Lady Flames Fly to Miami for FIU Weekend Matches
10/14/2026 12:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
LYNCHBURG, Va. -Â Liberty (12-6, 4-2 CUSA) flies to Miami to take on FIU (10-9, 1-5), Friday and Saturday.
Quick Hits
Liberty's .454 hitting percentage at Jacksonville State on Oct. 3 was its highest hitting percentage in any true road match in the program's rally-scoring history (since 2001). The Lady Flames held New Mexico State to an opponent-low .069 in their next match, last Friday.
Through the first eight matches this season, Liberty held a 4-4 record, being outhit by opponents a combined .265-.229. In the last 10 matches, during which Liberty is 8-2, the Lady Flames have outhit opponents .280-.165.
Prior to being outhit by New Mexico State on Saturday, Liberty had outhit nine straight opponents, beginning on Sept. 12 against Hofstra. It was the Lady Flames' longest streak of outhitting opponents since Sept. 16, 2022 through Oct. 21, 2022, when Liberty outhit 12 straight teams.
After hitting .300 or better a combined five times in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Liberty has already hit over .300 13 times under second-year Head Coach Jeremy White.
Prior to last year, the last time Liberty came back from a 2-0 deficit to win a match was 2016. The Lady Flames have posted two reverse sweeps under second-year Head Coach Jeremy White, going 11-3 in five-set matches during his tenure.
Last season, three Lady Flames (Carly O'Brien, Jenna Otts and Paige Overcash) recorded at least one double-digit kill match. This year, Liberty has already gotten at least one 10-kill match from six players (Layla Collins, Laney Daniell, Addison Hart, O'Brien, Otts and Overcash).
After returning just 16.3 percent of its point production from 2024 to 2025, the Lady Flames bring back 86.8 percent of their point production from 2025 into this season.
Quick Hits
- The Lady Flames have gone 8-2 in their last 10 matches. Liberty split a pair of home matches with New Mexico State last weekend in Lynchburg, sweeping the Aggies on Friday before being swept on Saturday.
- FIU, the 2025 CUSA Volleyball Championship runner-up, is off to a 1-5 start after falling twice at Middle Tennessee. The Panthers' first four CUSA opponents have a combined 16-8 conference record so far.Â
- Liberty was predicted second in the 2026 CUSA Preseason Coaches' Poll, while FIU was fifth. Three Lady Flames (Carly O'Brien, Jenna Otts, Paige Overcash) and one Panther (Jillian Huckabey) were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
- FIU won all three meetings against Liberty last year, including both regular-season matches in Lynchburg. The host Panthers eliminated the Lady Flames in the first round of the 2025 CUSA Volleyball Championship.
- Freshman libero Melis Ural ranks eighth in CUSA with 3.74 digs per set overall. She has posted 16 straight 10-dig matches, the first Lady Flame since 2019 with 16 consecutive 10-dig contests.
- Liberty (Paige Overcash - 7th/3.33; Jenna Otts - 10th/3.14) is the only CUSA team with two players in the top 10 in conference-only kills per set.
- Sophomore middle blocker Laney Daniell ranks third in CUSA with a .390 hitting percentage.Â
- Sophomore Alison Bierwagen is the first CUSA player since Rice's Madison McDaniel in 2016 to be named both CUSA Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 21) and CUSA Setter of the Week (co-setter with Charli Crowson, Oct. 5) in the same season.
Liberty's .454 hitting percentage at Jacksonville State on Oct. 3 was its highest hitting percentage in any true road match in the program's rally-scoring history (since 2001). The Lady Flames held New Mexico State to an opponent-low .069 in their next match, last Friday.
Through the first eight matches this season, Liberty held a 4-4 record, being outhit by opponents a combined .265-.229. In the last 10 matches, during which Liberty is 8-2, the Lady Flames have outhit opponents .280-.165.
Prior to being outhit by New Mexico State on Saturday, Liberty had outhit nine straight opponents, beginning on Sept. 12 against Hofstra. It was the Lady Flames' longest streak of outhitting opponents since Sept. 16, 2022 through Oct. 21, 2022, when Liberty outhit 12 straight teams.
After hitting .300 or better a combined five times in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Liberty has already hit over .300 13 times under second-year Head Coach Jeremy White.
Prior to last year, the last time Liberty came back from a 2-0 deficit to win a match was 2016. The Lady Flames have posted two reverse sweeps under second-year Head Coach Jeremy White, going 11-3 in five-set matches during his tenure.
Last season, three Lady Flames (Carly O'Brien, Jenna Otts and Paige Overcash) recorded at least one double-digit kill match. This year, Liberty has already gotten at least one 10-kill match from six players (Layla Collins, Laney Daniell, Addison Hart, O'Brien, Otts and Overcash).
After returning just 16.3 percent of its point production from 2024 to 2025, the Lady Flames bring back 86.8 percent of their point production from 2025 into this season.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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OH
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OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/RS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballSaturday, October 10
Saturday, September 26
Saturday, September 19
Tuesday, November 18