MIAMI (November 12, 2016) – The FIU volleyball team (9-19, 3-11 in C-USA) concluded its 2016 campaign on Saturday, hosting Senior Day against Southern Miss (22-7, 11-3 C-USA) in a 3-1 (25-13, 21-25, 25-16, 25-22) loss. Seniors Katie Hogan, Tia Clay and Stephanie Harris all played in their final game in an FIU uniform.
 
Hogan led the afternoon with her 10^th double-double of the season (20 kills, 14 digs), achieving her number one goal for the season. Clay racked up nine kills on 31 tries and contributed six digs in the match. Harris contributed a block on an afternoon where the Panthers posted seven total.
 
"We went out playing well against a good team," said Hogan. "I could not have wanted to play with any other team than FIU. It was a fun last game and it was a fun ride."
 
FIU started the game off slowly, giving up the first set, 25-13. Hogan led all players with four kills. Junior libero, Mariana Dal Pozzo added five digs in the set. Dal Pozzo would end the afternoon with nine.
 
The Panthers picked up the intensity in the second set and clawed out a 25-21 victory to tie the match. Hogan once again led all players with six kills in the set.
 
A back-and-forth third set went the way of Southern Miss, 25-16 after a late surge by the Lady Eagles. Hogan's five kills and .333 hitting percentage was not enough to overcome Southern Miss's .359 hitting percentage for the set.
 
After tying the fourth set, 22-22, Southern Miss ended the match on a 3-0 run. Hogan posted five kills in the set and redshirt freshman Lina Bernier led the defense with five digs. For the afternoon, FIU posted two solo blocks, giving them a season total of 61, which ties them with the 1989 team for the 10^th best season in that category in program history.

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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/.