FIU Notes | C-USA Notebook

MIAMI (Nov. 6, 2014) – FIU (6-20, 3-10 C-USA) continues Conference USA action this weekend with road matches at UTEP and conference leader UTSA. The Panthers open the week with a Friday night match against the Miners (5-18, 3-9 C-USA), with first serve scheduled for 9 p.m. ET from Memorial Gym. FIU ends the week in San Antonio with a Sunday afternoon match against the Roadrunners (16-7, 12-0 C-USA), with first serve scheduled for 1 p.m. from the Convocation Center.
 
FOLLOW THE PANTHERS ONLINE
Livestats: FIUSports.com
Live Webcast: UTEPAthletics.com (Subscription, UTEP Match ONLY)
Live Audio: GoUTSA.com (UTSA Match ONLY)

 
FIU posted an 0-3 record last week and is currently on a seven-match losing skid. The Panthers opened the week with a 3-1 loss at in-state rival at FAU last Wednesday. It was the second time this season that the Panthers dropped a four-set match to the Owls, while falling 3-7 in true road matches on the year. Returning to Lime Court for the weekend, FIU fell to Rice and Charlotte, 3-1, in both matches.
 
Lucia Castro has reached double digits in kills in 13-of-26 matches this season, including the last three straight matches. Castro leads the team with 299 kills this season to average 3.11 kills-per-set to rank 10^th in C-USA. Additionally, she leads the team with 276 digs and 339.0 points to average 3.53 points-per-set in 2014. Castro had 52 kills to average 4.33 kills-per-set in the three matches last week, and she now has 850 kills in her three-year career and is closing in on FIU's top 10 career-kills list. Gloria Levorin averaged 3.17 kills-per-set last week, and tied a career-high 16 in the Halloween match against Rice. For the season, Levorin is second on the team with 190 kills to average 2.04 kills-per-set, and during C-USA play she is also second on the team with 108 kills to average 2.25 kills-per-set.
 
SCOUTING THE UTEP MINERS
UTEP enters Friday's match with a 5-18 record and a 3-9 mark in C-USA play flowing a 3-1 win at Louisiana Tech on Sunday afternoon. The Miners have lost four of their last five matches and are tied for eighth in the conference standings. UTEP ranks last in four of the conference's seven statistical categories including hitting percentage (.135), kills (11.14 ksp), assists (10.20 aps) and service aces (0.92 sa/s).
 
Leading the Miners' offensive attach is Coline Coessens, who leads the team with 2.85 kills-per-set. Two additional Miners average over two kills-per-set in Talia Jones with 2.33 and Krystal Ejsieme with 2.11 kills-per-set. Ejsieme is one of only two UTEP players who average over a .200 hitting percentage. Sarah Villa has a team-high 3.10 digs-per-set, while Linsey Larson leads the team and ranks ninth in the conference with 8.90 assists-per-set.
 
FIU holds an 0-1 record in the short series against UTEP after dropping the lone match in the series, 3-0, in El Paso, Texas.
 
SCOUTING THE UTSA ROADRUNNERS
UTSA enters the weekend with a 16-7 record and is first in C-USA with a perfect 12-0 conference record. Despite leading the conference and defeating WKU, who receives votes in the AVCA coaches' poll, the Roadrunners are not ranked and have not received votes this season. UTSA is fifth in C-USA in kills (13.57 kps), assists (12.54 aps) and opponent hitting percentage (.189). The Roadrunners are second in the league in digs (15.95 dps) and third in hitting percentage (.235).
 
Dajana Boskovic and Demsey Thornton are averaging over three kills-per-set, as Boskovic leads the team, ranks third in C-USA and 38^th in the country with 4.16 kps. Kylie Schott is the conference leader and is 28^th in the nation with a .392 hitting percentage, while Annie Kunes leads the league with 4.45 digs-per-set.
 
Sunday's match will also mark only the second meeting between the two schools. Last year was the first and only meeting against the Roadrunners where FIU fell 3-0 in San Antonio.
 
NEXT UP
Next week, the Panthers will continue road action with its final nonconference match of the season against in-state rival Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday, Nov. 12. FIU will then return home for its final match of the season on Sunday, Nov. 16, with first serve scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
 
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 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.