Volleyball wins Panther Challenge

Stefano Rivera | Contributing Writer

On Friday, Aug. 28, the FIU women’s volleyball team began its season by hosting The Panther Challenge, a two day event which concluded on Saturday, Aug. 29. The team played the University of North Florida Friday night at 7 p.m., Alabama A&M University Saturday at noon, and the University of South Florida at 6 p.m.

The Panthers finished with a record of 7-23 a season ago, and looked to rebound off a disappointing year. However, the team will be led this year by its four returning seniors: Lucia Castro, Gloria Levorin, Adriana McLamb and Gabriella Cereceda, which look to produce on a high level.

The Ospreys came into Friday’s contest with a record of 13-18 last year, proving to be a tough test for the Panthers. Unfortunately, the Panthers fell in four sets 23-25, 25-17, 24-26, and 18-25; however, there were some bright spots. Two freshmen, Lina Bernier and Katie Friesen, had impressive collegiate debuts.

They both tallied up double-doubles: Bernier doing her damage with 10 kills and 17 digs, and Friesen spreading the ball with 42 assists and 16 digs. Castro and Jennifer Ene added 27 kills combined.

The Panthers didn’t hold their opening match loss in the back of their minds. The team defeated Alabama A&M 3-0 with scores of 25-13, 25-13 and 25-14, winning in a dominant way. The Panthers doubled up the Bulldogs in kills with a total of 46 for the match. Bernier had a stellar match, tallying 14 kills, 8 digs, and team leading .522 hitting percentage.

Compared to its previous game against UNF where the Panthers had a hitting percentage of .178, the team saw a significant increase against Alabama A&M, finishing with a .364 hitting percentage.

Overall, it was a balanced attack and defense for the Panthers as they evened up their record to 1-1. The team would have a few hours before playing its final game of The Panther Challenge against USF later that day.

The Bulls came into their matchup against FIU with a 14-18 record a year ago, losing to the Panthers in the USF Invitational. The trend would be the same as the Panthers defeated the Bulls 25-17, 26-24, and 25-19, in three straight sets. Castro once again helped propel the team with her match-high 18 kills and .455 hitting percentage. Katie Friesen finished with 22 assists and 15 digs and Maria McLamb had a match-high 17 digs.

The Panthers forced USF to a total of 22 errors and a hitting percentage of just .148 throughout the match, giving the team its second straight victory against the Bulls. Overall, the team won the event winning seven total sets, one more than both USF and UNF.

With a 2-1 start to the season, the Panthers will travel to Birmingham, Alabama to partake in the UAB Tournament, a two-day event starting Friday, Sept. 4 and ending Saturday, Sept. 5. The team will face off against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Austin Peay State University, and Savannah State University, respectively. The team will look to use its momentum it gained from the final two games of The Panthers Challenge to defeat these next opponents.