Box Score MIAMI (Sept. 17, 2014) – In the 2014 Conference USA opener, the FIU volleyball team suffered a 3-1 (16-25, 26-24, 18-25, 16-25) loss to in-state rival Florida Atlantic Wednesday night. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 3-8 (0-1 C-USA), while the Owls improve to 8-3 (1-0 C-USA). It was the first time since 2005 that Florida Atlantic defeated FIU in Miami.

The Panthers were out-hit by FAU, who landed 54 kills on a .219 hitting percentage to FIU's 42 kills on .092 hitting percentage. The Panthers are now 1-8 when being out-hit by the competition this season.
Junior Lucia Castro led the attack for the Panthers, tallying 14 kills in the match. Junior Gloria Levorin added nine, while freshman Jennifer Ene chipped in with six and a team-best .385 hitting percentage (6-1/13). Sophomore Anabela Sataric dished out 36 of FIU's 40 assists and added nine digs and two blocks (both assisted).

Defensively, the Panthers totaled 66 digs and 11.0 blocks on the night. Senior Martyna Gluchowicz had a season-best 17 digs, one shy from her career-high. Castro added 12 for her third consecutive and fifth double-double on the year. Junior Maria Coukoulis had a career-high night with 10 digs.

FIU looks to bounce back from its four-match losing streak as it hits the road for its final non-conference tournament at the Crimson-White Invitational hosted by the University of Alabama. The Panthers will play Alabama on Friday at 1 p.m. ET, then take on Clemson and San Diego State, Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

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/