San Antonio, Texas (Nov. 20, 2015) – The FIU volleyball team (15-13, 9-7 in C-USA) fell to the No.2-seeded, UTSA Roadrunners in four sets, 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 20-25, 19-25) in the first round of the 2015 Conference USA Volleyball Championship Friday afternoon.. FIU finished the 2015 season with an overall record of 15-13, the best since 2011.
 
The Panthers came ready to play in the first set, taking the early 1-0 lead after a 25-21 victory. The victory was a full team effort. Four different Panthers had three kills or more in the set, led by junior Katie Hogan and sophomore Jennifer Ene with four apiece. FIU hit an incredible .452 percentage, while holding the Roadrunners to only a .156 clip. The Panthers also out-blocked UTSA, 4-0, led by sophomore Brianna Gogins with three.
 
FIU dropped a hard-fought second set, 25-22. The Panthers captured an early 9-4 lead and rode the five-point lead for most of the set. The Roadrunners did come back to tie the set at 21 and ultimately tie the match, 1-1. FIU was led by Hogan and sophomore Tia Clay with five kills each. The Panthers were plagued by service errors, making three in crucial moments in the match.  
 
The third set was a tight, back-and-forth affair. UTSA finished the set on an 8-4 run which gave them the 2-1 lead (25-20). The Panthers recorded a .067 hitting percentage in the set. Hogan still managed to lead the team in kills with three, giving her 12 for the match.
 
In the fourth, FIU got out to an early 7-2 lead, led by Hogan with four kills during the stretch. The lead did not last and UTSA ultimately took the match 3-1 with the 25-19 victory. Hogan, once again led the Panthers, this time with five kills in the final set. Hogan, who had been in a recent slump, put in one of her best games of her career.
 
The leader of the afternoon for the Panthers was Hogan, racking up 17 kills, two shy of her career record. Defensively, senior Adriana McLamb finished her career with a 17-dig game. McLamb finished the 2015 season one dig shy of the top-10 best defensive seasons all-time in FIU history. Senior Lucia Castro finished with a nine-kill, four-dig effort. Castro goes down as one of FIU's best volleyball players. Senior Gloria Levorin finishes her season with four blocks, solidifying her as one of FIU's best middle blockers in school history. 
 
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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 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/.