LYNCHBURG, Va. — FIU's sixth-seeded volleyball program downed third-seeded Middle Tennessee in five sets in the opening round of the Conference USA (CUSA) Championships on Friday evening. 

The Panthers jumped out to a 2-0 set lead with 25-23 and 25-19 wins before the Blue Raiders stormed back to even the match at 2-all. FIU had the final say, using a 7-3 run to open the final frame to claim a 15-9 victory in the deciding set. 

FIU will face off with second-seeded New Mexico State on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 1:30 p.m. ET with a berth to the CUSA Championship Match on the line. 

Syra Tanchin led the attack with 17 kills, attacking at a .250 clip and adding eight digs. Jade Sadeiko had 13 kills and had an excellent day on the blocking end with 6.0 total blocks.

The middle-hitting combination of Yasso Amin and Travel Morris posted 22 combined kills. Amin also had six service aces, three digs and 5.0 total blocks. Savannah Cook dished out 41 assists for the offense which hit .276 and over .470 in all three sets that FIU won. 

The Panthers out-blocked MTSU 11-6 and held the Blue Raiders to a .241 attack percentage. FIU kept MTSU under .250 in the final four frames. 

FIU advances to the second round of the CUSA Tournament for the first time since 2018 when the Panthers advanced to the Championship Match.