MIAMI (October 2, 2016) – The FIU volleyball team (7-10, 1-2 in C-USA) claimed their third sweep of the season and the first against a Conference USA opponent in Sunday's 3-0 (25-16, 27-25, 25-22) victory over UAB.
 
FIU was led by junior Tia Clay with a career-high 12 kills in the match to lead the offense. Freshman Sophia Sires also notched career-highs with 40 assists and two blocks in the match, while earning her third start of the season.
 
The Panthers opened up the match with a completely new lineup as freshman Sidney Henderson got the first start in her young career. FIU came out slow, giving up a 7-1 deficit to open the match. Senior Katie Hogan promptly led the Panthers to a dominating comeback win, 25-16. In the set, Hogan had five kills on eight tries (.625). Clay, who came in mid-set, notched four kills of her own, surpassing her season high in less than one set of action. FIU out hit the Blazers .367 to .120 for the set.
 
The second set was a much closer affair which resulted in FIU taking a 2-0 lead in the match after the 27-25 victory. Hogan and Clay led the Panthers again with five and four kills, respectively in the second set. Although UAB hit a .333 percentage for the set, FIU still managed to outhit them, notching a .419 hitting percentage.
 
FIU sealed the deal in the third set with a 25-22 victory to complete the 3-0 sweep. Clay, along with junior Brianna Gogins led the offense with four kills each. Once again, FIU had a great offensive set, hitting .357 in the third to finish the match with a season-high .382 attack percentage.
 
Three Panthers finished the afternoon with double digit kills: Clay-12, Hogan-12 and junior Taija Thomas with 10. There was little need for defense, but Hogan also led that front with seven digs on the match.
 
FIU will travel to Huntington, West Virginia to face Marshall on Friday, October 7 at 11:30 a.m. (ET). The Panthers will be back on Lime Court at FIU Arena on Sunday, October 9 against Rice at 1 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/.