BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Sept. 4, 2015) – The FIU volleyball team (3-1, 1-0 C-USA) picked up its first conference victory of the season with a 3-2 win over the UAB Blazers (2-3, 0-1 C-USA) on Friday evening from Bartow Arena.
The 25-22, 20-25, 23-25, 25-14, 15-8 win is part of the Blazer Classic featuring FIU, UAB, Austin Peay and Savannah State.
After falling behind, 2-1, the Panthers used a .480 hitting percentage to post a dominating 25-14 win to tie the match at 2-all. FIU carried the momentum of the fourth set to take set number five (15-8) for the team's third-straight win.
For the match, FIU was led by senior
Lucia Castro and sophomore
Jennifer Ene, who had 15 kills apiece. Ene notched a .343 hitting percentage versus the Blazers. Castro also notched 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. Freshman
Katie Friesen recorded her third double-double of the season, tallying 31 assists and a team-high 18 digs. The Manitoba, Canada, native recorded a hitting percentage of .444 and was one kill shy of a triple-double. On the defensive side, freshman
Maria McLamb reached double-digits in digs (11) for the fourth-straight match.
The win improves FIU to 3-0 all-time versus the Blazers.
FIU will continue play in the Blazer Classic tomorrow, first taking on Austin Peay at noon and then Savannah State at 3 p.m.
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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/.
