MIAMI (Aug. 29, 2015) – The FIU volleyball team (2-1) took three-straight from the USF Bulls (2-1) in the final match of the 2015 Panther Challenge on Saturday evening from Lime Court at FIU Arena to claim the top spot in the weekend tournament.
FIU's 25-17, 26-24, 25-19, victory over the Bulls gave FIU seven total wins compared to USF and North Florida (2-1), who each totaled six.
The Panthers were led offensively by senior
Lucia Castro, who notched a match-best 18 kills, while hitting .455 versus the Bulls. Freshman
Katie Friesen notched her second double-double of the weekend, tallying 22 assists and 15 digs. The Manitoba native also hit .417 with five kills. Freshman
Maria McLamb proved to be solid defensively for the Panthers, recording a game-high 17 digs.
FIU set the tone in the first set, out-hitting USF .318 to .148. A tight second set (26-24) went the way of the Panthers thanks in part to the play of Castro (six kills), five Panther blocks and four USF service errors. FIU held USF to a .094 hitting percentage in set number three for the 25-19 win.
For the match, FIU hit .260, while USF recorded a clip of .148. Both teams notched 8.0 blocks in the match as FIU was led by Castro and sophomore
Brianna Gogins, who each notched three assisted blocks.
The win marks the second-straight victory for the Panthers over the Bulls as FIU improves to 20-17-1 all-time versus USF.
The Panthers will next travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take part in a four-team tournament featuring UAB, Austin Peay and Savannah State beginning Friday, Sept. 4.
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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/.
