FIU drops road games at WKU, MTSU

By: Eduardo Almaguer / Staff Writer

Earlier in the week, head coach Danijela Tomic said she did not want to experience déjà vu from their first match against Western Kentucky University.

What ensued on Oct. 14 was not déjà vu. It was a complete nightmare.

WKU (17-2, 7-1 SBC) absolutely clobbered FIU en route to a 3-0 win (25-19, 25-10, 25-13) on a night where the Panthers looked completely outmatched by the first-place team in the Sun Belt Conference.

Without a doubt it was FIU’s worst performance of the year. They had a 0.03 hitting percentage, shattering their previous low of 0.69 against Missouri on Sept. 3. They committed almost as many errors (22) as they had kills (25).

FIU’s star offensive player, Jovana Bjelica, was limited to only three kills (with 10 errors to boot). The negatives only kept piling on.

As the first set of the night kicked off, the Panthers (11-6, 3-3 SBC) battled to erase an early deficit and knot the score at 10 with a rare kill from setter Jessica Egan. Egan got the starting nod over Renele Forde due to a thigh injury plaguing the 6’3” setter.

The Panthers then began committing numerous errors and let them snowball. First, a ball-handling error by Egan made it 10-12. Then an attack error by junior Marija Prsa notched another point for WKU, followed by another error by Lakovic.

Following the tie 10-10 score, the Hilltoppers received eight of their next nine points via Panther errors.

A kill by Lakovic cut the gap later in the set to five points, 17-22, but it was not enough. WKU took the set 25-19 on a Bjelica attack error, the team’s 11th of the set.

FIU solved its error woes as the second set opened, but where errors drowned any hopes of competing in the first set, middle blocker Tiffany Elmore drowned the Panthers in the second set. She sliced up the FIU defense en route to a 9-2 lead.

Three errors by Prsa, senior Sabrina Gonzalez and sophomore Una Trkulja set back the team even further as the scoreboard flashed 17-5. FIU, devoid of all morale and will on the court, dropped the second set with a loud “thud,” 25-10. This marked the least amount of points scored in a set all year by the team.

When Trkulja took Egan’s pass and slammed it down for a kill to open the third set, the scoreboard showed FIU up 1-0.

That would be the only lead they would have in the set. The Hilltoppers stormed to an 8-1 lead until they committed an error to give the Panthers their second point of the set.

Senior Andrea Lakovic scored a kill to make it 10-4, but errors by Bjelica and Lakovic made it 15-4.

The Hilltoppers suffocated the Panthers, letting them score consecutive kills only three times and never more than two points in each instance. Another trio of errors widened the gap to 23-11, and the match eventually ended 25-13.

On a night where Tomic was expecting her squad to focus and compete, they did neither. The team could not be reached for comment, but there is no question that the score and the statistics spoke for themselves.

MTSU 3, FIU 0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-16)

This game was not as bad as the brutal beating they suffered against Western Kentucky on Oct.14, but the final box score showed the same thing: a 3-0 loss.

The Panthers dropped their second match of the weekend on Oct. 16 to the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (11-9, 8-1 SBC), losing in three straight sets (25-23, 25-21, 25-16) in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

For the second time all season, the loss wrapped up a weekend that saw FIU (11-7, 3-4 SBC) go without a single set win. An uncharacteristic Andrea Lakovic committed five errors and hit a meager 0.56 percent. Though outside hitter Jovana Bjelica achieved her seventh double-double of the season, she committed six errors and hit for a .167 clip. The Blue Raiders had more kills, assists, service aces and blocks than the Panthers.

FIU opened the first set in a tug of war, exchanging blows until the score was knotted at 10 with a kill by middle blocker Sabrina Gonzalez. But just as quickly as FIU tied the score, they lost it with an error by Lakovic. This proved costly as Middle Tennessee jumped to a 17-12 lead.

With thoughts of Friday night’s meltdown against WKU racing through their minds, the Panthers rattled off five straight points to tie the score at 17.

An error by Blue Raider Ashley Adams gave the Panthers hope and tied the set at 23 a piece, but MT emerged victorious by sending two kills over the net and taking the set, 25-23.

“I was very upset that we lost the first set,” said head coach Danijela Tomic. “We made too many unforced errors and that’s because of a lack of focus and discipline.”

As the second set began, Blue Raider Oyinlola Oladinni spun off three consecutive service aces that left the Panthers frozen for a quick 4-1 lead. It would be a deficit too much for FIU to surmount as they battled from behind for the remaining of the set.

Every time a Panther scored a kill, another Blue Raider striked back and regained the point, leaving the deficit hovering at three. FIU, however, refused to go away and continued gnawing at the lead.

Bejlica slammed down her tenth kill of the game to bring the team to within one point. An error by MT tied the game at 15.

Momentum now swinging back onto their side of the court, the Panthers gained the first lead of the set on a kill by junior Marija Prsa, forcing MT to call a timeout.

Whatever head coach Matt Peck told his team worked: They struck for three straight kills and sent FIU to their own timeout. The Panthers scored two points to tie it at 19-19, but did not come close again. The Blue Raiders froze the FIU offense and took the set 25-21.

The third set began in another tug of war, this time lasting until a tied 12-12 score. The Blue Raiders managed to pull ahead by four points and let FIU unravel.

The Panthers began committing errors on their side of the net and the deficit grew even larger. Much like their previous game against WKU, the team lost the will to play when they were on the brink of defeat.  Waving their white flag in the air, FIU allowed MT to score four straight points and claim the final set 25-16.

“We played much better than last time [against Middle Tennesee],” said Tomic. “But we just find a way to beat ourselves.”

The Panthers kick off a five-game home stand on Oct. 21 to face Arkansas State at 6:30 p.m.