UNF SAND INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT CENTRAL


MIAMI (March 13, 2015) – The seventh-ranked FIU sand volleyball team (3-1) continues tournament play this weekend, heading to North Florida for the UNF Invitational. The Panthers are set to take on Georgia State (5-0) and the College of Charleston (0-0) on Saturday before wrapping up play on Sunday versus LSU (2-3) and Jacksonville (0-2).
 
FIU opened the season last weekend going 2-1 at the Stetson Spring Break Tournament and picked up a 5-0 win at Florida Atlantic on Wednesday. Four-of-five Panther pairs saw straight-set wins led by the No. 3 team of seniors Martyna Gluchowicz and Anna Budinska. The duo defeated Andie Galinis and Brittany Pellitteri, 21-9, 21-17, while the No. 1 tandem of Maryna Samoday and Anja Licka snapped their two-match losing skid with a 21-13, 21-13 win over Mandy McIntosh and Chelsey Tekavec.
 
Georgia State (5-0), one of FIU's four losses last season, was ranked 10^th in the AVCA Preseason Poll, but was recently overshadowed by Arizona and Stetson who now tie for the last spot in the rankings. The GSU Panthers recently hosted South Carolina, Mercer and the University of New Orleans where they swept all three opponents, 5-0. 
 
The College of Charleston begins its 2015 campaign this Saturday at the UNF Invitational. Last season, the Cougars went 6-5 and defeated UNF Invitational participant LSU, 3-2.
 
The Tigers of LSU enter the weekend with a 2-3 mark, as they defeated Arizona State (4-1) and New Mexico (4-1), but fell to Tulane (2-3), No. 10 Arizona (1-4) and Grand Canyon (1-4) at the Arizona Invitational. Last season, the Panthers defeated the Tigers 4-1 at the Doctors Hospital FIU Surf and Turf Invitational from South Beach.
 
Jacksonville comes in with an 0-2 record, falling to ULM and Georgia State at the Carolina Classic in Columbia, S.C. The Ospreys also competed in pairs play where the No. 4 duo of redshirt freshman Lauren Gresham and freshman Mackenzie Swan advanced to the second round of the silver bracket.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSandVolleyball) 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. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer 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 $8.9 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/.