TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (April 15, 2017) – The No. 14-ranked FIU beach volleyball team (20-12, 8-5 CCSA) fell to two top-five ranked teams in day two of the Florida State Alumni Weekend Beach Volleyball Tournament. The Panthers were defeated by No. 4 Florida State, 3-2, and No. 2 Pepperdine, 3-2.  

In their first match of the day, the Panthers faced the host Seminoles for the second time this season. Their first match-up was during the Fifth Annual Surf 'N Turf Invitational in which FSU took a tight contest, 3-2. Today's decision resulted in the same fate for FIU.  

Pair No. 3 of Taija Thomas and Katie Friesen defeated FSU's Victoria Paranagua and Macy Jerger, 22-20, 21-15 and the Italian duo of Margherita Bianchin and Federica Frasca took down the No. 1 pair of Leigh Andrew and Brooke Kuhlman, 21-14, 20-22, 15-12 for FIU's two wins of the match.  

In the final match of the tournament the Panthers faced Pepperdine who has proven to be one of the top teams in the nation. To cinch the lead in the match, pair No. 5 of Anabela Sataric and Estefanie Bethancourt defeated the Waves' Kaity Bailey and Sarah Seiber, 21-18, 17-21, 20-18. Pepperdine took the win at the No. 4 position but No. 3 duo of Katie Hogan and Lina Bernier were able to secure the second victory over Skylar Caputo and Heidi Dyer, 21-15, 21-14. 

Hogan and Bernier's win tied the game at 2-2, leaving court No. 1 to decide the match. Unfortunately Pepperdine's Delaney Knudsen and Madalyn Roh defeated Bianchin and Frasca 21-19, 21-16, leaving the Panthers just shy of a win.  

The Panthers finish the weekend with a mark of 2-2, improving them to 20-12 on the season. FIU has a single game left during the regular season, on Tuesday, April 18, against Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers, Florida at 4 pm.

#4 Florida State def. #14 FIU, 3-2
 
No. 1 Margherita Bianchin/Federica Frasca (FIU) def. Leigh Andrew/Brooke Kuhlman (FSU) 21-14, 20-22, 15-12
No. 2 Sierra Sanchez/Vanessa Freire (FSU) def. Katie Hogan/Lina Bernier (FIU) 21-16, 15-21, 15-10 
No. 3 Taija Thomas/Katie Friesen (FIU) def. Victoria Paranagua/Macy Jerger (FSU) 22-20, 21-15
No. 4 Francesca Goncalves/Katie Horton (FSU) def. Mariana De Paula Silva/Mackenzie Walker (FIU) 21-11, 21-18
No. 5 Hailey Luke/Eva Torruella (FSU) def. Anabela Sataric/Estefanie Bethancourt (FIU) 16-21, 21-18, 15-9
Exh. Helene Thelle/Natalia Giron (FIU) def. Molly McBain/Nikki Esposito (FSU) 21-18, 21-13
 
Order of finish: 4, 5, 3, 1, 2
 
#2 Pepperdine def. #14 FIU, 3-2
 
No. 1 Delaney Knudsen/Madalyn Roh (PEPP) def. Margherita Bianchin/Federica Frasca (FIU) 21-19, 21-16
No. 2 Corinne Quiggle/Brittany Howard (PEPP) def. Taija Thomas/Katie Friesen (FIU) 21-17, 21-15
No. 3 Katie Hogan/Lina Bernier (FIU) def. Skylar Caputo/Heidi Dyer (PEPP) 21-15, 21-14
No. 4 Deahna Kraft/Anika Wilson (PEPP) def. Natalia Giron/Helene Thelle (FIU) 21-19, 20-22, 15-9
No. 5 Anabela Sataric/Estefanie Bethancourt (FIU) def. Kaity Bailey/Sarah Seiber (PEPP) 21-18, 17-21, 20-18
Exh. Kari Peterson/Morgan Crawley (FIU) def. Tiffany Morales/Katty Workman (PEPP) 21-16, 12-21, 15-12
 
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
 
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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 180bachelor'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, theWolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA andhas over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.