MIAMI (April 7, 2016) – The FIU beach volleyball team (9-7, 5-3 CCSA) is headed to compete in the 7
th Annual Fiesta on Siesta Key on
Saturday, April 9. The Panthers will face TCU and Grand Canyon to wrap up their regular season. FIU will also partake in the pair's competition, along with 35 other collegiate programs. The Panthers come into the event No. 10 in the official AVCA national rankings and No. 11 in the DiG national poll.
The Panthers are coming off a successful weekend on South Beach hosting the 4
th Annual FIU Surf & Turf Invitational. The Panthers went 4-1 on the weekend, clinching all four victories against conference opponents. FIU was led by the No. 5 pair of redshirt sophomore
Savannah Davis and sophomore
Natalia Giron. For their efforts, the duo was named Costal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Beach Pair of the Week. The award marked the first time any Panther duo earned the honor.
Looking at the Horned Frogs: TCU (12-4), who comes into
Saturday's matchup against the Panthers riding a five-game win streak, is coming off a perfect weekend winning all of its matches, 5-0. The meeting between FIU and the Horned Frogs will be a first for both programs. First serve is scheduled for
9:30 a.m. ET.
Looking at the Antelopes: Grand Canyon (11-3) is ranked 10th in the unofficial DiG national poll, and are not ranked in the AVCA poll. Grand Canyon is coming off a 0-2 weekend at the LSU Beach Invitational in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Antelopes fell to Florida State and LSU, both by 4-1 finals. All three losses this season for the Antelopes have come at the hand of CCSA conference opponents. GCU plays a special role in FIU beach volleyball history. The Antelopes were the first-ever opponent in Panthers' beach volleyball history, with FIU handing Grand Canyon a 5-0 loss. The Panthers hold a 2-0 lead in the all-time series. First serve is scheduled for
3:00 p.m. ET.
Fans interested in supporting your Panthers at Siesta Key are encouraged to come out and support. Parking is free.
Siesta Key:
948 Beach Road, Siesta Key, Florida 34242
#####
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).
###
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.Maidiqueand 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/.
