MIAMI (October 23, 2016) – The FIU volleyball team (8-15, 2-7 in C-USA) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 19-25, 25-17) victory over Louisiana Tech. The win improves the Panthers' Conference USA record to 2-7 (8-15 overall), keeping their hopes of making the Conference USA Championships as the eighth seed alive.
 
Senior Katie Hogan was the star of the show, recording career highs in kills (24), points (25.5) and attempts (43), while hitting a .488 percentage. She also finished one dig shy of her ninth double-double of the year.
 
The first set was all FIU, with the Panthers claiming their largest victory in any set this season (25-15). Four Panthers had four kills in the first set, led by junior Taija Thomas, who hit .800. FIU combined for a season-high 18 kills in the set, hitting a .552 percentage and held 2-0 edges in blocks and service aces.
 
The second set began much slower for the Panthers, taking the game, 25-21 after being tied at 20-20. Hogan and Thomas paved the way for another high-offensive set, claiming five kills each. Junior Mariana De Paula Silva led with 13 assists in the set. De Paula Silva, who set a new career-high 48 assists on Friday against Marshall, outdid herself again, recording a new high of 52 for the match. De Paula Silva also tied a season high in service aces with three in the match.
 
The LA Tech offense came alive in the third set, hitting .282 to take the game, 25-19 over the Panthers. Once again, Hogan led the way with five kills in the set. FIU had their worst offensive set in the third, hitting .205.
 
FIU clinched the match in the fourth set with a 25-17 win, led by Hogan with 10 kills on 15 tries. Hogan led the team recording a .567 percentage in the final set. Thomas added three kills to tie her season-high of 15 kills for a match. Thomas also tied her season high in points with 16.5.
 
FIU will have only one game next week, with a short trip to Boca Raton. The Panthers will rematch Florida Atlantic on Friday, October 28 in FAU Arena. First serve is scheduled 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/.