MIAMI (October 5, 2017) -- After playing the last two matches on the road, the FIU volleyball program will host Marshall Friday night, their annual Play Pink game, at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. First service is slated for 7 p.m. The Play Pink game recognizes October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, helping to bring awareness to end the disease that affects so many people and families around the world.
 
The Panthers are 2-7 this season, off to a 1-2 start in Conference USA.
 
FIU won last Friday at Florida Atlantic, but lost on the road at UAB Sunday. Margherita Bianchin (Traviso, Italy) leads the team with 93 kills, or 2.82 per set this season. The Panthers have a pair of 100-dig performers so far, with 110 coming from sophomore libero Helene Thelle (Tolvsrod, Norway) leading the way. The Panthers have two freshmen setters, both of whom have made important contributions on the floor. Aleksandra Grigoreva (Moscow, Russia) paces the team with 8.09 assists per set.
 
Marshall enters the day at 6-11 overall, 1-1 in Conference USA. The Thundering Herd has the league-leader in kills per set, Jac'cara Walker, who has 237 kills, or 4.47 per set. Setter Madelyn Cole produces 9.12 assists per set, while Jessa Long has collected 3.56 digs per set this season. Marshall has won three out of its last four contests.
 
Following the match, the Panthers will head to Rice to finish the weekend's slate of matches.
 
One schedule note, FIU and FGCU will make up their originally schedule match from September 19 that was wiped out due to Hurricane Irma. The two teams will play in Miami on Tuesday, October 10 at 7 p.m.
 
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/.