MIAMI (Sept. 30, 2021) – The FIU indoor volleyball team begins Conference USA play with a pair of matches against No. 21 WKU from Oct. 1-2. Friday's match is set for 1 p.m. ET while Saturday's contest begins at noon ET.

Fans can catch both matches on C-USA TV.

LAST TIME OUT
During their last outing, the Panthers went 1-1 at the Sunshine Tournament hosted by North Florida. FIU swept Seton Hall to start its run but dropped a four-set battle to UNF to close out the weekend.

Against the Pirates, Giada Bianchi led the team with 12 kills while hitting .310 for the match. Fiorella Murillo posted a double-double when she tallied 11 digs and 10 kills. Autumn Raulerson paced the Panther offense with 34 assists during the match. Raulerson and Myrthe Maring earned all-tournament honors following the weekend.

BY THE NUMBERS
As a team, FIU averages 12.2 kills and 15.4 digs per set. The squad is hitting .176 for the year while allowing the opposition to post a .209 hitting percentage. Individually, Bianchi holds a squad-best 3.89 kills per set average. The freshman notched four double-doubles so far this season. Defensively, Maring is averaging 1.12 blocks and Valeria Santos is tallying 5.29 digs per set.

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
The ranked Hilltoppers come to the Sunshine State at 13-1 overall and 2-0 against C-USA opponents this season. WKU swept Marshall at home to open league play last week. In the series finale, WKU hit a season-best .495 as a team and extended the Hilltoppers 35-match winning streak against conference opponents, which stands as the longest streak in all of NCAA volleyball.

As a team, the WKU offense is hitting .321 for the year with a 14.0 kills-per-set average. Defensively, the squad averages 2.6 blocks and 13.4 digs per set. Lauren Matthews leads the team with 4.16 kills-per-set and a .440 hitting percentage. The middle blocker was an AVCA Second Team All-American in 2020.

UP NEXT
The Panthers continue conference play with a pair of road matches at Middle Tennessee from October 8-9. Both matches are slated for 1 p.m. ET.

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.