MIAMI — FIU's volleyball program was defeated in four sets by FGCU on Wednesday evening inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. 

The Panthers (6-22) took on in-state foe FGCU (21-4) and split the opening two frames, falling 25-17 before winning 25-23. In the final two sets, the Eagles claimed narrow victories, 25-22 and 27-25, respectively, to notch a 3-1 victory. 

Jillian Huckabey led the Panther attack with 14 kills, adding nine digs. Courtney O'Brien posted a double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs. 

Anna Feldkamp and Travel Morris each chipped in nine kills. Morris hit .563 in the match, racking up those nine kills on just 16 attempts. Savannah Cook dished out 37 assists and had 5.0 blocks and five digs. Offensively, the Panthers had 12 kills or more in each of the final three frames. 

Mandi Morioka anchored the defensive effort with 22 digs and also had seven assists. As a team, FIU had 73 digs compared to FGCU's 62 digs. 

In the first frame, FGCU opened up a 13-7 lead and took that to the finish, winning 25-17. In set two, FIU took a 15-14 lead on an O'Brien kill to establish momentum. With the score tied at 23-all, back-to-back FGCU errors secured the 25-23 win for the Panthers. 

FIU continued to surge in the third set, up 21-18. The Eagles, however, went on a 7-1 run to close out the third, 25-22. In the fourth set, the Panthers led 23-20 following a kill from Huckabey. Another late run for the Eagles, this time 7-2, secured FGCU the victory. 

UP NEXT

FIU returns to its Conference USA slate this weekend at Louisiana Tech on Nov. 8 and Nov. 10 in Ruston, La. 

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