HUNTSVILLE - The Sam Houston Bearkats dropped the opener of its weekend volleyball series to FIU, 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 25-14) on Friday night at Johnson Coliseum. 

FIU (9-8, 3-2 CUSA) hit .228 for the match and took each of the final two sets to move above the .500 mark, while remaining undefeated against the Bearkats (8-10, 0-5 CUSA) in six tries in the Division I era.  

Chloe Monson reached double figures for the 15th time this season for Sam Houston with 12 kills and Lauren Malone added nine, but the Panthers got a match-high 21 from Kira Givans to lead the offensive attack. Rachelle Reed led the match in blocks with seven with Bella Wood and Lillian Hamilton adding four rejections each.  

The Bearkats' next match up is against FIU at the Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville on Saturday, October 11th at 1 pm. This match will be streamed on ESPN+.