struggled offensively, they were able to keep the set close due to some Hilltopper hitting and service errors.
In the second set, FIU overcame a 15-12 deficit to hold a 23-22 lead following a kill by Montavon.  After WKU took a timeout, Cavanaugh and Langenkamp had back-to-back kills to give the Hilltoppers set point. After the Panthers used a timeout, FIU used another error from WKU to tie the set up at 24-24. However, a Hilltopper ace and a hitting error committed by Ene earned the final two points for WKU as they took a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Panthers trailed early 8-2 in the third set before FIU used a 4-0 run to pull within two. However, FIU could not stop the WKU offense as they hit .303 and never trailed in the frame.
 
FIU will continue C-USA play this weekend with a Sunday matinée match against the UAB Blazers. First serve between the Panthers and Blazers is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, from Lime Court at FIU Arena.
 
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).
 
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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 4-00 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.