Terps Volleyball Returns Home to Host American
6/21/1999 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 28, 1998
Maryland returns home on Monday night following a six-match road trip to host American. Monday's meeting marks the 14th time in Maryland school history that the two teams have met, with Maryland holding a 12-1 advantage. American enters Monday's match with a 13-2 record. Maryland resumes ACC action this weekend, hosting Georgia Tech on Friday and Clemson on Saturday. Clemson snapped the Terps' 25-match undefeated streak in last year's semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Maryland posted regular-season victories against both Georgia Tech and Clemson last season, with each match going five games.
THE STREAK CONTINUES
After its 3-1 win against UMBC at Ritchie Coliseum on Sept. 9, Maryland extended its home win streak to 19 matches. The streak includes games played at both Cole Field House and Ritchie Coliseum. Maryland has not lost a home match since Oct. 9, 1996, against George Mason.
TERPS ENTER YEAR TWO IN RITCHIE
Maryland extended its win streak at Ritchie Coliseum to 11 matches following its win over UMBC on Sept. 8. The streak dates back to the Terps' opening win against James Madison on Sept. 30, 1997. The Terps are only home three times in the month of September, and are on the road for nine matches, including the opening of their 1998 ACC schedule at Duke. Ritchie Coliseum serves as the host of this year's ACC Championship Tournament, Nov. 20-22.
DUKE ENDS TERPS' 34-MATCH ACC REGULAR-SEASON WIN STREAK
Maryland's 34-match ACC regular-season winning streak came to a halt last Friday night after the Terps dropped a 3-0 decision to the Duke Blue Devils. The streak dated back to Oct. 21, 1995, when the Terps suffered a 3-1 loss to Clemson. The last time a Maryland team had been swept in the ACC regular season was Oct. 20, 1995, when Georgia Tech defeated the Terps, 3-0. Maryland ran through the ACC standings in 1996 and 1997, posting an undefeated mark of 16-0 in both seasons. No other team in ACC history has recorded a 16-0 ACC regular-season record.
TERPS REBOUND AGAINST WAKE FOREST
Maryland rebounded from its loss at Duke last Friday night, defeating Wake Forest, 3-1, on Saturday. Four Terps recorded double-figure kills and digs, including a team-high 20 kills by junior outside hitter Beth Murphy (17 digs). Freshman middle hitter Katie Cramer hit a team-high .304 while Katie Jentes had a team-high 18 digs.
NET NOTES
Maryland is hitting .190 as a team ... freshman Katie Cramer leads all hitters with a .325 hitting percentage ... senior middle hitter Jaime Summers is hitting .254 ... junior outside hitter Beth Murphy is averaging a team-high 3.04 kills per game ... Cramer leads the Terps at the net with 61 total blocks ... freshman setter Libby Alberts is averaging 9.16 assists per game ... senior outside hitter Kim Adolphs leads all Terps on defense with a 3.78 digs per game average.
MICHIGAN ENDS TERP STREAK
Maryland's 33-match regular-season winning streak was snapped after Michigan defeated the Terps, 3-1, at the Georgetown Invitational on Sept. 4. It was the Terps' first regular-season loss since their loss to Florida on Oct. 18, 1996. The Wolverines won game one, 15-8, but the Terps came back in game two, grabbing a 15-13 win. The experienced Wolverine attack proved to be too much, however, for the young Terp squad, as they took the final two games, 15-8, 15-5, respectively.
FIRST TIMERS
Freshman setter Libby Alberts, freshman middle blocker Katie Cramer, freshman defensive specialist Autumn Wilson and junior outside hitter Beth Murphy all made their ACC debut this weekend. Alberts, Cramer and Murphy are all starters on Maryland's 6-5 squad, while Wilson comes in off the bench to play in the back row. Murphy and Cramer both played well against Wake Forest, as Murphy led the team in kills with 20 and Cramer hit a team-high .304.
CRAMER AND HANNAS TOUGH UP FRONT
Maryland junior outside hitter Kate Hannas and freshman Katie Cramer are part of Maryland's tall front line which is averaging 2.8 blocks per game. Cramer leads all Terps with 61 total blocks, including 17 block solos. Hannas has recorded 10 blocks solos and 41 block assists. The Terps are holding their opponents to a 1.9 blocks per game average.
THE SCOOP ON SUMMERS
Undoubtedly the focal point of the 1998 Maryland offense is senior middle hitter Jaime Summers (Lake Conneaut, Pa.). A first team All-ACC selection a year ago, Summers returns as the Terps' top offensive threat, as she posted a .331 hitting percentage as a junior. The Pennsylvania native recorded career-bests in every category last year, including 21 kills and 18 digs against Clemson. She averaged 3.25 kills per game and 2.02 digs per game. Summers is hitting .254, which is second-best on the Terp squad, this season and is third on the team in blocks with 47.
THE LAST TIME...
The last time Maryland recorded five losses this early in the season was in 1995. The Terps opened the season with three straight losses (Akron, George Washington and Pittsburgh, respectively) and suffered their fourth loss on Sept. 15 at Michigan State, and their fifth loss at Duke on Sept. 22. The Terps would, however, go on to post a 22-10 overall record, 10-4 in the ACC, and earn their first NCAA bid since 1990. BLOCKIN' TERPS Maryland leads the ACC in blocks per game with a 2.82 average. Freshman Katie Cramer and junior Kate Hannas rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in blocks per game with 1.33 and 1.24, respectively.
QUICK SET
Freshman Libby Alberts has earned the starting nod for the Terps at the setter position. In her first year in a Maryland uniform, Alberts has totaled 412 assists in 45 games for a 9.16 per game average.
BRIDOVA SEEING PLAYING TIME
Maryland sophomore setter Katarina Bridova saw her first real action of her young career, playing in all three games at Colorado. It marked the first time in her career that she has played an entire match. She totaled 15 assists in the Terps' three-game loss.
KRUGER'S COURT
Terrapin head coach Janice Kruger (Nebraska 77) begins her 11th season at Maryland after being named ACC Coach of the Year last season, her third such honor. Kruger has guided the Terps to back-to-back undefeated regular-season ACC records, and to a perfect 25-0 regular-season record last year. She owns a 213-117 record at Maryland, and has a 585-219-6 career record in her 20 years.
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS
19
The Terps own a 19-match overall home win streak after their win over UMBC on Sept. 9 (including matches at Cole Field House and Ritchie Coliseum). Their last loss was on Oct. 9, 1996 against George Mason in Cole Field House.
8
Maryland became only the eighth team in NCAA Division I history to record an undefeated regular-season record. The Terps finished the regular-season with a 25-0 record.
.325
Terp freshman Katie Cramer is hitting a team-high .325.
2.8
Maryland is averaging 2.9 blocks per game with freshman Katie Cramer posting a team-high 1.3 blocks.
16.3
Maryland is averaging 16.3 digs per game.
