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MIAMI (Nov. 7, 2014) – FIU built a 2-1 match lead over UTEP on Friday, but the Miners fought back to win the fourth and edge out the fifth to hand the Panthers their eighth consecutive loss.
FIU (6-21, 3-11 C-USA) was held to 51 kills (10.2 kps), opposed to UTEP's (6-18, 4-9 C-USA) 63 (12. 6 kps), despite outhitting the Miners .208 to .130.
Lucia Castro once again led the Panther offense with 17 kills, adding 16 digs for her second-consecutive double-double double.
Gloria Levorin knocked in 12 kills and a match-high .393 hitting clip, while
Adriana McLamb had a career-best 27 digs.
Tina Toghiyani also chipped in with a career-high 19 digs on the back row.
The match opened with FIU taking a quick 6-1 lead that forced UTEP to burn a timeout. Following the break, the Miners went on an 11-6 run to tie the frame at 12-12, forcing FIU to use a timeout. From there, UTEP took its first lead at 14-13, but the Panthers refused to back down and re-took its lead at 19-18. After the Miners used their second timeout of the set, they came out going on a 6-1 surge to take the set, 25-20 and a 1-0 match lead.
UTEP wasted no time picking up right where it left off taking an early 2-0 lead, but FIU profited off a Miner bad set and blocks by
Jennifer Ene and
Anabela Sataric to tie frame at two all. As both teams exchanged points over the next couple of plays, the Panthers broke the spell going on a 6-2 offensive strike to take a 12-7 lead. After a UTEP timeout, FIU just continued to attack with a 13-4 run to close out the second, 25-11.
The third set mirrored the second as it remained tight in the opening minutes of play, but a 4-0 Panther run gave them a slight edge in the end. The Miners pulled back within three, but that was the closest they would get in the third as FIU took the frame, 25-19
After UTEP took the fourth set 25-19, FIU opened the fifth and deciding set with an early 6-3 advantage; however, the Miners quickly responded with a 4-1 run that tied the frame up at 7-7. UTEP then used a couple Panther miscues to go take a four-point lead at 12-8. A couple of Miner mistakes and back-to-back Castro kills and the Panthers were back in it. With the set tied at 14-14, UTEP got a kill to force match point. After FIU used its final timeout of the match, the Miners served the ball out. Now with the score 15-14, FIU had match point, but could not capitalize as it had a serving error of its own. UTEP scored the next two points to take the fifth set 17-15 and the match 3-2.
FIU remains on the road this weekend as it will face C-USA leader UTSA. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. from the Convocation Center.
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).
# 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/.
