MIAMI (September 23, 2017) -- After missing seven games and two tournaments due to Hurricane Irma, the FIU Volleyball squad is back on the floor for both the Conference USA and home opener, a Sunday 1 p.m. tilt against North Texas at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
 
The Mean Green opened their C-USA season Friday night in a five-set loss to Southern Miss. The loss snapped an 11-game win streak for UNT, which sits at 12-2, 0-1 in league.
 
The Panthers last played on September 2 and are 1-5 on the year.
 
UNT's Amanda Chamberlain paces the Mean Green with 3.09 kills per set. The Mean Green are second in the league in both kills and assists per contest.
 
FIU has two players with better than three kills per set, in senior Taija Thomas (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada), with 3.13 and junior Margherita Bianchin (Traviso, Italy), who has 3.04 kills per set. Bianchin is also one of four Panthers with three-or-more digs per set.
 
"We are excited to just be able to get back on the floor," said FIU Head Coach Rita Buck-Crockett. "We have a lot to be thankful for and being back together and getting to play again are on that list."
 
Live stats and video links are posted 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/.