JACKSONVILLE, Ala.– Junior
Jillian Huckabey delivered a program-record ten aces, including seven in an 11-0 run during the third set, as FIU volleyball (13-9, 4-5 CUSA) handled Jax State (3-18, 0-9) in straight sets on Friday night. The Panthers recorded 19, a season-high total for the team in the win.
Chiara Fabbrini was the standout in the opening set, rattling off five kills and two aces as the Panthers hit .550 and sailed to a 25-11 win. Holding the Gamecocks to a negative hitting percentage, the Panthers also recorded five of their aces with two apiece from Fabbrini and Huckabey. JSU only recorded consecutive points once during the entire stanza.
A 7-1 run for the Panthers to start the second eventually proved to be too much for the home team to overcome. Despite the Gamecocks battling back to within one at 17-16, FIU went on an 8-0 run to curtail any JSU momentum.
Lana Sesar and Fabbrini both had two kills and
Mariana Silva had two aces in that stretch to win 25-16, with FIU getting up to ten aces on the night after the frame.
While JSU led early, the kill-shot run came when FIU was down 9-4, and it was all Huckabey's pressure from the service line. After a JSU service error, Huckabey got to the line and aided in an 11-0 run where she recorded seven aces, including stretches of three and four in a row, nearly breaking the program record in that 11-point span. Stretching her total to ten, FIU got up to 15-9 and the media timeout. Huckabey went on to add a trio of kills down the stretch as FIU won 25-18 and the match 3-0.
Huckabey's ten service aces at Jax State tonight shattered the 25-year program record of eight set twice by Nirvana Kos in 2001 (9/7/01 vs. Tulsa, 11/16/01 vs. NM State). FIU's 19 as a whole were a team season high.
Fabbrini had 12 kills and hit .368, also adding two aces. On a strong offensive night,
Teodora Skocajic also contributed three total blocks in FIU's third-straight sweep.
Up Next
FIU has a quick turnaround to play at 2:00 p.m. ET tomorrow against the Gamecocks again.
Social Media
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