MIAMI – The FIU volleyball program prepares for its final regular season series, traveling to El Paso, Texas, to take on the UTEP Miners in Conference USA action.
Friday, Nov. 14 at UTEP (23-3, 13-1 CUSA)
Saturday, Nov. 15 at UTEP (23-3, 13-1 CUSA)
FIU (18-9, 12-2 CUSA) remains in contention for a regular season conference championship. A pair of wins at UTEP, coupled with a Western Kentucky loss, would secure the Panthers the regular season crown.
Currently in third place with two matches remaining, FIU is riding a program-record 10-match Conference USA winning streak—the longest since joining the league in 2013. That streak includes a two-match sweep of Middle Tennessee last weekend (Nov. 7–8) and a six-game winning streak overall.
Senior
Kira Givans leads the offensive charge with a team-high 344 kills in 27 matches, averaging 3.55 kills per set, third in the conference. She has posted 17 matches with double-digit kills, including three with 20 or more, and tallied 12 and 13 kills in the Middle Tennessee series.
Savannah Cook ranks among the conference leaders with 10.11 assists per set and 558 assists in league play, marking the most in Conference USA. She has recorded 11 matches with 40+ assists, including a career-high 59 in a four-set win at Liberty (Oct. 25). Cook has eight double-doubles this season and recently surpassed 3,000 career assists, becoming just the fourth player in FIU history to reach the milestone.
Jillian Huckabey has recorded a double-double in five of her last six matches, including 14 kills and 12 digs on Nov. 8. The junior opposite leads the team with 219 kills.
At the net,
Magda Stambrowska and
Sofie Vogel anchor the team's blocking. Stambrowska had 18 kills and three blocks last weekend, ranking second on the team with 60 blocks, while Vogel leads the team with 61 total blocks, including three on Nov. 7.
Freshman
Rebekah Pfefferkorn continues to make an impact with 10 kills against Middle Tennessee, ranking third on the team with 189 kills over 25 matches.
Mandi Morioka anchors the back row with 443 digs, third in Conference USA. She totaled 23 digs on Nov. 7 and 16 on Nov. 8 against Middle Tennessee.
As a team, FIU ranks in the top three in Conference USA in both assists (1,237) and kills (1,347) while sitting second in service aces (192).
HISTORY WITH UTEP
This weekend marks the 14th and 15th meeting between FIU and UTEP. The Panthers own just three wins in the series and have not beaten the Miners since Oct. 14, 2018. Last season, FIU dropped both matches in straight sets in Miami, and the most recent trip to El Paso (Oct. 8–9, 2022) also resulted in straight-set losses.
SCOUTING THE MINERS
UTEP enters the weekend atop the conference with a 23-3 overall record and 13-1 in Conference USA, currently on a four-match winning streak after defeating Kennesaw State last weekend.
Torrance Lovesee leads the Miners with 290 kills, followed by Sara Pustahija with 224. Kalia Kohler has dished out 493 assists, while Mattie Gantt has 376 on the season.
Defensively, Fuka Sekita leads with 326 digs, and Danika Washington has 94 blocks. Pustahija leads the team with 32 service aces.
UP NEXT
FIU prepares for the CUSA Championships, set for Friday, Nov. 21 - Sunday, Nov. 23 from the Ocean Bank Convocation Center hosted at FIU.
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.
