DeLand, Fla. (March 7, 2015) – The ninth-ranked FIU Sand Volleyball team finished the Stetson Spring Break Tournament with a bang, defeating No. 2 Florida State, 3-2. This was FIU's first win over the Seminoles.
"I am very proud of the entire team and the coaches for coming back after a tough day Friday," said Head Coach
Rita Buck-Crockett. "It's a good beginning to a busy season. I am very happy for the win, but we have some things we
definitely need to work on when we get back to practice."
Marina Boulanger and
Tina Toghiyani got things off with a win at the five spot with a 21-17, 21-13 victory of FSU's Katherine Plessy and Vanessa Freire to jump out to a 1-0 match lead. However, the Seminoles responded at the No. 4 position as Julie Brown and Melanie Pavels claimed a 21-14, 21-13 victory over
Aren Cupp and
Darija Sataric. After
Maryna Samoday and
Anja Licka fell 22-20, 21-16 at the No. 1 spot,
Kristine Monforte and
Summer Nash came from behind after dropping the first set to defeat Stephanie Pellitteri and Taylor Nyquist, 14-21, 21-16, 15-10 in the No. 2 position.
The match would come down to the No. 3 pair of
Martyna Gluchowicz and
Anna Budinska. The first frame went back and forth as neither pair led for more than two points at any point, but Victoria Paranagua and Kristina Pellitteri finally came away with a 28-26 win. Not accepting defeat, Gluchowicz and Budinska came back and took set two, 21-18. The third and final set came down to the wire, but FIU's duo prevailed, 15-13, as FIU won the match 3-2.
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/.
