MIAMI (Sept. 10, 2015) -- The FIU volleyball team (4-2) will travel to DeLand, Fla., to take part in the Stetson Invitational, Sept. 11-12, from the Edmunds Center. The three-team tournament will feature FIU, Stetson and Mercer.
 
FIU will face the Hatters (2-5) on Friday with first serve taking place at 3 p.m. ET. The Panthers will wrap up this weekend's action with a noon meeting with the Mercer Bears (1-5) on Saturday.
 
Friday's match will mark the 39^th meeting all-time between the Hatters and Panthers with FIU holding a 25-13 edge in the series history, including four-straight victories over the team from DeLand. Saturday's match will mark the 11^th meeting all-time between Mercer and FIU with the Panthers having a 6-4 lead over the Bears.  
 
Last weekend's Blazer Classic in Birmingham, Ala., proved successful for the Panthers, resulting in two wins against Conference-USA opponent UAB (3-2) and Savannah State (3-0). The only loss was to Austin Peay during the two-day tournament.
 
Freshman Katie Friesen registered yet another double-double this year in the loss to Austin Peay, marking her fourth of the season. In the win versus Savannah State, senior Lucia Castro had 12 kills and 11 digs, bringing her to 71 kills and 55 digs on the year.
 
The Hatters' ace Haley Tippett will be bringing 70 digs and 64 kills on Friday. As a whole, Stetson ranks fifth in the Atlantic Sun Conference in kills, totaling 292 this season.
 
The Panthers' second opponent of the weekend, Mercer, is coming off a tough two-loss tournament of its own, with both losses against UNC Greensboro and Furman. Junior Bear Tori Penrod and sophomore Morgan Macgilvary look to thwart the Panthers attack with 52 and 51 digs, respectively.
 
FIU looks to improve to 6-2 after this weekend, which would double their win-total from the 2014 season through just eight games.

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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/.