Match Details
FIU 3, Bethune-Cookman 0
Records: FIU 4-14. Bethune-Cookman 10-12.
Tuesday, October 31 | 6 p.m. | Miami | Ocean Bank Convocation Center

The Basics

-        FIU senior right side Taija Thomas (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada) produced a career-high 18 kills with no errors and led the Panthers to a 3-0 win (25-13, 25-23, 25-19) over Bethune-Cookman Tuesday night at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

-        FIU hit a season-best .353 in the match, as five different players, Thomas included, registered at least one kill and did not have an attack error on the evening. Thomas hit a career-high .667 on the evening, with 18 kills in 27 attempts with the errorless performance.

-        The Panthers also recorded a 73 percent sideout mark on the evening.

-        In addition to Thomas' 18 kills, sophomore Sidney Henderson (Chicago, Illinois) had a career-high 13 kills. She had the match-high 31 attempts.

-        After a runaway first-set score, Bethune-Cookman fought back in sets two and three, with each set containing 11 ties and four lead changes.

-        Junior Margherita Bianchin (Traviso, Italy) led the Panthers with 13 digs. Sophomore libero Helene Thelle (Tolvsrod, Norway) added 11.  

-        Both freshman setters had kills with no errors in addition to assists at slightly above their season averages. Molly Feldmeth (South Pasadena, California) had 20 assists and two kills. Aleksandra Grigoreva (Moscow, Russia) dished out 19 assists, adding one kill.   

Turning Point
Despite close second and third sets, the Panthers jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never trailed in the opening set, which provided a tone and pace for the evening.

Stat of the Match
FIU had a season-low eight team errors in the contest. FIU is

Next Up
FIU hosts its last two home matches, both in Conference USA, of the season. The weekend action starts with UTEP Friday night at 7 p.m. and the home finale is Sunday against UTSA, starting at 1 p.m. That contest will be Senior Day for FIU.

For volleyball ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.

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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/.