Big weekend victory puts FIU volleyball in prime position as the end of the season nears

With players such as outside hitter Margherita Bianchin, libero Lina Bernier and setter Abbie Hughes, the FIU Panthers volleyball team is having what will likely be its best season since entering Conference USA in 2013.

FIU (14-7, 6-2) is fourth in the league after Sunday’s five-set win against visiting Southern Miss. FIU rallied after losing the first two sets.

With seven regular-season matches remaining, the Panthers’ 14 wins are already their most since 2015, when they won 15. The Panthers are vastly improved since last season, when they finished 6-16, 4-10.

“It has a lot to do with personnel and the type of athlete that has now become the majority of our program,” said Rita Buck-Crockett, who is in her fifth season coaching FIU.

“Our team grade-point average is nearly 3.5. We have athletes willing to be the best they can be on the court and in the classroom without very much drama.”

FIU’s attack is led by Hughes, a 5-9 freshman from Ohio who ranks seventh in the league with 8.67 assists per set.

Buck-Crockett said “you’ve got to have a killer on the team,” and Bianchin, a 6-0 senior from Italy, fills that role, ranking sixth in the league in points, ninth in kills and ninth in service aces.

Bernier, a 5-11 junior from Puerto Rico who is long for a libero, ranks third in the league in digs, getting to balls that are beyond the reach of others.

“I call her a vacuum cleaner,” Buck-Crockett said. “She [covers] half the court.”

Buck-Crockett has other nicknames for her players, including Nina “Savings Account” Petranovic, a 6-1 senior middle blocker from Slovenia who transferred to FIU from Long Island University.

“Nina is a big hitter,” Buck-Crockett said. “Like a savings account, you go to her when needed. She doesn’t start games, but she finishes them.”

Chelsea Hudson, a 6-2 middle blocker from Delray Beach, is the best leaper on the team. She sat out last season due to injury but ranks top-20 in the league in hitting percentage.

Buck-Crockett also praised 5-9 junior outside hitter Sidney Henderson, 6-2 junior middle blocker Dorina Klinger and her sister, 5-10 freshman outside hitter Ronja Klinger. The Klinger sisters have played for Austria’s national beach volleyball team.

Add it all up, and FIU is in good shape to be one of the eight schools qualifying for the conference tournament Nov. 16-18 in Huntington, West Virginia.

“Hopefully,” Buck-Crockett said, “we can peak at the right time.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ The Panthers men’s and women’s basketball teams will host a free event — FIU Hoopla — on Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on campus at the Wellness and Recreation Center outdoor courts. Both teams will be introduced, the men will stage a dunking contest, and the women will participate in a three-point shootout.

▪ Santiago Patino had two goals and Joris Ahlinvi had the game-winner as the FIU men’s soccer team rallied to defeat rival Florida Atlantic 3-2 in double overtime on Friday. FIU (6-7, 5-1) leads Conference USA with three games left in the regular season, including two in league play.

▪ Patino, who leads Conference USA with 12 goals and ranks second in points, also assisted on Ahlinvi’s goal.

▪ Ahlinvi, who has six goals, added two assists and ranks sixth in the league in points and third in game-winning goals.

▪ Patino and Ahlinvi rank 1-2 in the league in shots.