MIAMI (March 27, 2015) – The sixth-ranked FIU sand volleyball squad (11-1) hits the road for its final away tournament of the season for the Palmetto Invitational, hosted by South Carolina. The Panthers are set to take on the third-ranked Pepperdine Waves (6-2) on Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET and will wrap up dual play on Sunday against the Gamecocks (11-3) at 11 a.m. Sunday's match versus South Carolina will be nationally televised via the SEC Network+ digital platform on WatchESPN.
In addition to dual action, there will be pairs play that will feature two brackets: Gold (pairs 1-3) and Silver (pairs 4-6). The first two rounds of the brackets will be played on Saturday, while the semifinals and finals will be played on Sunday.
FIU is currently on a 10-match winning streak, most recently picking up four victories at the Tiger Sand Tournament in Baton Rouge, La. The Panthers swept three of their four opponents last weekend, and are led by the top two pairs as the No. 1 team senior
Maryna Samoday and freshman
Anja Licka and the No. 2 pair of seniors
Kristine Monforte and
Summer Nash. Both pairs hold an 11-1 dual record, while Monforte and Nash are currently on a 10-match dual winning streak.
The Panthers open the dual portion of the tournament against Pepperdine who come in to the weekend with a 6-2 record and are ranked third in the nation. The Waves' only two losses on the season come against No. 1 USC and No. 2 Hawaii.
FIU closes out the Palmetto Invitational against host South Carolina who comes into the weekend with an 11-3 record. The Gamecocks are 6-1 at home with their only loss coming last weekend against No. 4 Florida State.
For all the tournament action and information, click
HERE for the Palmetto Tournament Central.
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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/.
