Rosa to have number retired

When the dust settles tonight, one team is going to leave dissapointed.

FIU (10-3, 2-0 SBC), owner of a season-high seven-game win streak, is facing off against Western Kentucky (13-1, 2-0 SBC), who owns a 13-game winning streak. On Oct. 2, the Panthers will then face off against the defending Sun Belt Champions, Middle Tennessee (3-9, 1-1 SBC).

Last week, Head coach Danijela Tomic cautioned to not be swayed by Middle Tennessee’s record. Though their record is well below .500, they are top three in the conference in hitting percentage, assists and kills.

Tonight’s match, however, will arguably be the biggest of the season thus far. WKU is the only team ahead of the Panthers in the standings. The last meeting between these teams is one FIU would love to forget. The Lady Toppers eliminated the Panthers from the Sun Belt Tournament. Middle Tennessee then beat WKU for the conference title.

Junior Jovana Bjelica believes the team has a chance to prove something this weekend.

“We can show how much we’ve accomplished during spring and how good our team is,” said Bjelica.

Bjelica, the co-Sun Belt Player of the Week, led both matches this past weekend against Denver University and North Texas in kills. Despite the Panthers’ high ranking in the conference in kills (Bjelica has the second-best kills per set), Bjelica does not believe that is her team’s strength.

“I think our blocking is our best weapon against those teams,” said Bjelica. “Whoever does that the best, will win.”

Her claims do not go unwarranted. FIU leads all of the Sun Belt Conference in blocks per set with 2.55.

The Panthers’ sterling defense will need to make sure it does not have a single flaw because WKU happens to be the leaders in kills (14.23 K/S) and hitting percentage with a combined .252.

Head Coach Danijela Tomic understands her players will undoubtedly be fired up, but she stressed to the team that they cannot blow the game out of proportion.

“We cannot make it bigger than what it is. It’s a volleyball game,” said Tomic. “We cannot lose our composure.

We can only control what we do, how we prepare ourselves physically, and more importantly, how we prepare mentally. If we give our best, and our best is better than their best, we’re going to win.”

YARIMAR ROSA TO HAVE JERSEY RETIRED

When Yarimar Rosa stepped off the court for the final time in 2009, the number “3” followed suit.

Before tonight’s game, FIU will retire her jersey as a way to say “thank you” for the excellence she brought the program, on and off the court.

“She was FIU [volleyball’s] best athlete,” said Tomic. “I wish every coach would have the opportunity to coach a player like Yari.”

Senior Sabrina Gonzalez had the chance to play under Rosa and the values Rosa instilled in her have proven invaluable.

“She’s taught me to be tough,” said Gonzalez. “I’ve gone through a lot of injuries and she’s gone through twice as many injuries and I feel like she taught me to be tough. She just brings the natural ability of wanting to win. Give everything you got and have fun with the game.

Tomic added, “You can coach skills but you cannot coach the values that Yari brought with her.”