BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky (October 16, 2016) – The FIU volleyball team (7-14, 1-6 in C-USA) fell in straight sets (25-13, 25-17, 25-19) to the top team in Conference USA, No. 25 WKU (20-2, 7-0 in C-USA). The loss is the fourth-straight for the Panthers, all by scores of 3-0.
 
The 25^th-ranked Lady Toppers opened the match with a 9-0 run, after which the Panthers held their own. WKU led 16-13 after the initial run to take the first set, 25-13. FIU only had six kills as a team in the set, with junior Mariana De Paul Silva leading the way with two. The Panthers were held to a -.118 hitting clip and was outblocked 5-1.5 in the set.
 
FIU continued to keep pace with the defending Conference USA Champions in the second set, tying the match at 15 apiece. The Lady Toppers gained momentum after calling a timeout, ending on a 10-2 run, to take the set, 25-17. Junior Jennifer Ene led the way with three kills and her 45^th career solo block, which tied her for second in program history with 1993-alum Kiki Okeke. Ene is now 13 solo blocks from becoming the all-time block leader in school history.
 
The Panthers came out with a furry in the third set, gaining an early 10-5 lead over WKU, but the Lady Toppers roared back to take the third set, 25-19 and the match, 3-0. Senior Katie Hogan led the set with six kills on 15 tries. The third set was the best for FIU, hitting a .281 percentage. For the match, Hogan led the Panthers with nine kills.
 
FIU will be back in action next Friday, October 21 to host Marshall in a Conference USA rematch. First serve from Lime Court at FIU Arena is set for 7 p.m. (ET).

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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/.