FIU battled past Jacksonville, 3-2, Saturday afternoon to conclude the Gator Invitational at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville.

The Panthers, who were down two sets to one, rallied to defeat the Dolphins 25-18, 19-25, 25-27, 25-17, and 15-7 to finish the tournament on a winning note.

FIU salted the match away by hitting .600 in the fifth set while JU had a negative hitting percentage of -.062.

FIU improved to 7-5 on the season. Jacksonville dropped to 1-11.

Nina Petranovic had a team-high 19 kills to fuel the Panthers. The 19 kills were a season-high for Petranovic surpassing her 18 kills against Wofford.

Petranovic's 19 kills were the second most in a match for the Panthers this season. Margherita Bianchin had 22 kills against Wofford (Sept. 7) to establish the team's season-high.

Petranovic also had a team-high three service aces. Bianchin, who had 11 kills against the Dolphins, also had three service aces.

For her efforts, Petranovic was named to the all-tournament team. In the Gator Invitational, Petranovic totaled 28 kills, five service aces, 14 digs and nine blocks.

Dorina Klinger had eight kills. Sidney Henderson had seven kills and Abbie Hughes had six kills for FIU.

Hughes had 42 assists Saturday, falling 10 assists shy of her season and team-high 52 assists against Wofford.

Lina Bernier had 18 digs to pace the Panthers.

FIU got several other defensive contributions as Dorina Klinger and Hughes each had a team-high eight blocks.

Petranovic had six blocks and Sheyanne Sullivan had five blocks.

Next up for the Panthers is the start of Conference USA play. FIU returns home for its next match to host UAB at 7 p.m. Friday from the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.