By: Eduardo Almaguer / Staff Writer
Fresh off of claiming their first conference victory against North Texas, the Panthers traveled 750 miles north on Sunday to square off against their second conference foe of the season, the Denver University Pioneers.
Denver had won two consecutive for the first time this season heading into the match. FIU, however, with six consecutive victories, (10-3, 2-0 SBC) was not going to budge.
The Panthers overcame some early game mishaps to overpower the Pioneers (4-10, 1-1 SBC) and storm the match to a 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19) triumph.
Junior Jovana Bjelica recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 19 kills and 12 digs. Middle blocker Sabrina Gonzalez came within one block assist of tying her career high with eight.
Libero Chanel Araujo led the team with 16 digs and setter Renele Forde recorded a team-high 53 assists.
“Our blocking was great, our defense picked it up, and our serving game was very good,” said Head Coach Danijela Tomic of the win.
The Panthers wasted no time striking down the Pioneers in the first set. A swift 8-5 Panther lead sent DU scrambling to a timeout.
The Panthers successfully froze any momentum the Pioneers tried to build, as they instantly answered any points against them with two, constantly maintaining at least a three-point lead. Bjelica then slammed down a pass from Forde to cap the set, 25-20.
The second set opened in a tussle as both teams exchanged leads. The Pioneers managed to break away and generate a brief, three-point lead until the Panthers came roaring back to tie the game on sophomore Una Trkulja’s third kill of the set.
The set became tight again as the two teams started exchanging blows, capitalizing on each other’s errors.
Denver managed to break a tense 23-23 tie with FIU’s fifth serving error of the game. They quickly tallied another kill to take the set and tie the match. It was only the second set FIU has dropped in the last two matches.
“Our serving game broke down this set,” said Tomic. “We made four serving errors in that set. That was the big difference.”
Determined not to let a close game slip them by again, the Panthers came up with a quick solution in the third set: build a big lead that the opponent cannot surmount. After a kill by Forde, the Panthers took a dominant 17-9 lead and extended it 23-13 after a Pioneer attack error. After a small hiccup where Denver scored four straight points, Trkulja slammed down the final kill to capture the set.
With all cogs of the running at full capacity, FIU took the first lead of the fourth set and did not let go.
Much like the previous set, their game plan was simple: build another giant lead. One of Bjelica’s signature missiles cranked the lead to eight points, as the scoreboard flashed 18-10.
Two consecutive kills by Gonzalez maintained the eight-point lead and sent the Pioneers, now mentally defeated, crawling to a timeout. Denver’s 29th attack error of the game proved to be their last as it gave FIU the match victory.
With the win, the Panthers extend their season-high winning streak to seven, open conference play undefeated and had Bjelica win Co-Sun Belt Player of the Week.
Despite the win streak, Tomic said it is not a priority and neither are individual accomplishments. The main goal is to assure that the team is working as a unit.
“We’re very happy with this win. I thought our girls did a good job of implementing the game plan,” said Tomic. “Championships are not won by individuals.”
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