MIAMI (March 19, 2015) – The seventh-ranked FIU sand volleyball team (7-1) continues tournament play this weekend, heading to Baton Rouge, La., for the Tiger Sand Tournament. The Panthers are set to take on New Orleans (0-8) and spring Hill (1-3) on Friday evening before wrapping up dual play on Saturday host LSU (3-6) and North Florida (3-3). There will be a pairs bracket on Sunday to wrap up the three-day event.  
 
The Panthers continued their hot streak last weekend going 4-0 at the UNF Sand Invitational. Three of FIU's four wins were 5-0 sweeps as all five pairs defeated their opponents 2-0. The closest match was the 3-2 victory over preseason-ranked Georgia State.
 
FIU is led by its top two pairs with No. 1 senior Maryna Samoday and freshman Anja Licka leading the way with a 7-1 record. The duo's only loss was to Florida State's Jace Pardon and Sarah Wickstrom. The No. 2 pair of seniors Kristine Monforte and Summer Nash also hold a 7-1 record as they are on a five-match winning streak. The last time the two dropped a match was against now No. 10 Stetson's Savannah Byl and Holly Reschke at their Spring Break Tournament back on March 7.
 
The Panthers open the tournament on Friday evening against the University of New Orleans. The Privateers come into the tournament with an 0-8 record, wining only one set on the season against Louisiana-Monroe. Kelsea Hundtoft and Camila Lau were the team responsible for taking UNO's lone winning set, 21-17, at the No. 4 position.
 
Spring Hill enters the weekend with a 1-3 record with its only win coming against the University of New Orleans in is season opener at the Tulane Pelican Classic. However, the Badgers have failed to win a match since as they have dropped 5-0 losses to ULM, Tulane and Mercer.
 
LSU and FIU will be meeting for the second time this season, with the Panthers coming out on top, 5-0, at the UNF Sand Invitational last weekend. The Bayou Bengals finished last week's tournament 1-3 and have a 3-6 record on the season.
 
Dual action will conclude against North Florida on Saturday afternoon. The Ospreys have 3-3 record as they defeated South Carolina, the College of Charleston and the University of New Orleans last weekend at their tournament.
 
The Tiger Sand Tournament wraps up on Sunday with pairs play. Brackets have not been released yet, but will begin with pool play followed by single-elimination bracket competition.
 
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/.