MIAMI – The FIU women's volleyball program (6-9, 2-0 C-USA) takes to the road for its first Conference USA competition away from home of the 2023 campaign. The Panthers, fresh off back-to-back sweeps of Louisiana Tech last weekend, take on Sam Houston State for two contests in Huntsville, Texas on Friday, Sept. 29 and Saturday, Sept. 30.
Match times are at 7 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. ET, respectively, and available to be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats for both matches are also available on fiusports.com.
Friday, Sept. 29 vs. Sam Houston State (6-9, 0-2 C-USA)
Time/Site: 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT/Huntsville, Texas
Watch on ESPN+
Live Stats
Saturday, Sept. 30 vs. Sam Houston State (6-9, 0-2 C-USA)
Time/Site: 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT/Huntsville, Texas
Watch on ESPN+
Live Stats
The Panthers defended their home court on homecoming weekend in style with two sweeps of visiting Louisiana Tech to start conference play 2-0.
Libero Mandi Morioka was recognized as Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week following her outstanding performance in FIU's two matchups with Louisiana Tech. The sophomore totaled 41 digs and posted an average of 6.83 digs per set, racking up 20 or more digs in each match.
Morioka is currently fourth in C-USA in total digs (170) and has four matches in which she's surpassed the 20-dig mark.
Outside hitter Syra Tanchin also shined against Louisiana Tech with double-digit kills in each match. The St. Michael, Minn., native followed up an 11-kill effort on Friday with a season-high 17 kills on Saturday at a .279 clip. Tanchin's 4.67 kills per set was the top mark in C-USA's opening weekend of competition.
Mackenzie Morgan delivered a solid individual performance in Friday's match as well, posting 13 kills and a .429 attack percentage with one error on 28 attempts. Morgan and Jade Sadeiko each had 20 kills, which ranks them within the top-10 in that category in the conference after one weekend of play.
SCOUTING SAM HOUSTON STATE
Sam Houston State, newcomers to C-USA in 2023, was swept by Jacksonville State on the road in its first two conference matches of the season. The Cougars made the transition to C-USA after previously participating in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
SHSU is coached by veteran Brenda Gray, whom has coached over 1,300 matches for the Cougars and has a career record of 762-560.
The Cougar trio of McKenzie Morvant, Alyssa Fielder and Hailey Heider can be expected to figure offensively as each has totaled 140 kills or more in 2023.
Setters Avery Fowler and Camryn Welder facilitate the offense in a dual-setting setup with a combined 9.49 assists per set. As a team, SHSU ranked first in C-USA in the opening weekend, despite two defeats, with 2.67 service aces per set and only allowed 1.0 service aces per set.
Series History: FIU leads 1-0
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home for a C-USA doubleheader with Middle Tennessee on Tuesday, Oct. 3 and Wednesday, Oct. 4. Both matches inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center will begin at 6 p.m. ET and available to be live streamed on ESPN+.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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