STARKVILLE, Mississippi (September 17, 2016) – The FIU volleyball team (6-7) concluded their final day of tournament play with a split. The Panthers began with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-22) loss to Portland, but rebounded against Troy, defeating the Trojans in a 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20) sweep.
 
The day belonged to junior Jennifer Ene, who combined for seven total block assists, moving her to ninth all-time in school history for career block assists, surpassing 1999 alum Kristy Andreolas (195) and 2013 alum Kimberly Smith (196). Ene is only one assisted block away from tying Rio Olympian Yarimar Rosa at 198. Currently, Ene sits ranked fourth all-time in school history for solo blocks with 42. She is two away from tying Jennifer Marek (1991-94) and three from Kiki Okeke (1992-93).
 
After yesterday's marvelous performance against Mississippi State, FIU came out flat versus Portland (6-5), never able to capture any sort of momentum. The Panthers fell in a quick 3-0 decision to the Pilots. The team hit a subpar .055 hitting percentage for the match, but not everything for FIU was subpar. Junior Taija Thomas had 11 kills and a career-best .556 attack percentage for the match. Thomas has quietly become FIU's best offensive weapon, behind senior Katie Hogan with 111 kills and 127.0 points on the season and a team leading, .270 hitting percentage.
 
Defensively, FIU played a good game, outdigging Portland, 42-39. The Panthers put up five total blocks, four of which were assisted by Ene. Statistically, FIU and the Pilots played a very similar game, with exception to the hitting errors. The Panthers had more than double of Portland's 11 attack errors, which was the deciding factor in the match.
 
This season, FIU has struggled in the first set of games, winning only one in their first 12 matches. The Panthers are typically a very good second set team, but FIU could not gather any sort of rhythm until the third set, where they fell in a close, 25-22 decision.
 
Against Troy (6-9), the Panthers fared much better, claiming their second 3-0 sweep of the weekend. Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett tinkered with the starting lineup, giving junior Tia Clay her first of the year. Clay played in 26-of-28 matches for the Panthers last season, but has seen limited action so far this year. Clay had only one kill for the match, but led the team in blocks with four.
 
Hogan returned to full strength against the Trojans and posted her sixth double-double of the season in only two sets of work. Hogan finished the night with an impressive 15 kills and 15 digs on a whopping .419 hitting percentage. Thomas continued her hot hitting with 13 kills of her own. Hogan and Thomas were both named to the Maroon Classic All-Tournament Team.
 
Defensively, redshirt freshman Lina Bernier had the most digs, behind Hogan with 13, putting her over 100 on the season. Junior Mariana De Paula Silva notched 37 assists against Troy, bringing her season total to 324 (7.36 a/s).
 
FIU will be back in action on Tuesday, September 20 to conclude the non-conference schedule. The Panthers will take the short road trip to Fort Myers, where they will face Florida Gulf Coast in Alico Arena. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. (ET).

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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/.