NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans dropped their second straight contest to open Sun Belt play with a 3-1 loss to Florida International (30-23,21-30,30-22,30-24) on Saturday at the Human Performance Center.
FIU (7-2, 2-0 Sun Belt) recieved 20 kills from preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Yarimar Rosa and 18 from Olga Vergun as the Golden Panthers hit .257 for the match including a game-high .415 to win the final game. Keila Oliveira had 56 assists to lead FIU while Mariana Drumeva had 17 digs on the defensive end for the Golden Panthers.
UNO (6-9, 0-2 Sun Belt) had 14 kills apiece from Lindsey Loyd and Lindsey Boler while Privateers' setter Cassidy Asebroek steered the offense with 19 assists.
FIU broke open a close opening game with a strong defensive effort, holding UNO to a .000 hitting percentage while chalking up five blocks along the way to go up 1-0 with a 30-23 opening win.
The Privateers came out on the offensive in the second frame hitting .261 to FIU's .053 to win 30-21 as Loyd had five kills and Boler had four to pace the attack.
After the teams traded wins in the first two games, the Golden Panthers hit .351 in the third game receiving six kills apiece from Rosa and Vergun, yielding the lead to the Privateers just once before staking claim to a 30-22 game three win.
The Privateers continue action in the Sun Belt with a road trip to Arkansas starting with a match against Arkansas State next Saturday concluding the weekend on Sunday against UALR.
