MIAMI (Oct 14, 2021) – The FIU indoor volleyball team welcomes Conference USA foe Florida Atlantic for a pair of matches at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center from Oct. 15-16. Both contests are slated for 1 p.m. ET.
Fans can catch both contests on
C-USA TV.
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers dropped its series at Middle Tennessee last week. Myrthe Maring tallied 19 blocks during the weekend The middle blocker logged eight block assists and a pair of solo blocks during the series opener and followed the performance with one solo block and eight block assists during the finale against the Blue Raiders.
Giada Bianchi tallied a pair of double-doubles during FIU's series at Middle Tennessee. The outside hitter recorded 13 kills on hitting .233 and 11 digs during the four-set bout with Middle Tennessee. A five-set thriller followed where the freshmen logged 17 kills while hitting .226 and 11 digs.
BY THE NUMBERS
As a team, FIU is hitting .171 this season with the team posting 11.6 kills per set. The team ranks sixth in the league in blocks (2.23) and eighth in digs (14.04). Valeria Santos sits third in C-USA with 4.63 digs per set while Maring's 4.26 blocks are also good enough for third place in the conference this season. Bianchi comes in eighth for aces (0.38) and points (4.11) and 10th for kills (3.38).
BIRD WATCHING
Florida Atlantic enters the weekend at 9-10 overall and 1-5 in C-USA play. The Owls are searching for their first road victory this season, having gone 0-3 thus far. As a team, FAU is averaging 13.1 kills per set with a .191 hitting percentage for the season. Defensively, the squad posts 1.9 blocks and 13.6 digs per set.
Individually, Klara Zarnovicka leads the Owls with 250 points this season. The outside hitter logged 199 kills and 30 aces so far to lead the FAU squad. She's also second on the team with 131 digs and fourth with 35.0 blocks during her freshman campaign.
Last season, FIU went 2-0 at FAU with the Panthers having won a five-set thriller before clobbering the Owls in straight sets. It was the first season sweep of rival FAU since 2015 and the historic finale win was also the first time the team has topped its rivals 3-0 since 2013, head coach Rita Buck-Crockett's first season with the program.
UP NEXT
The Panthers hit the road for a series at Old Dominion from Oct. 22-23. The first contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. while the second match is slated for 2 p.m.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUVolleyball on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or @FIUBeachVB on Twitter, @FIU_Beach on Instagram and @FIUBeach on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
