Tallahassee, Fla. – The No. 14 FIU Beach Volleyball Team will travel to Tallahassee for the Unconquered Invitational at Florida State University. The Panthers will take on four teams over two days, facing the likes of University of North Alabama, No. 4 Florida State, No. 10 LMU and University of Alabama - Birmingham. 

Friday, April. 5

University of North Alabama

Time: 8 a.m.

Site: Seminole Beach Volleyball Courts

History: FIU leads 1-0

 

#4 Florida State

Time: 12:30 p.m.

Site: Seminole Beach Volleyball Courts

History: FSU leads 13-3

 

Saturday, April. 6

#10 Loyola Marymount University

Time: 10:15 a.m.

Site: Seminole Beach Volleyball Courts

History: LMU leads 2-1

 

University of Alabama - Birmingham

Time: 2:45 p.m.

Site: Seminole Beach Volleyball Courts

History: FIU leads 8-1

 

FIU heads into the Unconquered Invitational coming off a bye week. The Panthers are 14-7, and currently ranked as the No. 14 team in the country, with top-10 ranked pairs in the country on court one (No. 4) and court three (No. 9), and a top-15 ranked pair on court two (No. 13) according to TruVolley. FIU is looking to bounce back after going 0-4 at the TCU Invite. The Panthers played three ranked teams in then-ranked No. 14 Washington, No. 4 TCU and No. 11 Arizona State.

The Panthers will start off the invite against UNA on Friday, April 5. The Lions are 14-5 so far on the season, and are 4-2 in the ASUN Conference. UNA is on a hot-streak over the last few weeks, going 9-2 in their last three invitationals. North Alabama is 0-2 against ranked teams, having only played against then-ranked No. 7 LSU, losing 4-1, and also against then-ranked No. 18 Stetson, losing 3-2. They will face a tough schedule at FSU, playing in five matches over the two-day event and facing four ranked teams. 

FIU will go on to play No. 4 Florida State on April 5th, meeting the Seminoles for the first time since matching up with them in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season. FSU came out on top, winning 3-1 and going on to beat LSU in the second round before falling to UCLA in the semifinals. This season, FSU is a stellar 20-5, going undefeated on Seminoles courts with a perfect 8-0 record. Florida State has played 15 ranked opponents so far this season, going 10-5 in those contests. In their last matches at the Death Volley Invitational, FSU went 1-3, with their three losses coming against No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Stanford and No. 1 USC. Their lone win came against No. 6 Cal.

FIU will match up against No. 10 LMU in their first match of day two of the invite. The Panthers and Lions have already matched up once this season, with FIU coming out on top with a 3-2 victory. At the time, it was the Panthers' first ranked win of the season. FIU's top-3 pairs all bested LMU's top-3 pairs, dropping the then-ranked No. 6 Lions. Since that matchup, LMU has gone 11-3 and are 17-8 overall on the season. They have played 15 matches against ranked opponents, going 7-8 in those performances. Their best win of the year came early in the season against then-ranked No. 2 UCLA, beating the Bruins 3-2 in their very first invite of the year. The Lions are riding an eight-game win streak into the Unconquered Invite, but will have that tested in their first matchups against UAB and FAU.

FIU's final match of the invite will come against University of Alabama - Birmingham. The Panthers are familiar with UAB, seeing them twice last season in the CUSA Championships, falling in their first matchup 3-2 before beating the Blazers 3-0 later in the tournament. FIU's head coach, Terri Del Conte, is especially familiar with the program, as she was UAB's head coach for the previous three seasons before joining FIU this season. The Blazers are 12-8 so far on the season, with a 1-2 CUSA record, their only win coming in a 5-0 defeat over UTEP. In four matches against ranked opponents, UAB is 1-3, with their only win coming against then-ranked No. 20 Tampa. UAB will look to continue their winning ways, going 7-5 over their last three meets and coming off a 2-2 record in their invite last week. 

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