The Basics
- The No. 8 FIU beach volleyball team closed out its 2019 regular season on Friday with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to No. 10 Stetson at the FAU Beach Volleyball Courts in Boca Raton. The Panthers led, 2-0, in the dual only to have the Hatters fight back and take the final three matches. With the loss, FIU drops to 14-10 on the year, while the Hatters improve to 24-8 overall.
Dual Details
Stetson 3, FIU 2
FIU (14-10), Stetson (24-8)
Rankings: FIU – AVCA No. 8/DiG No. 10, Stetson – AVCA No. 10/DiG No. 11
Boca Raton, Florida | FAU Beach Volleyball Courts
- The Panthers started the dual off with a pair of straight-set wins on courts five and four. FIU's
Lina Bernier and
Erika Zembyla defeated Stetson's number five pair, 21-19, 21-12 for the first point of the contest.
Abbie Hughes and
Ali Denney followed that up with a 21-15, 21-16 victory at the four position.
- Stetson, however, battled back and tied the dual up with straight set wins on court three (21-9, 21-13) and on the number one court (21-11, 23-21). The deciding match came down to court two and Dorina and
Ronja Klinger in what turned out to be a three-set thriller. The sisters took the first set, 21-11, before the Hatters tied the match up with a 21-17 second-set win. Stetson continued to keep the upper hand closing out the Austrian duo in the third set, 15-10, securing the dual victory.
- Coming into Friday, the Panthers had faced Stetson twice this season, and defeated the Hatters both times. FIU won, 5-0, on Feb. 23, during the first weekend of the season, and on March 29, 3-2, during the first day of the FIU Surf 'N' Turf Invitational on South Beach.
Results
No. 1 – Carly Perales/Sunniva Helland-Hansen def.
Federica Frasca/
Margherita Bianchin (FIU) (SU), 21-11, 23-21
No. 2 – Sammee Thomas/Darby Dunn (SU) def.
Ronja Klinger/
Dorina Klinger (FIU) 11-21, 21-17, 15-10
No. 3 – Rachel Noble/Ana Costa (SU) def.
Katie Friesen/
Nina Petranovic (FIU), 21-9, 21-13
No. 4 –
Abbie Hughes/
Ali Denney (FIU) def. Julie Varga/Sam Harris (SU), 21-15, 21-16
No. 5 –
Lina Bernier/
Erika Zembyla (FIU) def. Rebecca Ingram/Quinci Birker (SU), 21-19, 21-12
Ext. – Alexa Richardson/Katinka Krahn (SU) def.
Madison Besterfield/
Helene Thelle (FIU), 21-14, 10-21, 15-10
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 1, 2
Up Next
With Friday being the end of the regular season, the Panthers now head to the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Championships, April 19-21, in Emerson, Georgia, at the LakePoint Sports Complex.
Social Media
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUVolleyball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUVolleyball) for all the latest FIU volleyball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers) , and Instagram (FIUathletics).
