Panthers advance to conference semifinals with win over Denver

By: Eduardo Almaguer / Staff Writer

Western Kentucky players, fresh off their win against Troy, sat in the bleachers for the FIU-Denver match on Nov.17, eyeing their possible opponents for the semi-finals. As the first set came to a close, they had seen enough and walked out of the U.S Century Bank Arena.

They had no doubt that FIU would walk out of the match the eventual victor. They were right.

FIU (20-9) eliminated Denver (13-16) in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament with a 3-1 win over the Pioneers, (25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18). The Panthers have now reached the 20-win plateau for the seventh consecutive season and have advanced to the semi-finals for the second season in a row. They will now face WKU tin the semi-final round of the Sun Belt Tournament.

Three Panthers, setter Jessica Egan and outside hitters Jovana Bjelica and Marija Prsa achieved double doubles in the match. Though FIU committed 21 errors and hit for only .225 as a team, they managed to piece together kills at the perfect moment to capitalize on Denver errors.

The home crowd helped too.

“That’s the part I liked,” laughed Bjelica.

As the first set opened up, FIU and Denver battled back and forth, neither team able to build a big lead. Pioneer Faime Kingsley found a hole on FIU’s side of the net as Denver closed the gap to 19-17.  The Panthers then rattled off four straight kills to widen the distance and eventually capture the set 25-21.

FIU struggled to block incoming Denver attacks in the second stanza, and it eventually ended up costing them the set. Though an attack error brought FIU to within one point, 24-23, Libero Chanel Araujo committed a service error to end the set.

“They were fighting harder than us in that second set,” said senior middle blocker Andrea Lakovic.

The Panthers fought from behind for the first half of the third set, but a 6-0 run gave them all the momentum they needed as they went on to capture the set 25-21.

Knowing that their season was in danger, Denver came out swinging in the fourth set, jumping out to a 6-3 lead. It was close until FIU busted it open again with the help of freshman Silivia Carli coming up big multiple times with blocks toward the end of the set.

“I feel that’s my strength and that’s what I emphasize when I play,” said Carli.

She helped propel her team to a 25-18 win as the crowd went absolutely wild after freshman Carolyn Fouts laid down the final score with a service ace to win the match.

“This was a fun match to coach, a fun match to watch, and a fun match to play,” said head coach Danijela Tomic after the game. “I’m glad we won.”