Miami, Fla. -  The FIU women's volleyball team (4-14, 1-4 C-USA) picked up its first Conference USA victory of the season winning 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13) over the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Friday evening at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

The Panthers dropped the opening set 25-22. FIU was out to an 8-4 lead early and held the lead until midway through the opening set. The Blazers hung around to keep the set close and tied it up when midway through at 14-14. After that, both teams were exchanging points, but UAB edged FIU late in the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

FIU tied the match 1-1 after winning the second set 25-18. It was a commanding win in that set as outside hitter Jade Sadeiko was stepping up to be the go-to option on offense. She finished the first set leading all players with 5 kills and it was only the beginning of her career night.

In the second set, UAB stormed out to a 5-1 lead but that would quickly vanish thanks to three errors that helped FIU tied the set at 7-7. It remained a close set and neither team was able to gain control until FIU went on their best run of the night. When the set was tied at 18-18, FIU went on a 7-0 scoring run to win it.
FIU would go on to take a 2-1 lead in the match after winning the third set 25-22.

This set was played very similarly to the previous one as both teams were not able to hold their leads. There were multiple ties and lead changes, but FIU had the final say. When they were leading 22-18, the Blazers went on a 4-0 run to tie it up. Alyssa Wissinger would get a kill to give the Panthers a 23-22 lead and they closed the set on a 3-0 run for the win.

The Blazers tied the match 2-2 after the fourth set 25-23. FIU led early 4-3 but that was the only time they would have a lead in this set. UAB would take the lead from there and at one point had an 19-13 over the Panthers. The Blazers were outscored 10-6 for the remainder of the set but held off a comeback by FIU to extend the match.

In the fifth and decisive set FIU won a nailbiter 15-13. The Panthers never trailed in the fifth set but the Blazers made it interesting in the final plays of the match. FIU led by five points two different times and had a commanding 14-9 lead. Just one point away from a win, but the Blazers rattled off four points in a row. The Panthers would hold off another Blazers comeback to win the match.

Jade Sadeiko would finish the match leading all players with 22 kills for a new career high. She also contributed 17 digs and two service aces. Athina Dimitriadis was second on the team with 15 kills and continued her strong season defensively collecting four blocks.

Libero Katie Turner had another strong outing and added to her team lead in digs with 36 against UAB. Camila De La Rosa continues to get the start at setter for FIU and recorded 47 assists. That's back-to-back matches where De La Rosa has collected at least 40 assists. Last match against MTSU, she had 48 assists which is her career high.

UP NEXT
After their win, FIU is back on the road to take on the University of North Carolina at Charlotte this Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1:00 p.m. The match will be streamed on CUSA.tv  

SOCIAL MEDIA
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