COLUMBIA, S.C. (March 28, 2015) -  The No. 6 FIU sand volleyball squad defeated defending National Champions Pepperdine, 3-2, Saturday morning on the first day of the Palmetto Invitational. With win the Panthers extended their dual winning streak to 11 and are now 12-1 on the year. FIU is also now 3-0 against AVCA Top 10 opponents.
 
Pepperdine took an early 1-0 lead after Sophie Asprey and Taylor Racich defeated senior Darija Sataric and sophomore Savannah Davis at the No. 4 position. The Panthers evened things out after seniors Kristine Monforte and Summer Nash picked up a 21-19, 21-19 victory at the No. 2 spot. FIU took its first lead of the day as the No. 5 duo of senior Tina Toghiyani and sophomore Aren Cupp bested Katie Messing and Corinne Quiggle. However, the Waves tied the match at 2-2 as the No. 3 team of Marina Boulanger and Anna Budinska fell to Emily Cook and Delaney Knudsen. With the match on the line, the No. 1 pair of senior Maryna Samoday and freshman Anja Licka came up big and won 21-19, 21-18 as FIU took the match, 3-2.
                    
In pairs action, Samoday and Licka advanced to the semifinals of the Gold Bracket with a win over Pepperdine's third pair of Cook and Knudsen. Monforte and Nash also advanced to the semifinals with a victory of South Carolina's No. 1 duo of Madde Frome and Julia Mannisto. FIU's top two pairs are set to face each other and the winner will play of Pepperdine's top two pairs of Larsen/Woolever or Dykstra/Strehlow in the finals.
 
In the silver bracket, sophomore Anabela Sataric and freshman Natalia Giron advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Pepperdine's No. 4 duo of Racich/Asprey. Both FIU's 4 and 5 pairs advanced and will play each other in the semifinals tomorrow. 
 
The Panthers continue action tomorrow for the final day of the Palmetto Invitational with a dual against South Carolina. The match will be nationally televised via the SEC Network+ digital platform on WatchESPN. Following the dual pairs play will wrap up with semifinals and finals.
 
PALMETTO INVITATIONAL DAY 1 RESULTS
FIU def. Pepperdine (PEP) 3-2
No. 1     Maryna Samoday/Anja Licka (FIU) def. Kelley Larsen/Kellie Woolever (PEP) 21-19, 21-18
No. 2     Summer Nash/Kristine Monforte (FIU) def. Lara Dykstra/Becca Strehlow (PEP) 21-19, 21-19
No. 3     Emily Cook/Delaney Knudsen (PEP) def. Marina Boulanger/Anna Budinska (FIU) 21-17, 21-1
No. 4     Sophie Asprey/Taylor Racich (PEP) def. Savannah Davis/Darija Sataric (FIU) 21-17, 21-15
No. 5     Aren Cupp/Tina Toghiyani (FIU) def. Katie Messing/Corinne Quiggle (PEP) 21-19, 21-16
Exh.       Martyna Gluchowicz/Natalia Giron (FIU) def. Samantha Cash/Leanna Schroeder (PEP) 21-15, 21-18
 
Gold Bracket
Marina Boulanger/Anna Budinska (FIU) def. Sarah Blomgren/Jade Vitt (SC) 24-22, 21-17
Kristine Monforte/Summer Nash (FIU) def. Madde Frome/Julia Mannisto (SC) 21-14, 21-17
Maryna Samoday/Anja Licka (FIU) def. Emily Cook/Delaney Knudsen (PEP) 16-21, 21-10, 15-9
Lara Dykstra/Becca Strehlow (PEP) def. Paige Wheeler/Megan Kent (SC) 21-12, 21-18
Kelley Larsen/Kellie Woolever (PEP) def. Marina Boulanger/Anna Budinska (FIU) 21-13, 21-18
 
Gold Consolation
Emily Cook/Delaney Knudsen (PEP) def. Sarah Blomgren/Jade Vitt (SC) 21-11
 
Silver Bracket
Aren Cupp/Tina Toghiyani (FIU) def. Jade Hayes/Macie Tendrich (SC) 21-15, 21-17
Katie Messing/Corinne Quiggle (PEP) def. KoKo Atoa-Williams/Allie Monserez (SC) 21-18, 21-19
Natalia Giron/Anabela Sataric (FIU) def. Erin Neuenfeldt/Litsa Darby (SC) 21-16, 12-21, 15-13
Taylor Racich/Sophie Asprey (PEP) def. Natalia Giron/Anabela Sataric (FIU) 21-7, 21-12
Darija Sataric/Martyna Gluchowicz (FIU) def. Samantha Cash/Leanna Schroeder (PEP) 13-21, 24-22, 15-10
 
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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/.