West Palm Beach, Fla.– The 15
th ranked FIU beach volleyball team will participate in the Sailfish Tri-Match hosted by Palm Beach Atlantic University on Tuesday, March 14 starting at 12 p.m. against PBA and Florida Southern College at 2 p.m. at the Sailfish Beach Volleyball Courts.
Tuesday, Mar. 14 vs PBA (7-7, 0-0 SSC)
- Time / Location: 12 p.m. ET/ West Palm Beach, Fla.
- Site: Sailfish Beach Volleyball Courts
- Series History: FIU leads 3-0
Tuesday, Mar. 14 vs FSC (4-7, 0-0 SSC)
- Time / Location: 2 p.m. ET/ West Palm Beach, Fla.
- Site: Sailfish Beach Volleyball Courts
- Series History: FIU leads 4-0
The Panthers (4-2, 0-0 C-USA) are coming off a 4-1 victory in their home opener against Texas A&M Corpus Christi on March 2, and have won their last two matches.
In court one against the Islanders,
Giada Bianchi and
Alice Pratesi were the first pair to finish and gave FIU an early 1-0 lead after winning in straight sets 21-18 and 21-14.
Milica Vukobrat and
Rachele Mancinelli, remain undefeated this season with a 6-0 record in court three after winning in straight sets 21-16 and 21-16. The pair has wins over ranked opponents such as, No. 4 FSU, No.14 University of Washington, and No. 19 South Carolina. FIU's fifth pair,
Lisa Luini and
Emily Meyer, clinched the match for the Panthers with a 3-0 lead after winning in three sets.
In tomorrow's matchup against PBA and FSC, senior
Lucie Pokorna will be out with an upper extremity injury and sophomore transfer,
Madison Horton will move into the starting lineup. The starting pairs will be announced 30 minutes prior to first serve.
SCOUTING PALM BEACH ATLANTIC
The Sailfish are off to a 7-7 start in the 2023 season after going 3-1 at the Eckerd Battle on the Bay tournament from March 10-11 hosted by Eckerd College. PBA recorded wins over Missouri State, Saint Leo, and Eckerd.
PBA is coming off a 20-14 season including a 3-1 record in the Sunshine State Conference. In addition, PBA is highlighted by their top pair Jazz Schmidt and Lunden Evans and they earned AVCA top flight honors for the second straight season.
Schmidt and Evans finished the 2022 season with a 27-6 record, and of their 27 victories, 10 were against division one opponents. A few of their losses were against nationally ranked opponents such as FIU, Florida Atlantic, FGCU, and Stetson.
The pair went a perfect 6-0 at the AVCA Small College Championship as the Sailfish went on to win the silver bracket at the tournament and the duo carries a 46-9 record over the past two seasons.
SCOUTING FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE
The Mocs are 4-7 to start off the 2023 season after going 3-1 at the Beach Bash hosted by Huntingdon College from March 10-11.
FSC is coming off a successful 2022 campaign after going 19-9, a program best. This year, the Mocs welcome FSC alumni, Markena Wilson in her first year as the head beach volleyball coach.
FSC Beach Volleyball's top pair was Hayley St. Martin and Curry Ward (graduated), winners of the 2022 AVCA Top Flight Award. St. Martin and Ward went 23-1 on the season with the majority of their matches being held as the No. 5 pairing.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will head back home to host their annual Surf N' Turf Invitational at Lummus Park in Miami Beach on Friday March 17 through Saturday, March 18. The event is free and open to the public and will feature 10 schools including three that finished in the top 10 final AVCA poll in 2022.
The Panthers will face five schools in the two-day tournament starting against Florida Gulf Coast University on Friday, March 17 at 8 a.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
