Orlando, Fla. -  The FIU women's volleyball team (2-5, 0-0 CUSA) concluded their time in the "UCF Challenge" and dropped their final match of tournament in straight sets against Wake Forest (20-25, 21-25 ,10-25) inside The Venue at UCF.
 
The first set began with both teams going back in forth in the scoring column until it was even at 8-8. The Demon Deacons rattled off four consecutive points to take a 12-8 lead and their run stretched to 6-1 to give them a 14-9 advantage.
 
Wake Forest's lead grew to 18-11 which led to FIU calling a timeout. After the break, the Panthers went on 4-0 run to chip away at the deficit. That forced Wake Forest to call their own timeout after their lead shrunk to 18-15. That was as close as the Panthers would get to tying it up as Wake Forest took the opening set 25-20.
 
In the second set, neither team could establish a comfortable lead to start off until Wake Forest went out to an 18-14 advantage. The Panthers would respond with a 4-1 run to cut the Deacs' lead to one. With the Panthers only trailing by one late in the second set 22-21, the Demon Deacons held off their comeback attempt and ended the set on a 3-0 run to win 25-21.
 
Wake Forest opened the third set on a 10-0 run which was the decisive run in the match. The Demon Deacons ultimately won the third set 25-10 and took the match 3-0.
 
Jade Sadeiko led the Panthers with 10 kills and that marks the fourth match this season that she leads FIU in that category. Reigning Conference USA Freshman of the Week, Gianna Tagoa'i, paced the Panthers with 24 assists and also led the team with eight digs. Travel Morris set a new career high in blocks with seven and chipped in three kills.

UP NEXT
FIU will be back on the road next weekend and hit the west coast as they participate in the Husky Invitational hosted by Washington from Friday, Sept. 8 through Sunday, Sept. 10. The Panthers will take on UNLV on Friday at 2 p.m. ET and Memphis the same day at 7:30 p.m. ET. FIU will take on the host on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET inside the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Instagram (@FIUVolleyball), Twitter (@FIUVolleyball), and Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUVolleyball) for all the latest Women's Volleyball news. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.