Jonathan Jacobskind/ Staff Writer
It’s been said that in order to be the best, one must beat the best. This statement defines the 2012 campaign for the Panthers as they are battling against some of the nation’s top tier opponents; however, the squad has not fared well so far.
FIU returns to South Florida after dropping two of three matches last weekend in the FSU Volleyball Invite in Tallahassee, Fla.
UGA 3, FIU 0
In the opening match of the Invite, the Panther’s got off to a sluggish start as their lack of experience, along with a dismal hitting
Trevor Theroulde is tasked with patching together a lineup to fill Bjelica's void (Jasen Delgado/The Beacon)
percentage of -.276 led to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-20) sweep in the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs
“Our hitting percentage was really low, we just could not put the game together,” head coach Trevor Theroulde said. “We need to work on our passing and execute so teams do not know where we are going with the ball. If you do that, it will prevent us from committing errors.”
The Panthers managed to keep it close in the opening set as they scurried out to an early lead. UGA would later redeem themselves and take a 20-17 lead after a long stretch of back and forth action from both sides. After the Bulldogs increased their lead to 22-17, the Panthers, led by junior junior not capitalized transfer Kimberly Smith attempted some late game heroics as they she notched three straight kills, cutting the Bulldog lead to 22-20. The Bulldogs levitated their score to 24-20 after two crucial FIU errors followed by a set-winning kill to go up 1-0.
In set two, the Bulldogs pulled away to an early lead, however the Panthers managed to claw their way back to even the score at 9-9. After a handful of additional errors committed by the Panthers, the UGA lead increased to a score of 24-14. Senior Marija Prsa attempted to spark a comeback with a couple kills narrowing the score to 24-16, but the Bulldogs put an end to the FIU run, nailing a set winning kill to go up 2-0.
In a possible a match-clinching set for the Bulldogs, the Panthers gave them all they could handle. Freshmen Gloria Levorin and Lucia Castro, who led the squad in kills with 10 for the fourth match of the season, kept the Panthers alive at a score of 20-18, in which forced the Bulldogs to call a timeout. Despite FIU having all the momentum and a Bulldog service error, UGA registered a couple more kills to increase the score to 24-21, followed by yet another FIU error gave the Bulldogs the sweep and put the match to rest.
FSU 3, FIU 0
With injuries to key veterans like All Sun Belt Jovana Bjelica, who continues to nurse a broken bone in her right hand, FIU was forced to continue to play against some the nation’s cream of the crop in volleyball talent with a depleted roster.
The inexperience amongst the FIU squad was exposed in a 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-16) sweep against the host team, No. 8 Florida State Seminoles.
“The freshmen are still trying to learn how to play against high adversity and play with team cohesion,” Theroulde said. “They are all still babies in terms of on-the-court volleyball experience, so they are still trying to grow as players.”
FSU showed why they were a 2011 Final Four participant as they jumped to a 23-10 lead. Errors continued to plague the Panthers as the Seminoles increased they lead to 24-10. Following a Marija Prsa kill, the Noles did not surrender any room for a comeback, ending the set on a final kill to go up 1-0.
Set two saw the same outcome as FSU climbed out to a early lead against a mediocre FIU resistance, bringing the score to 21-11. Smith registered her final kill of the set at a score of 23- 12, but FSU executed two consecutive kills to go up 2-0 for the match.
FSU did not show much remorse for the inexperienced FIU squad and jumped out to 19-11 lead in the match-deciding set. The duo of Smith and Prsa showed some resilience and cut the score to 23-15 following two Seminole kills. The Noles, however, regained their composure and finished the Panthers off with a final kill, handing the Panther their second sweep of the day.
FIU 3, FAMU 0
The Panthers ended the Invite on a positive note as they easily took care of Florida A&M in a 3- 0 sweep of their own. The win marked the second victory over the Rattlers as FIU defeated them in the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational on Aug. 25 by a score of 3-1(25-21, 25-17, 25-20).
In their second matchup in a little over a week, the Panthers almost coughed up the first set to the winless Rattlers. After a toe to toe contest, the score of 20-18 late in the set in the Panthers favor. The Panthers It was a seesaw battle, but the Panthers tallied two kills late in the set that increased their lead to 22-18.
Following another FIU error and two kills to make it 24-19, the Panthers put the Rattlers away after Prsa and sophomore Silvia Carli stuffed the Rattlers for a firm block to take a 1-0 lead.
After a less convincing win in set two by the FIU, the Rattlers and Panthers again were close deep in final set at a score of 21-17. Prsa, who led the squad with 16 kills, notched a double kill to bring the Panthers up 23-17. The Rattlers slashed the lead to 23-19, but behind the efforts of Prsa and Smith, FIU put the opponent away this time around and swept the 0-5 Rattlers.
The Panthers will head west this coming weekend for the Rams Volleyball Classic in Fort Collins, Colo where they will compete against New Mexico on Sep. 7, followed by two top 50 programs in Pepperdine, and host Colorado State on Sep. 8.
jonathan.jacobskind@fiusm.com
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