MIAMI (September 7, 2016) – The FIU volleyball team (2-4) will head to Jacksonville, Florida to play in the Best Western Osprey Invite, hosted by the University of North Florida (UNF). The Panthers will kick the tournament off on Friday, September 9 against Nicholls State and then hold a doubleheader on Saturday, September 10 against Mercer and UNF.
 
The Panthers are coming off a 1-2 weekend in Mobile, Alabama, falling to Florida A&M and South Alabama, but winning their last match against Southeastern Louisiana.
 
"We are going to take the momentum from the win and continue getting better," said Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett. "The team is doing a lot of good things and now with a stabilized line up, we'll continue to get better."
 
 FIU is led by senior Katie Hogan, who leads in nearly all categories: kills (56), points (72.0), attacks (172), service aces (41) and second in digs (41) and blocks (12). Hogan was named to the Jaguar Invitational All-Tournament Team last weekend for her performance. Junior Taija Thomas continues to be an offensive force as well, leading the team with a .309 hitting percentage.
 
Scouting Nicholls State: The Colonels (4-4) are riding a three-game win streak coming into this weekend. They went 2-1 at the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Volleyball Classic in Lafayette, Louisiana, defeating Alabama A&M (3-0) and Louisiana-Lafayette (3-1), but falling to Air Force (3-1). Nicholls State also defeated Southern University (3-0) in a mid-week matchup. FIU has only played the Colonels once in program history, back in 1979. The Panthers won that matchup, 2-1. FIU will face Nicholls State on Friday, September 9 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) at UNF Arena.
 
Scouting Mercer: The Bears (3-3) are coming off a 2-1 weekend in Nashville, Tennessee, defeating Georgia State (3-0) and William & Mary (3-1) and falling to Belmont (3-2). FIU holds a 7-4 series lead over Mercer, spanning 29 years. The two teams called each other conference rivals in two different eras: New South Women's Athletic Conference (NSWAC) (1989-90) and Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) (1992-97). The two teams will face off on Saturday, September 10 at 9:00 a.m. (ET).
 
Scouting North Florida: The Ospreys (5-3) split their matches last weekend, going 2-2 at the Barcelona Labor Day Classic in Houston, Texas. Last year, the Panthers fell to UNF, 3-1. That matchup was the first in either program's history. FIU will look to get their revenge on Saturday, September 10 against the host school. First serve is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. (ET).

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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/.