Tomic criticizes team after frustrating loss to MTSU

Photo by Rebecca Villafane

Photo by Rebecca Villafane

By: Eduardo Almaguer / Staff Writer

Junior libero Chanel Araujo said that the team’s number one goal in practice this week would be working on their defense, which was absent last weekend.

A livid coach Danijela Tomic, however, had different plans.

“We are not practicing until further notice,” said Tomic. “I told them to focus on studies because right now they’re just students, they’re not athletes.”

The Blue Raiders (5-9, 3-1 SBC) clobbered FIU on Oct 2 in three straight sets (25-20, 25-12, 25-18) to deny the Panthers a single set win all weekend.

Two nights after posting their third-lowest hitting percentage of the year, the Panthers (10-5, 2-2 SBC) posted their second-lowest percentage with a .096 mark.

Head Coach Danijela Tomic was adamant that only one player deserved any praise after this game.

“Only one person came ready to play and that was Jovana Bjelica,” said Tomic. “She’s playing with a sprained ankle and she’s playing like a warrior. She’s fighting for every point, but she can’t do it by herself.”

For the second straight game, everything seemed to fall apart for the Panthers. The team committed an unprecedented 21 errors. They were also outplayed in blocks, kills, assists and service aces.

Things picked up exactly where they left off from Sept. 30th’s game. FIU quickly found itself in a 4-9 deficit after three errors.

Determined not to let the game get out of hand so early, Tomic called a timeout. The Panthers came roaring back with five consecutive points to tie the game, 9-9.

Matt Peck, head coach of Middle Tennessee, then called a timeout and the Blue Raiders responded immediately, going on a 9-2 run and jumping to an 18-11 lead. The deficit proved too much for FIU to climb, as they dropped the first set 25-20.

“Our passing broke down a lot,” said Araujo. “I don’t know what happened.”

The second set opened exactly the same way as the first: in a 4-9 deficit. Tomic once again called a timeout to get her team to focus.

This time, however, her words would fall on deaf ears. The deficit widened to 4-13 and then to 7-21, as the Blue Raiders toyed with FIU’s defense, making them look as if it were their first volleyball game.

“This was unacceptable and embarrassing,” said Tomic. “I told them I was going to forfeit the game and I was not kidding.”

Time and time again, the Panthers mishandled balls, hit them into the net, or simply hit them out of bounds.

The team had an appalling -0.83 hitting percentage in the second set. FIU dropped the frame 25-12 by way of serving error, ending the season’s worst set of the year.

“There was a lack of effort, a lack of mental focus, a lack of preparedness and a lack of competitiveness,” said Tomic. “We did not give them [Blue Raiders] anything to compete against.”

For the third straight set, the Panthers found themselves in an early deficit to open the frame. A five-point gap quickly enveloped the squad as the scoreboard read 10-15 in favor of the Blue Raiders.

Every kill that the Panthers scored was quickly returned by a flawless Middle Tennessee team. After a rocket kill that landed in the center of all the Panthers, the match ended 25-18.

The final whistle could not come any sooner for Tomic.

“This is the most embarrassing match I’ve played in this arena in my seven years at FIU,” she added.

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