Box Score (PDF)

ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 30, 2014) – In its final match of the Radisson UCF Invitational, the FIU volleyball team (1-3, 0-0 C-USA) dropped a 3-0 (25-23, 25-13, 25-17) decision to the UCF Knights on Saturday evening from the Venue inside UCF Arena.

Junior middle blocker Gloria Levorin paced the Panthers with a career-best .533 hitting percentage (9-1/15). The Padova, Italy native was also FIU's kill's leader with nine. Freshman Jennifer Ene continues to make her presence known up front as she tallied seven kills and two blocks.

FIU got off to a hot start with back-to-back blocks, first from Ene and sophomore setter Anabela Sataric and then Ene and junior Lucia Castro. The Panthers continued to hold strong as they led, 10-5, midway through the frame; however, the Knights slowly chipped away at their deficit, going on a 10-4 run to pull ahead 15-14. The set remained close, as it featured eight ties and three lead changes. FIU led late in the frame, but a late 5-1 charge from the Knights gave them the edge in the end.

In the second set, UCF was the team off to the strong start pulling ahead, 7-1. The Knights kept the momentum as they led by as many 14 points. UCF had a .457 (18-2/35) hitting percentage, while the Panthers hit .098 (9-5/41) in the frame.

The third set started much like the first where the Panthers took an early 4-1 lead, but unfortunately it continued on like the first where FIU could not maintain its lead. UCF pulled ahead with a 4-0 run and never trailed for the remainder of the frame. FIU would tie the set up two more times, but could not seem to gain any advantage.

FIU was held to a .173 hitting percentage, as the Knights collected six blocks in the match. The Knights posted a .333 hitting percentage as sophomores Jale Hervey and Kia Bright had match-highs 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Harvey also added five aces, eight digs and a block to earn Tournament MVP honors.

FIU returns to action next week when it participates in the USF Tournament. The Panthers will open the tournament against the Bulls on Friday, Sept. 5 with a 7 p.m. ET match. FIU will then play Buffalo Saturday at 11 a.m. ET later that day and wrap up the event with a 5 p.m. ET match against South Carolina State.

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, visithttp://www.fiu.edu/