The FIU campus was alive with electricity as several events were going on friday evening, the football stadium, a soccer match and a block party complete with a laser light show. Nothing was more electrifying than to witness the FIU Ladies Volleyball team stake their claim to at least a share of the Sun Belt Conference Title.
For the first time since 2001, the FIU volleyball team beat Middle Tennessee in five sets, 3-2 (25-22 25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 21-19) and in doing so, won at least a share of the Sun Belt Conference Title on Friday at FIU Arena.
It’s been 14 matches between victories for FIU (24-4, 14-1 SBC) against MTSU (21-5, 11-3 SBC) and there was no better time to get it done than with conference supremacy on the line. A boisterous crowd of 1,016 came to see FIU win their 12th match in a row including their 14th in their last 15 matches. FIU last won the regular season conference title in 2006 when they shared it with three other schools.
Both teams didn’t hit their best, but it was because of the strong defense of both squads that the numbers were down. The Blue Raiders hit .238 while the Golden Panthers hit just .180 for the match.
FIU was down by as much as eight, 5-13, in the first set and didn’t even reach a tie until it was 21-21. The Golden Panthers then scored three of the next four points to win the first set 25-22.
In the second set, FIU jumped out to a 5-2 lead, only to see Middle Tennessee tie it at 10. However, FIU would take the lead on the next point and hold it for a 25-21 win.
In the third set, the Blue Raiders showed why they have been receiving votes in the top 25 poll nearly every week this year and have won conference the past two seasons. Up 2-0 in the match, FIU never had the lead in the third set and was down by as much as 10 (16-6). They did show life however, and had a 15-7 run to get within two points, 23-21. Too much Izabela Kozon and her 20 kills and 17 digs gave MTSU their first set of the match 25-21.
The fourth set saw six ties and four lead changes, but FIU was down early until taking its first lead at 17-16. Sophomore Natalia Valentin and freshman Andrea Lakovic teamed up for a huge block to tie it at 21, but MTSU pulled through to win 25-23.
It all came down to the fifth set as FIU fell behind early 7-3. At 10-5, the Blue Raiders were just five points away from taking the match. An 8-3 run by the Golden Panthers tied it at 13 and would start a back-and-fourth battle between the two volleyball powers. There were six match points, three for FIU and two for MTSU and the Golden Panthers didn’t have their first lead of the set until 17-16. Fans were nearly treated to another full set of volleyball action as FIU pulled out a 20-19 win.
Valentin had her sixth match of at least 50 assists with 58 to go with 14 digs. Most of those assists, especially down the stretch, went to kills by juniors Yarimar Rosa and Isadora Rangel. Rangel had her fourth double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs. Rosa had 25 kills and 14 digs for her 17 double-double match.
FIU can win the conference outright with a win over WKU on Sunday, Nov. 9. The match with the Lady Toppers is at 1 p.m. at FIU Arena.
Match Notes
1,016 is the second largest crowd to watch an FIU volleyball game since the records were kept in 2003 ... The largest was 1,062 in FIU’s home opener this season against UCF ... Head Coach Danijela Tomic is now 1-8 lifetime against MTSU ... FIU is now 13-0 when leading 2-0 ... 24 wins is tied for the most in the program’s history ... Five set matches have been good to FIU as they are 4-1 this season when going the distance.
Courtesy: FIUSPORTS.COM
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