Volleyball beats UM in home opener

FIU team sweeps cross-town rival Miami, 3-0, in front of more than 1,000 fans.

By Karen Cochrane

“I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night.” The music of the Black Eyed Peas pulsed through the U.S. Century Bank Arena, pumping up a decidedly raucous crowd during warm-ups as the Panthers opened their 2009 home season Sept. 10 against the University of Miami. For the next two hours, the FIU volleyball team did its part to ensure a “good night” for the fans in attendance, playing its way to a 3-0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-17) win in the U.S. Century Bank Arena. With the victory, the Panthers lead the all-time series with the Hurricanes, 23-11.

The match kicked off the FIU/UM Invitational.

By the end of the weekend, the Golden Panthers had improved their record to 7-2 with wins against UM and Albany and a loss to No. 22-ranked FSU.

“I’m happy that we won our first match at home,” said head coach Danijela Tomic after the UM contest. “I thought we started off slow but I knew we would pick up the pace and start playing our game.

“We had three players in double-digit kills: Yari[mar] Rosa, Olly [Olga Vergun] and Sabrina [Gonzalez]. I don’t think we played as well as we can. First home-game nerves were a factor, but we found a way in every set to score points when we needed them,” she continued. “Since the beginning of the season, we’ve had players stepping up and making those plays.

“Unfortunately, Yari had to leave in the third set with a finger injury, but Isadora [Rangel] stepped in and filled the role and we won the match.”

For highlights of the FIU vs. UM match, check out the video below.