SAN ANTONIO, Texas (November 6, 2016) – The FIU volleyball team (8-18, 2-10 in C-USA) will not be heading to Houston for the 2016 Conference USA Championships in late November after being eliminated from postseason contention with a 3-2 (25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-8) loss in Sunday afternoon's match to UTSA (18-6, 9-3 in C-USA).
 
The Panthers were led by senior Katie Hogan with 15 kills. Redshirt freshman Lina Bernier also posted 13 kills and 15 digs for her second double-double of the season and third of her career.
 
FIU began the game with a 17-25 loss in the first set. The Roadrunners took advantage on the service line, recording four aces for the set. UTSA also hit a .324 percentage and held the Panthers to a .156 clip.
 
The Panthers cleaned up their offense in the second set to tie the game after a 25-23 victory. Bernier led the offense with four kills. FIU improved their hitting percentage to .219 in the second set. A 4-0 blocking advantage held the Roadrunners to a .190 hitting clip.
 
In the third set, both teams clawed for the 2-1 advantage, but the game fell the way of UTSA, 25-23. Although FIU hit a game-high .303 hitting percentage for the set, their 11 kills were not enough to overcome UTSA's 20.
 
Hogan led the way in the fourth set with six kills to once again tie the match after a 25-21 win. Junior Mariana Dal Pozzo recorded seven digs in the set and ended the night with a season-high 20 digs in her second start at libero this year. Sophomore Sheila Rojas also contributed six digs in the set and finished one dig shy of her season high with 15.
 
The final set went the way of UTSA, 15-8, dropping FIU's record in five-set matches to 1-3 on the year. Junior Mariana De Paula Silva recorded a solo block in the final set to give her a season-high eight total blocks for the match.
 
FIU will return to Miami on Friday, November 10 for their final weekend of play. The Panthers will take on Middle Tennessee, who has also been eliminated from postseason contention. First serve 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/.