MIAMI (August 27, 2016) – The FIU volleyball team (1-2) concluded Day Two of the FIU Invite with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-14) loss to Miami (Fla.) and a 3-1 (14-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-18) victory against Florida A&M (0-3).
 
The Panthers kicked off Saturday, hosting Miami (Fla.) on Lime Court. FIU struggled to get a grip on the game, falling quickly 3-0 to the Hurricanes. For the match, the Panthers hit a -.026 percentage compared to Miami's .376. Junior, Jennifer Ene recorded one solo block in the match and two on the day, moving her career total to 42. Ene currently ranks fourth all-time in school history for solo blocks and is only two away from tying '94-alumn, Jennifer Marek for third.
 
Against the Lady Rattlers, FIU started slow, dropping the first set, 25-14. The energy quickly changed in the second set as junior, Mariana Dal Pozzo posted seven kills on nine attempts, recording a .778 hitting percentage for the set. In her FIU debut, Dal Pozzo ended the night one dig shy of a double-double. She led the team in kills with 15 and hit a percentage of .345 for the match.
 
The Panthers were also led by junior, Taija Thomas who racked up 10 kills on 18 tries and hit a team-leading percentage of .500. Senior Katie Hogan finished the night with eight kills to go along with a team-leading 15 digs. Lastly the setting duo of redshirt freshman Lina Bernier and freshman Sophia Sires combined for 30 assists.
 
FIU will be back in action next Friday, September 2, as they head to Mobile, Alabama to take part in the Jaguar Invitational at University of South Alabama. They will rematch against Florida A&M to start a 12-match road stretch. The Panthers will next be in Lime Court on September 30 to host conference rival, Florida Atlantic.

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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/.