Beach Volleyball team from Florida International University (FIU) participated in the DUUUVAL Invitational hosted by North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. The Panthers ended the event with a 2-2 record, losing both matches on the first day and winning both on the second.
In their opening match against Jacksonville, FIU narrowly lost 3-2. Nicole Robison and Hanna Gubik secured a straight-set win on court two, while Kendra Brown and Isabella Pereira won on court three after dropping the first set but coming back to take the next two sets.
The second match of day one saw FIU face No. 17 North Florida, resulting in a 4-1 defeat for the Panthers. The only win came from Katarina Drozd and Brianna Luoma at court one, who recovered from an initial set loss to win in three sets.
On day two, FIU reversed its fortunes with a 4-1 victory over Eastern Kentucky. Drozd and Luoma won again on court one in straight sets. Brown and Pereira also claimed another straight-set victory on court three. Elizabeth Nye and Hailey Prodan won a close contest on court four, while Nikelle Lander and Sarah Boyle added another win for FIU at court five.
FIU finished their tournament run with a decisive 5-0 sweep against Mercer. Drozd and Luoma earned their third dual win of the meet after three sets at court one. Gubik/Robison, Brown/Pereira, Nye/Prodan, and Boyle/Lander all contributed straight-set or close victories across courts two through five.
Looking ahead, FIU will travel west to compete against LMU, Hawaii, Cal, and UCLA at the East Meets West Invitational scheduled for March 13-14.
Fans can follow updates about FIU Beach Volleyball via Instagram (@fiubeach) and Twitter (@FIUBeachVB). General athletics news is available through @FIUAthletics on Facebook as well as Twitter and Instagram.
