MIAMI (October 19, 2017) -- FIU volleyball hits the road for its next two Conference USA contests, playing Friday night at Marshall before a Sunday contest at Louisiana Tech. Friday night's contest gets going at 6 p.m. Eastern, while the first service at LA Tech is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
FIU is 2-12 overall, 1-6 in C-USA this season. After winning the opening set at home against Marshall on October 6, the Panthers have lost their last 15 sets, despite a two-point minimum margin in six of those, and 20 points scored in eight.
 
The race for kills leader on the team is a tight one, with Junior Margherita Bianchin (Traviso, Italy) leading the Panthers with 143 kills, or 2.92 per set. Senior Taija Thomas (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada) is right behind Bianchin with 136 kills, an average of 2.83 per set. Both players are among the top four on the team in total blocks. Sophomore Helene Thelle (Tolvsrød, Norway) paces FIU with 180 digs, or 3.67 per set. Her per-set average puts her fifth in the league in that defensive category.
 
The Panthers are fifth in Conference USA for digs average, collecting 14.71 per set, while fourth in service aces, with 1.37 per set.
 
Marshall enters the weekend at 8-14 overall, 3-4 in league matches. The Herd have the league's kills leader, Jac'cara Walker, who has nearly 300 for the season, at 4.22 per set. A well-trained defensive unit, Marshall is third in blocking, with 2.27 per set, and fourth in digs, recording 14.87 per set for the year among C-USA teams.
 
LA Tech enters the weekend with a 6-15, and is tied with FIU at 1-6 in the league standings. FIU is ranked higher than LA Tech in six of the 12 statistical categories. Marta Monne paces the Lady Techsters with 217 kills, or 2.97 per set. She is also second on the squad with 2.77 digs-per-set. LA Tech has lost six of its last seven contests entering the weekend.
 
Including the earlier October matchup, the Panthers are 2-3 versus Marshall. FIU is 8-5 in the all-time series against LA Tech, winning the last six in a row.
 
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/.