Volleyball team looks forward to record season

The FIU volleyball program is poised to turn things around this season. Since making the move to Division I in 1987, the Golden Panthers have never won more than 18 matches in a season; in fact, only three times in the last 20 years has one of the volleyball teams won 20 or more games in a season.

Buoyed by an encouraging 16-17 record last year -- despite having eight new faces on the roster -- Head Coach Cookie Stevens and her team are looking to rejuvenate the program.

"We were a .500 club last season. This year, we want to try to win at least three-fourths of our games and move up into the top half of the conference," said Stevens. "I'm excited about this team because we have depth. At every position, we have at least four players who can challenge for playing time."

This year's schedule is competitive but realistic. In addition to the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) opponents, FIU meets Big East programs such as Pittsburgh, Boston College, St. John's and Miami, plus in-state rivals UCF, FAU, Jacksonville and Stetson.

Leading the way on the court will be junior Nirvana Kos, who was voted the Sun Belt Conference's Newcomer of the Year last year. She should continue to be a major offensive weapon after leading the league with 4.67 kills per game. Kos set a new school record with 523 kills and ranks second all-time with 1,169 kill attempts.

Sophomore outside hitter Adriana Fundora is another team leader. An all-state player out of high school, in 2000 she finished first on the team with 329 digs and set a school record with 1,278 kill attempts.

Sophomores Elizabeth Baldwin and Betsy Moreland will compete for the starting setter position. Last year, Baldwin became the second Golden Panther in program history to collect more than 1,000 assists in a season. Moreland helped the team beat state powers Florida State, UCF and South Florida.

Another great returnee is sophomore Jennifer Owens, who led last year's team with 18 solo blocks but opted to play varsity softball in the spring ­ and chalked up a .368 batting average and was best in the league with 70 base hits.

Three seniors also look to leave marks on their final seasons: captain Sareh Seyedkazemi, middle blocker Melissa Byrus and defensive specialist Iris Gonzalez. Sophomore Debra Amundson played on defense last fall but switched to offense in the spring and now is a prime candidate for an outside hitter position. Sophomore Charlyn Ball-llovera is being considered for substantial playing time on the outside.

Of the newcomers, freshman Danielle Dubetz comes in as the tallest player on the roster, standing at 6-4. Freshman Myriam Rodney can be used as either an outside hitter and in the middle. Vanessa Gonzalez-Vinas is an outside hitter and a graduate student who matriculated through Cornell in only three years so she still has two seasons of athletic eligibility remaining.