MIAMI (April 12, 2018) –The No. 10-ranked FIU beach volleyball team will close out the regular season portion of its schedule with back-to-back home matches, against UAB, on April 13 and 14. First serve at the FIU beach volleyball courts is slated for 1 p.m. each day.
The Panthers, who enjoyed a bye week last weekend, last hit the sand for their Surf 'N' Turf Invitational on South Beach, March 30-31. FIU recorded a 3-3 weekend defeating No. 11 Grand Canyon (3-2), No. 8 South Carolina (4-1) and No. 9 Georgia State (3-2) during the two-day event. FIU also improved to 5-3 in Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) play with its wins over South Carolina and Georgia State.
The Panthers remain almost unbeatable at the No. 1 and No. 5 positions. The top spot of
Federica Frasca and
Margherita Bianchin are 23-3 at the No. 1 spot, while five pairs –
Erin Byrne/
Mariana Dal Pozzo (4-1), Dal Pozzo/
Taija Thomas (14-4), Dal Pozzo/Mariana DePaula Silva (0-1),
Erin Byrne and
Mackenzie Walker (1-0), and Estefani Bethancourt and
Natalia Giron (1-0) – have combined for a record of 20-6 at No. 5. Bethancourt and Giron have also been impressive at the No. 4 position, boasting an impressive 16-7 record on the year, and the No. 3 tandem of
Lina Bernier and
Madison Besterfield are 9-2 on the year. Frasca and Bianchin, along with the pairs of Bernier and
Madison Besterfield at No. 3, and Dal Pozzo and Thomas at No. 5, are all No. 4, 9 and 11
thnationally, respectively according to collegebeachvb.com.
UAB comes into this weekend's matches with a 8-9 record on the year and a 1-4 mark in the CCSA.
Up Next
Up next for the Panthers will be the CCSA Tournament, April 19-22, in Emerson, Georgia.
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