Fabio Lopez/ Staff Writer
The FIU Panthers’ volleyball began their 2021 campaign with a 3-2 home loss against the Jacksonville Dolphins on Wednesday.
This season was originally planned to begin in Fall 2020, but due to COVID-19 concerns, the Conference USA Board of Directors postponed the schedule to Spring 2021.
As a result, the squad has changed. With only nine players remaining from their 17-player roster in 2019, the Panthers have an opportunity to revamp the team.
The Panther’s first test of the year saw them play an evenly contested match against Jacksonville that ended with FIU losing in the final, or fifth, set.
FIU fell behind in their first two sets by scores of 25-23 but managed to come back on both occasions, winning 25-20 and 25-22 respectively, to push the game into the fifth set. However, they underperformed in the final set, scoring only 10 points as the Dolphins won 15-10, ending the game with Jacksonville winning 3-2.
The Panthers led 54-53 in kills and 79-68 in digs while committing the most errors with 37, compared to Jacksonville’s 31.
Right side hitter Fiorella Murillo lead FIU with 15 kills. Outside hitters Yaniris Miller-Green posted 11 kills with Emily Meyer earning her first-ever double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs.
Setter Catherine Lederman topped the team with 22 assists while libero Valeria Santos accomplished 28 digs.
FIU endured a mixed 2019 season where they finished in penultimate place in the C-USA ranking out of 14 teams. The Panthers ranked 205th out of 335 teams in the NCAA national standings with a 10-16 overall record.
FIU’s next matchup is a doubleheader at home against the Old Dominion Monarchs for their Conference USA opener on Sunday, February 7th at 1 P.M.
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