MIAMI (August 31, 2017) -- A week of intense practices and preparation preceded FIU Volleyball's weekend trip to Nashville, Tennessee, for three matches at the Tiger Invitational, hosted by Tennessee State. FIU will face Alcorn State on Friday at 4 p.m., with a pair of matches scheduled for Saturday, September 2. The Panthers will take on New Orleans at 10 a.m. and the host Tigers at 4 p.m.
 
FIU lost its first three contests of the season last weekend at FGCU, falling in a five-set heartbreaker to IUPUI after winning the first two sets to finish the weekend.
 
These will be the first-ever meetings against Alcorn State and Tennessee State in volleyball, while the Panthers possess a 9-8 mark all-time against New Orleans. The two teams were Sun Belt Conference opponents, splitting 16 meetings between 1998 and 2009. This is the first meeting since UNO's leaving the SBC due to Hurricane Katrina.
 
A pair of Panthers have collected more than 10 kills per match through three played to this point, with junior Margherita Bianchin (Traviso, Italy) leading the way with 35 kills, with senior Tajia Thomas (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada) collecting 33. Bianchin recorded a double-double in two of the three FIU matches thus far.
 
Freshman setter Molly Feldmeth (South Pasadena, California) collected one of only six triple-doubles in Division I for the season last Saturday in the IUPUI loss. She dished out 46 assists, while connecting on 10 kills and 15 digs for the first triple-double at FIU since NCAA Volleyball went to 25-point rally scoring in 2008.
 
The Panthers open up FIU Arena on Friday, September 15 in the FIU Invitational.
 
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).
                                                                                                                    
#######
 
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/.