Stefano Rivera/Contributing Writer
The women’s volleyball team is coming off a four-game home stand in which it went 3-1 overall and 3-0 against Conference USA opponents. For the season, the Panthers are 11-7 (5-2 in C-USA).
The team will travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., to face off against the University of Southern Mississippi on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles come into this matchup with an impressive record of 17-6 (4-2 in C-USA). However, they lost their last match to Western Kentucky University with a final score of 3-1.
Offensively, the Golden Eagles are led by junior outside hitter, Stephany Purdue, and freshman outside hitter, Kylie Grandy. Purdue has accounted for a team-high 362 kills and a hitting percentage of .202. Grandy is second on the team with 210 kills with a hitting percentage of .126. Freshman setter, Sarah Bell, has led the team in assists, totalling 854 throughout the season. Defensively, senior libero, Mary Pursell, leads the team with 409 digs.
The Panthers are led by senior outside hitter, Lucia Castro. Castro has 215 kills and a hitting percentage of .227. The team also has three others with over 100 kills: junior middle blocker Katie Hogan, who has 116, senior middle blocker, Gloria Levorin, who has 111, and sophomore middle blocker Jennifer Ene, who has 127. Freshman setter, Katie Friesen, has collected 461 assists and defensively, senior libero, Adriana McLamb, has 202 digs.
Last season, the Panthers fell to the Golden Eagles in a five-set nail biter with scores of 25-17, 14-25, 23-25, 25-22, and 15-17. For the match, FIU was out-hit 77-40 and only finished with a hitting percentage of .119. Southern Miss finished the match with 200 total attacks and 71 assists. Castro and Ene combined for 21 kills, Levorin finished with 7 blocks, and sophomore setter, Kiona McSwain, collected 33 assists and 7 digs.
This will be a short road trip for the team, as it will return home on Wednesday, Oct. 21, for a matchup against Louisiana Tech University.
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