FIU Game Notes
C-USA Game Notes

MIAMI (Aug. 28, 2014) – FIU (0-0/0-0 C-USA) opens the season on the road on Friday, Aug. 29, when the team travels to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the Radisson UCF Invitational. The Panthers open the tournament against Western Carolina Friday, with first serve scheduled for 12 p.m. ET, from The Venue. Following the Western Carolina match, FIU will take on Northeastern at 5 p.m. ET. The Panthers also will play will a pair of matches on Saturday, Aug. 30, when they battle Eastern Kentucky at 11 a.m. ET, and UCF at 7 p.m. ET.

FOLLOW THE PANTHERS ONLINE
Livestats: FIUSports.com
Live Webcast: http://www.ucfknights.com/collegesportslive/?media=460311 (UCF Match ONLY)
Live Audio: None
Television: None

PLAYER NOTES
• FIU has 17 players on the 2014 roster, including two seniors, seven juniors, one sophomore and seven freshmen.
• The Panthers return five players from last year's squad which includes junior outside hitter Lucia Castro and junior libero/defensive specialist Adriana McLamb.
• Five members of this year's roster were also members of the 2014 Panther sand volleyball team that made a run at the AVCA Colligate National Championships: Martyna Gluchowicz, Kristine Monforte, Tina Toghiyani, Maria Coukoulis and Natalie Martinez.
• Lucia Castro is the Panthers' returning kills leader after posting 317 kills in 2013. She finished 20th in C-USA with 2.94 kills-per-set last season.
• Adriana McLamb collected a team-leading 2.65 digs-per-set and 257 digs, which ranked second on the squad.
• Senior Martyna Gluchowicz was an all-around player for the Panthers in 2013 as she averaged 2.26 digs-per-set, 1.49 kills-per-set and 0.43 blocks-per-set. 
• Junior Gloria Levorin collected 35 total blocks in 2013, and ranked second on the team during her freshman campaign in blocks with 90 (0.86 bps). Levorin has accumulated 125 total blocks in her first two seasons with the Panthers.
• Sophomore Anabela Sataric will look to contribute as the starting setter this season. Last year she led the Panthers in hitting percentage with a clip of .333 on the year. She was also third on the team in assists posting 230 total assists and 3.97 assists-per-set.
• FIU welcomes an impressive 12 newcomers that include one senior, four juniors and seven freshmen.

SCOUTING WESTERN CAROLINA
Western Carolina is coming off a 2013 season that saw the Catamounts post an 18-13 overall record and an 8-8 mark in the Southern Conference. The Catamounts return five starters from last year's team. Western Carolina returns its leading hitters in Jordan Timmerman and Caitlin Piechota. Timmerman, who earned a spot on the Southern Conference Preseason Team as well as the 2013 Southern Conference Second Team, led the Catamounts a year ago with 374 kills and 3.37 kills-per-set. She also ranked fourth in the conference in kills. In addition to Timmerman, middle blocker Addy George was named to the Southern Conference Preaseason Team. Last season, she led the team with 137 total blocks, 27 of which were solo.
The Catamounts continue under the leadership of third-year head coach Karen Glover. Friday's match between FIU and Western Carolina is the fourth meeting between the two teams in a series that dates back to 2000. The Panthers hold a 2-1 edge over the Catamounts; however, one of the two wins was later vacated in 2003. Last time out, FIU defeated WCU, 3-0, at the Kentucky Classic in 2009.    

SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
Northeastern posted a 19-11 record in 2013, while recording a 10-4 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Huskies return nine letterwinners from 2013 including All-Conference selections in sophomore setter Jamie Bredahl and senior libero Natalia Skiba.                                    
Skiba is one of the most experienced players in the CAA, having already won CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year honors twice previously in her career. The senior took home the impressive nod as a true freshman in 2011 and then again last fall as a junior. Skiba's 2013 season included second team All-CAA honors after she led the CAA in digs (683) and digs per set (5.60), which was good for No. 10 overall in Division I.
Bredahl is coming off a terrific freshman campaign in 2013 in which she played in all of NU's 122 sets and helped the Huskies reach the CAA tournament title match. The Parker, Colo., native ranked second on her team with 277 kills and 623 assists and finished fourth among NCAA D-I freshmen with 17 double-doubles. For her efforts, Bredahl was named 2013 CAA Rookie of the Year.
Head Coach Ken Nichols returns for his 15th season at Northeastern with a 261-163 record. The Panthers and Huskies have played twice, with the series tied at 1-1. Last time out, FIU posted a 3-2 victory over Northeastern back in 2007 at the Cal Molten Classic in Berkeley, Calif.

SCOUTING EASTERN KENTUCKY
The Colonels finished the 2013 season 18-16 overall, 9-7 in conference matches, and 9-9 against non-conference teams. EKU comes into the 2014 season losing former three time All-OVC player Ashley Edmond. Edmond was also named the OVC Freshman of the Year in 2010. She ranked second in the OVC in both kills (3.44 per set) and points (3.84 per set) in 2013. She tallied 427 kills, making her third all-time in kills at EKU.
Despite losing Edmond, senior Dena Ott enters returns with 1,831 career digs, fourth most in EKU history. She needs 624 more digs to break the Eastern Kentucky's program record. Ott had a team-high 652 digs last year, second most in one season in program history. She ranked third in Ohio Valley Conference and 43rd in the nation in digs per set (4.9). Sophomore Alexis Plagens also returns after earning a spot on the 14-person preseason All-OVC team this season. She was second on the team with an average of 2.94 kills-per-set and second on the team with 385 kills in 2013. The Strongsville, Ohio native ranked ninth in OVC in kills.
The 2014 season will mark head coach Lori Duncan's 17th year at the helm of the Eastern Kentucky University volleyball program. Last season, Duncan led the Colonels to their first winning season (18-16) in seven years.
FIU and Eastern Kentucky will meet for the first time in the programs' history.

SCOUTING UCF
 The UCF Knights finished the 2013 campaign with a 21-10 record and 12-6 mark in the American Athletic Conference, which was its best record since 2003.
The Knights were selected to finish second in the AAC preseason poll. Additionally, senior middle blockers DeLaina Sarden and Kaye-Alese Green were named to the All-Conference Preseason Team. Sarden was one of four unanimous selections.
For Sarden, a unanimous first team member last season, her selection marked the second consecutive season that she has received the honor of being voted onto the preseason team by all of the league's coaches. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native earned her second AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honor following her 2013 campaign of 395 kills, 30 solo blocks and a .409 attack percentage.
Green, an all-conference second team selection in 2013, led the team with 126 total blocks as a junior. The Jacksonville, Fla., native recorded 181 kills with a .338 attack percentage while starting all 31 matches last season.
The Panthers and Knights have faced off 36 times over the past 38 years. UCF holds an 18-37 edge over FIU.

FIU IN SEASON OPENERS
FIU enters the 2014 season with a 12-15 record in season openers that dates back to 1987. Last season, FIU dropped a heart-breaking 3-2 loss to High Point at the Gamecock Invitational in Columbia, S.C. The last time the Panthers won a season opener was back in 2011 against Fairfield at the Cal Molten Classic.

NEXT FOR THE PANTHERS
Next week, FIU will travel to Tampa, Fla., to compete in the USF Tournament.  The Panthers will take on South Florida, Buffalo and South Carolina State in the two-day tournament at The Corral inside the Sun Dome.

The Panthers open their home slate on Wednesday, September 17, when they face in-state rival Florida Atlantic. First serve is set for 6 p.m.

Tickets for the 2014 FIU volleyball season are on sale and fans can purchase their tickets by calling the FIU ticket office 305-FIU-GAME or by logging onto FIUSports.com

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. 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 54,000 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/