DELAND, Fla. (March 26, 2016) - The No. 10 ranked FIU beach volleyball team (5-6, 1-3 in CCSA) gave up a 2-0 lead to fall to No. 9 Stetson, 3-2 on Saturday, and concluded day two of the Stetson Beach Invitational, dropping a 4-1 decision to No. 5 Hawai'i.
The Panthers began the morning with a dominant 2-0 (21-14, 21-15) victory by the team's best duo, redshirt sophomore Savannah Davis and sophomore Natalia Giron at the No. 5 slot. The winning continued on court four, where graduate student Tina Toghiyani and sophomore Estefanie Bethancourt notched a 2-1 (20-22, 21-16, 15-12) victory against the Hatters. With 1-0 leads on courts two and three, Stetson pulled off the unlikely comeback to defeat the Panthers, 3-2.
With the victory, Davis, reached a milestone of 22 for her career, tying her for tenth all-time in school history for most overall individual wins. Nine of those wins have come this season. She tied 2013-alumn and FIU's only all-American, Kate Stepanova; 2015-alumn, Summer Nash; and former Panther, Anja Licka.
The win at the No. 4 slot for Toghiyani marks it as her eight in her FIU career, earning her a spot in the top-five all-time in victories at that position. Toghiyani is now in the top-five at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions and has the most wins at the No. 5 slot.
In the second match of the day, the fifth-ranked Rainbow Wahine took control early en route to their victory over the Panthers. FIU only managed one victory, with that coming at the No. 5 spot. The tandem of Toghiyani and Bethancourt recorded their second win of the day, 2-1 (11-21, 21-19, 16-14), regrouping after being down 1-0, like they did against the Hatters, to secure the win.
(#9) Stetson def. (#10) FIU, 3-2
No. 1 Strakova/Putt (SU) def. Cupp/Sataric (FIU); 23-21, 21-16
No. 2 Nobel/Lind (SU) def. Peterson/Dodd (FIU); 18-21, 21-15, 15-11
No. 3 Anderson/Carroll (SU) def. Gluchowicz/Boulanger (FIU); 16-21, 21-16, 15-10
No. 4 Toghiyani/Bethancourt (FIU) def. Harris/Akins (SU); 20-22, 21-16, 15-12
No. 5 Davis/Giron (FIU) def. Walsh/Richardson (SU); 21-14, 21-15
Exh. Friesen/Taylor (FIU) def. Earnhart/Speyerer (SU); 21-17, 21-17
Order of finish: 5, 4, 1, 3, 2
(#5) Hawai'i def. (#10) FIU, 4-1
No. 1 Taylor/Schreiber (UH) def. Hogan/Dodd (FIU); 12-21, 21-16, 15-4
No. 2 Maglio/Spieler (UH) def. Sataric/Cupp (FIU); 21-12, 16-21 15-6
No. 3 Rooks/Schucht (UH) def. Taylor/Peterson (FIU); 21-14, 21-18
No. 4 Zalopany/Homayun (UH) def. Davis/Giron (FIU); 21-18, 21-19
No. 5 Toghiyani/Bethancour (FIU) def. Tucker/Long (UH); 11-21, 21-19, 16-14
Exh. Anderson/Guinasso (UH) def. Guinasso/Boulanger (FIU); 22-20, 10-21, 16-14
Order of finish: 4, 5, 3, 1, 2
FIU will host its second, and final, event of the season, the fourth annual Surf and Turf Invitational, April 1-2 at Lummus Park Beach Courts, in Miami Beach (Ocean Dr. and 7th Ave.). In addition to the 10th-ranked Panthers, No. 2 USC and No. 8 Georgia State will also be taking part in the event.
April 1
No. 10 FIU vs. South Carolina - 11 a.m.
No. 10 FIU vs. Tulane - 1 p.m.
No. 10 FIU vs. FAU - 4 p.m.
April 2
No. 10 FIU vs. No. 2 USC - 1 p.m.
No. 10 FIU vs. No. 8 Georgia State - 4 p.m.
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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 180bachelor'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, theWolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA andhas over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
