MIAMI (September 24, 2016) – The FIU volleyball team (6-8, 0-0 C-USA) will head out to Denton, Texas to play a single match against North Texas (6-10, 0-1 C-USA) on Sunday, September 25 at 2:00 p.m. (ET); their first Conference USA matchup of the season. The match will also conclude the Panthers' 12-game road stretch, which began September 2.
FIU is coming off a mid-week matchup against Florida Gulf Coast (11-3), falling 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-20) last Tuesday. The Panthers were led by junior
Jennifer Ene, who recorded a season-high 10 kills and tied Rio Olympian and 2009-alum Yarimar Rosa for eighth in career block assists with 198. Junior
Brianna Gogins, led the blocking units with a career-high nine blocks in the game.
"We are very excited to start conference play," said Head Coach
Rita Buck-Crockett. "Our team has developed so well and we are still seeing people go up. I am excited to see where we are at the beginning of conference play, compared to where we are going to be at the end."
The Panthers are led by senior
Katie Hogan who leads the team in points (177.5), kills (144), attacks (433), service aces (14), digs (122), double-doubles (six; ranks seventh in C-USA) and is second in blocks with 34 (five solo; 29 assists). Hogan and junior
Taija Thomas were named to last weekend's Maroon Classic All-Tournament Team.
Scouting North Texas: The Mean Green (6-10, 0-1 C-USA) are off to a much slower start than last season's 20-13 pace. With the loss of All-American Carnae Dillard, North Texas was voted to finish sixth in the Conference USA Preseason Poll.
North Texas began Conference USA play on Friday, September 23, falling to Southern Miss, 3-1. The Mean Green will play host to FIU on Sunday at the Mean Green Volleyball Center for their 19
th matchup in series history. The Panthers lead the overall series 12-6, going 9-4 as Sun Belt Conference rivals, but North Texas has won two of the three matches as Conference USA foes.
The Mean Green are led by junior Amanda Chamberlain with 166 kills on a .371 hitting percentage (ranks fourth in C-USA).
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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/.
