The Basics
- The No. 11 FIU beach volleyball team closed out the weekend at the Florida State University Hampton Inn-Capital-University Invitational in Tallahassee, recording two wins on Saturday. The Panthers, who recorded a 2-1 record for the two-day event, defeated St. Petersburg College, 4-1, before handing No. 15 Stetson a 4-1 loss. FIU improves to 6-1 overall and are 1-0 in Coastal Collegiate Sports Association play.
 
- The Panthers Top-20 meeting with No. 15 Stetson was its third match of the year against a nationally ranked foe. FIU is currently 3-0 against nationally ranked teams, defeating No. 13 TCU (4-1) and No. 14 Florida Atlantic (3-2).
 
Game One Match Details
FIU 4, St. Petersburg College 1 
FIU (5-1), SPC (0-4)
Rankings: FIU – AVCA No. 11, DiG No. 12 | SPC – AVCA N/A, DiG N/A
Tallahassee, Florida | FSU Beach Volleyball Complex
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- The Panthers got back on the winning track in their first match of the day on Saturday, after suffering their first setback of the season on Friday to the College of Charleston, defeating St. Petersburg College, 4-1.  
 
- Taija Thomas and Mariana Dal Pozzo played their first match of the season on Saturday, doing so at the No. 5 position, and taking the first match of the day, 21-10, 21-10. The Panthers dropped the No. 4 match, however dominated the rest of the way, winning the next three-straight matches to secure the victory.
 
- In addition to Thomas and Dal Pozzo, Lina Bernier and Dorina Klinger (21-12, 21-8) and Anabela Sataric and Erika Zembyla (21-15, 21-15) also played their first matches as tandems and coming away with victories.
 
- The duo of Federica Frasca/Margherita Bianchin continued to roll, moving to 6-0 on the season with a 21-11, 21-18 victory at No. 1.
 
- Saturday's meeting with St. Petersburg College was the first between the two schools.
 
Results
No. 1 – Federica Frasca/Margherita Bianchin (FIU) def. Ana Costal/Amanda Filippo (SPC) 21-11, 21-18
No. 2 – Lina Bernier/Dorina Klinger (FIU) def. Giovanna Gonclaves/Kyce Martins (SPC) 21-12, 21-8
No. 3 – Anabela Sataric/Erika Zembyla (FIU) def. Janina Ocampos/Kylee Whiteleather (SPC) 21-15, 21-15
No. 4 – Amanda Filippo/Janina Ocampos def. Estefanie Bethancourt/Natalia Giron (FIU) 19-21, 21-18, 15-13
No. 5 – Taija Thomas/Mariana Dal Pozzo (FIU) def. Kylee Whiteleather/Rafaela Biegerlmeyer 21-10, 21-10
 
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2, 1, 3
 
Game Two Match Details
FIU 4, Stetson 1 
FIU (6-1), Stetson (3-4)
Rankings: FIU – AVCA No. 11, DiG No. 12 | Stetson– AVCA No. 15, DiG No. 16
Tallahassee, Florida | FSU Beach Volleyball Complex
 
- FIU took a 2-0 lead before dropping the only contest of the match at No. 3. Bethancourt and Giron got things started at the No. 4 spot, with a 21-11, 20-22, 15-11 win, before Thomas and Dal Pozzo posted a 21-14, 10-21, 15-13, at No. 4. Frasca and Bianchin moved to 7-0 on the year with a 21-17, 21-14 win at the No. 1 position to take the match victory.
 
- The Panthers improved to 4-2 all-time against Stetson.
 
Results
No. 1 – Federica Frasca/Margherita Bianchin (FIU) def. Sunniva Helland-Hansen/Carley Perales (SU) 21-17, 21-14
No. 2 – Lina Bernier/Dorina Klinger (FIU) def. Darby Dunn/Sammee Thomas (SU) 32-30, 21-13
No. 3 – Samantha Harris/Rachel Noble (SU) def. Anabela Sataric/Erika Zembyla (FIU) 21-11, 20-22, 15-11
No. 4 – Estefanie Bethancourt/Natalia Giron (FIU) def. Katrinka Krahn/Alexa Richardson (SU) 21-11, 20-22, 15-11
No. 5 – Taija Thomas/Mariana Dal Pozzo (FIU) def. Rebecca Ingrahm/Quinci Birker (SU) 21-14, 10-21, 15-13
 
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 3, 1, 2
   
Up Next
Following this weekend's event in Tallahassee, the Panthers head to the East Meets West Tournament on March 10-11 in Manhattan Beach, California. FIU will play USC (1:30 p.m. ET) and UCLA (5:30 p.m.) on March 10, before ending the two-day event against Pepperdine (1 p.m.) and Hawaii (4 p.m.) on March 11.

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