MIAMI (Aug. 27, 2015) -- The FIU volleyball team opens its 2015 season on Friday, as the Panthers are slated to host the Panther Challenge, a two-day tournament beginning on Aug. 28, and ending Saturday, Aug. 29. Included in the six-match challenge will be USF, North Florida and Alabama A&M.
 
Admission to this weekend's challenge is free to the public.
 
Alabama A&M and USF kick off the Challenge with a 5 p.m. match on Friday, while FIU will face North Florida at 7 p.m. It will mark the first meeting between the Panthers and Ospreys.
 
The Ospreys finished last year at 13-18 overall. Home court advantage plays its part, though, as North Florida finished 3-8 on the road in 2014.
 
The tournament concludes with FIU playing twice on Saturday against Alabama A&M at noon and USF at 6 p.m.
 
The Panthers are 19-17-1 all-time versus USF and, like North Florida, have never faced Alabama A&M.
 
FIU will look to be guided by four returning seniors (Lucia Castro, Gloria Levorin, Adriana McLamb and Gabriella Cereceda).
 
Castro started all 30 matches in the 2014 season and led the team in kills-per-set at 3.26. Castro totaled 368 kills. Also returning is sophomore Jennifer Ene, who made the C-USA All-Freshman team in 2014.

For complete coverage of this weekend's challenge click HERE.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUVolleyball) 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 Bank Field 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 offers 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 $9.8 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/.