Panthers drop third-straight road game

Stefano Rivera/ Contributing Writer

After splitting the first four sets against University of Southern Mississippi, the women’s volleyball team found itself in a familiar position. Just last season, the Panthers took the Golden Eagles to a five-set marathon, but eventually fell 15-17 in the fifth set.

On Friday, Oct. 16, the Panthers traveled to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to take on Southern Mississippi, hoping to not have a repeat of last year. However, FIU fell in five sets with scores of 25-21, 21-25, 25-11, 17-25 and 8-15.

The Panthers took the first set and were tied 18-18 late in the second, but the Golden Eagles went on a 7-3 run to take the set and tie the game 1-1. Sophomore middle blocker, Jennifer Ene, propelled the team in the third set as she collected five consecutive kills and two blocks.

With a 2-1 set lead, the team looked to close Southern Miss. out. Similar to the second set, the score was tied 14-14, but the Golden Eagles went on a late run to tie the match 2-2. In the final set, the score was tied early; however, the Panthers could not hold on as the Golden Eagles closed the set on a 10-3 run.

With this loss, FIU falls to 11-8 (5-3 in Conference USA) and drops its third-straight road game. The team is 1-3 in C-USA road games, with its lone win coming against University of Alabama at Birmingham in early September. Meanwhile, Southern Mississippi improves to 18-6 (5-2 in C-USA).

Overall, the stats were almost dead even. Both teams struggled hitting the ball: the Panthers had a hitting percentage of .106, while Southern Mississippi edged them with a .132 hitting percentage. FIU out-blocked the Golden Eagles 14-9, but Southern Mississippi had its way with 60 kills on 59 assists.

The Panthers struggled to contain the Golden Eagle offense as three players recorded 14 kills or more. Freshman outside hitter, Kylie Grandy, finished with a game-high 19 kills and, sophomore right side hitter, Kelsey Chambers, and senior middle blocker, Rachel Johnson, combined for 28 kills.

Ene led the team with 13 kills, a hitting percentage of .414 and nine total blocks. Freshman setter, Dominique Dodd, had a career-high 19 assists throughout the match. Defensively, the Panthers were led by senior libero, Adriana Mclamb, who collected 23 digs.

The team will be back home as they host Louisiana Tech University on Wednesday, Oct. 21. However, it is only for one game before it has to go on the road once again. If the Panthers want to make the C-USA tournament and succeed, they will need to fix their problems on the road.