MIAMI (October 12, 2017) -- FIU volleyball returns to Conference USA play to host a pair of league home matches this weekend as the Panthers welcome Charlotte and WKU to the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night against the 49ers and a 1 p.m. start Sunday versus the Lady Tops. The Panthers only have one more weekend hosting two C-USA games.
 
FIU is 2-10 on the season. The Panthers have played five of their last 10 sets to within two points, winning just one of them. Four more sets were decided by three or four points this season.
 
Junior Margherita Bianchin (Traviso, Italy) leads the Panthers with 127 kills, or 2.95 per set. She recorded her sixth double-double of the season in Sunday's game at Rice. She is one of four players to appear in all 43 sets for the Panthers this season. Sophomore Helene Thelle (Tolvsrød, Norway) leads FIU with 165 digs, or 3.84 digs per set.
 
Charlotte leads the league with an opponent hitting percentage of .150, thanks to a league-leading 3.04 blocks per set. The 49ers are also hard to records kills against, averaging 15.62 digs per set, third-best in Conference USA. Offensively, Charlotte's Tatyana Thomas is second in the league with an attack percentage of .454, and leads the league in blocks on the defensive side, with 1.60 per set. 49er Yumi Garcia is the only player with digs average of over five, at 5.35 per set.
 
WKU leads the league in attack percentage, with a team mark of .346. The Lady Tops are third in both assists (13.15 per set) and kills (14.24 per set). WKU's Alyssa Cavanaugh is second in Conference USA with 4.17 kills per set, while setter Jessica Lucas enters the weekend at 11.13 assists per set.
 
The Panthers are 5-6 in the all-time series against Charlotte, with the teams splitting their last four contests. FIU is just 8-33 all-time versus WKU, with the Lady Tops winning the last 14 in a row in the series.
 
Live stats and live video links for both matches are available at FIUSports.com.
 
For volleyball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUVolleyball) for all the latest FIU softball 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 eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. 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 with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.