MIAMI– In a rematch and near carbon-copy of last season's Conference USA championship, FIU volleyball (14-10, 5-6 CUSA) did just enough to hang around but ultimately fell in a decisive fifth set against RV Western Kentucky (17-6, 11-0) on Friday night at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
Falling behind 8-5 in the early portion of the opener, FIU rallied back and traded points with the visitors for a while until getting to a two-point lead at 17-15 with a
Marla Valentin rip. The Tops stayed close by, but FIU eventually got to set point after
Lana Sesar's second ace. FIU couldn't find the closing point though up 24-22, as WKU rallied back to win it 29-27.
Trailing 5-1 early, FIU played the long game adequately, going on a 4-0 run down 14-12 to take a 16-14 lead on an
Ivona Lazovic ace. Both teams battled for the remainder of the set, but FIU never let WKU take the lead. Sesar and
Rayne Williams combined on a stuff and Lazovic ended set two with an ace to knot it at 1-1 in a 25-22 win despite recording nine attack errors.
Being outhit by nearly 200 percentage points in the third, FIU took advantage of six more Tops service errors to gain control. The block had a strong output in the set, with
Teodora Skocajic playing part in all three the Panthers recorded. Down 6-0, FIU never flinched, as a 7-0 run late put them up 19-15. Sesar found the floor at the end to go up 2-1 in the match and win it 25-22 again.
The Panthers led 8-5 early but allowed a 7-0 run while having a 9-8 advantage to fall behind 15-9 in the fourth. The Panthers never made it closer than three points after that, and even with a pair of Sesar kills to cut it to 24-21, FIU couldn't find any more points, losing it 25-21.
After a pair of Tops errors at the beginning of the fifth, FIU fell victim to an 8-0 run that eventually proved to be the difference in the frame. After Williams and
Gina Fedrigo combined on a block to cut it to 10-8, WKU ran away with a 5-0 run to end the set up 15-8 and winning the match in five, their 11th straight conference victory and 30th consecutive win over the Panthers, despite the last four matches going to five sets.
Sesar (12), Huckabey (10) and Skocajic (10) all had 10+ kills, with Sesar notching her sixth double-double of the season by adding 13 digs and Skocajic recording six blocks and five digs.
Mariana Silva (29 ast., 13 digs) recorded her first double-double of her career, Williams and Fedrigo both added four blocks and
Marta Lazzarin had 23 digs. Pressure from the service line continued as the Panthers wrestled the lead spot in the conference away from the Tops with 13 total, four apiece from Lazovic and Sesar.
Up Next
FIU has round two with the Tops Saturday at noon.
Social Media
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