MIAMI (November 10, 2016) – The FIU volleyball team (9-18, 3-10 in C-USA) defeated the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee in a five-set affair (22-55, 25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 15-12) on Thursday night's Conference USA matchup.
 
FIU was led by senior Katie Hogan, who smashed three of her career highs on the night: kills (25), points (30.5) and attempts (48). Defensively, junior Mariana Dal Pozzo led at the libero position with her second consecutive 20-dig game, tying her season high. As a team, the Panthers hit a golden .304 hitting percentage on the evening.
 
The Panthers got off to a slow start in the first set, but rallied back a little too late, falling just short, 22-25. The effort was led by Hogan, who began the night by racking up seven kills on eight attempts (.875). The late surge of momentum in the first set carried over to the second, where FIU tied the match with a 25-23 victory. Hogan once again led the offense with four kills. The Panthers racked up 7.5 blocks in the second set, holding Middle Tennessee to only two.
 
In the third set, FIU took a commanding lead after a 25-14 victory. Junior Taija Thomas recorded four kills in the set and redshirt freshman Lina Bernier gobbled up seven digs. The Panthers hit a .351 hitting percentage in the set, holding Middle Tennessee to a .100 clip.
 
A back-and-forth Set 4 went to the Blue Raiders, 25-23. Hogan got another six kills in the set. She led the squad in the final set to take the match, 3-2 after a 15-12 decision.
 
FIU posted 18.5 blocks for the night, led by Hogan with seven. Junior Mariana De Paula Silva led in assists with 48. Defensively, Bernier and sophomore Sheila Rojas had good nights, racking up 14 and 11 digs respectively.
 
The Panthers' final match of the 2016 season is this Saturday, November 12 where FIU will host Southern Miss. Prior to first serve, FIU will honor the three graduating seniors, who will play in their final games: Katie Hogan, Tia Clay and Stephanie Harris. Festivities begin at 1 p.m.

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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/.