MIAMI (October 4, 2015) – The FIU Panthers (10-6, 4-2 in C-USA) improved to 3-0 at Lime Court at FIU Arena versus conference opponents this season with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-23) sweep of UTEP. Sunday's victory improves the team's conference record to 4-2, and an overall record of 10-6.
 
The Panthers were highlighted by sophomore Brianna Gogins, who led the team with a hitting percentage of .625. Gogins ended the afternoon with 10 kills. Senior Lucia Castro led the team in kills with 11, while freshman Katie Friesen led in assists with 23. Freshman Dominique Dodd also had 16 assists.
 
The Panthers started strong, taking the first set 25-19. FIU played aggressively, putting up 18 kills in the set. A high hitting percentage of .406 by the Panthers was too much to handle for the Miners, who only hit .143.
 
FIU didn't slow down in the second set. The Panthers quickly took a 2-0 lead with a 25-13 victory. Led by sophomore Jennifer Ene and junior Katie Hogan, the Panthers continued their high hitting percentage (.370). An iron-clad defense by the Panthers held UTEP to a .000 clip.
 
In the third set, the Miners fought back from an early eight-point deficit, but in the end, the Panthers pulled off the 25-23 victory to win the match. Senior Gloria Levorin led the final set with seven kills and a .545 hitting percentage.
 
The FIU Panthers will host the FGCU Eagles, Tuesday, Oct. 6. First serve is set for at 7 pm.


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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 Bank Field 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/.