Late surge comes up short for FIU in road loss

By: Eduardo Almaguer / Staff Writer

Perhaps the Panthers were never meant to beat a team on Veterans Day that had its school initials come out to USA.

FIU dropped its second straight road game on Nov. 11 at the hands of the University of South Alabama in four sets, (25-23, 22-25, 18-25, 20-25).

This marks the second consecutive road game that they lose to a team with a sub -.500 record. The Jaguars (10-17, 5-10 SBC) snapped their seven-year losing streak to the Panthers (18-9, 9-6 SBC) with the win.

Blocks were the main component of the match for USA. When FIU is out blocked, it does not fare well, and the match showcased that perfectly.

The Jaguars notched 20 block assists. It is only the third time FIU has let an opponent surpass the 20 mark in that category this season.

The Panthers were extraordinarily sloppy on the court, posting 28 errors for the second straight road game. The errors took a toll on the efficiency of the offense, as only one Panther with at least five kills, senior Sabrina Gonzalez, posted a hitting percentage above .200.

Junior Jovana Bjelica led her team with 15 kills, and setter Jessica Egan led both teams with 47 assists. Junior Marija Prsa was the only Panther to post a double double with 11 kills and 11 digs.

FIU began the first set strong, scoring five of the first six points.  The Jaguars battled back to tie it at 10-10 as FIU let the lead slip away.

The Panthers made anther push to create a big lead by scoring four consecutive points punctuated by a kill from Bjelica. USA refused to back down and again tied the match at 15-15.

The set continued this way until the match 23-23. Freshman Silvia Carli scored a point to put FIU in a set-point position and send USA to a time-out.

It did the Jaguars no good, as Egan and senior Andrea Lakovic teamed up for a block to score the final point and take the set 25-23.

Another tug of war ensued in the second set as no team could build a lead of more than three points, until it was tied 14-14. USA scored three points and never looked back.

Bjelica slammed down a kill to bring her team to within two points, 21-19. Carli then tried giving her team the push it needed by scoring back-to-back kills to make it 23-21. FIU’s hopes ended there as they eventually committed an error to lose 25-22.

At some point during the 10-mnute half-time interval, FIU lost its will to play, as a 7-7 tie in the third set turned into a 16-9 deficit. USA continued to punish the Panthers as they widened the lead to 23-13.

Though FIU had a late surge, they lost the third set on another error to fall behind 2-1.

FIU could not dismantle the wave of momentum that USA rode into the fourth set, once again falling behind early. A 7-2 deficit turned into a 22-13 deficit.

The Panthers did not give up completely, however. Lakovic scored a point to make it 24-19 and the Jaguars committed an error to tally another point for FIU. In the end, another Panther error ended the set, and this time, the match.

The win keeps a Sun Belt Conference Tournament berth alive for the Jaguars. FIU is already guaranteed a spot.