Women's Volleyball Opens ACC Play at Duke
6/21/1999 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
September 23, 1998
Maryland opens its 1998 Atlantic Coast Conference campaign this weekend, traveling to Duke (Friday) and Wake Forest (Saturday). The Terps enter this weekends play with a 5-4 record. The Blue Devils have not defeated Maryland since the 1995 season, and the Demon Deacons have never defeated the Terps. Duke enters Fridays match with a 5-4 record while Wake Forest carries a 9-2 record. The weekend marks the second consecutive year that Maryland opens its ACC campaign on the road. The Terps opened last season with a 3-0 win over North Carolina, and survived a 3-2 scare at NC State. Marylands last opening ACC loss was on Sept. 22, 1995 at Duke (2-3).
LOOKING TO KEEP THE STREAK ALIVE
Maryland enters this weekends ACC opener against Duke carrying a 34-match ACC regular-season winning streak. The streak dates back to Oct. 21, 1995, when the Terps suffered a 3-1 loss to Clemson. 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 SUFFER SETBACK IN COLORADO
Maryland suffered back-to-back losses this past weekend at Colorado State and Colorado, respectively. Colorado State handed the Terps a 3-1 defeat while the 12th-ranked Buffaloes swept the Terps in three games. In Marylands match against Colorado State, the Terps were without the services of senior outside hitter Kim Adolphs who went down with a sprained ankle in the first game. Adolphs didnt play against Colorado.
UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES
Marylands 3-0 loss at Colorado marked the first time since Oct. 18, 1995 that a Terp team had been swept. Florida was the last team to blank the Terps.
MICHIGAN ENDS TERP STREAK
Marylands 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 October 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.
PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Maryland senior outside hitter Kim Adolphs continues to play tough, tenacious defense. Last season, Adolphs was second on the team in digs with 428 and helped the Terps to a No. 3 national ranking in defense. Adolphs was named MVP of the Temple Owls Apollo Classic after totaling 25 digs against San Diego State and 10 digs against Temple. She was also named to the all-tournament team at the Georgetown Invitational after posting double-digit digs in Marylands three matches, including a career-high 28 against Temple. Adolphs posted 17 digs against Michigan and followed-up her 28-dig performance against Temple with a 26-dig performance in the Terps 3-2 win against Georgetown. She has totaled a team-high 143 digs and is averaging 4.2 digs per game. She leads the ACC in digs, as well.
FIRST TIMERS
Freshman setter Libby Alberts, freshman middle blocker Katie Cramer, freshman defensive specialist Autumn Wilson and junior outside hitter Beth Murphy all make their ACC debut this weekend. Alberts, Cramer and Murphy are all starters on Marylands 5-4 squad, while Wilson comes in off the bench to play in the back row.
NET NOTES
Maryland is hitting .184 as a team ... freshman Katie Cramer leads all hitters with a .324 hitting percentage ... senior middle hitter Jaime Summers is hitting .254 and is averaging a team-high 2.5 kills per game ... Cramer leads the Terps at the net with 52 total blocks ... freshman setter Libby Alberts is averaging 9.1 assists per game ... senior outside hitter Kim Adolphs leads all Terps on defense with a 4.21 digs per game average ... Kim Adolphs and Katie Jentes are ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the ACC in digs per game with 4.21 and 3.19 averages, respectively.
CRAMER AND HANNAS TOUGH UP FRONT
Maryland junior outside hitter Kate Hannas and freshman Katie Cramer are part of Marylands tall front line which is averaging 2.8 blocks per game. Cramer leads all Terps with 52 total blocks, including 15 block solos. Hannas has recorded 10 blocks solos and 36 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 39.
BLOCKIN TERPS
Maryland leads the ACC in blocks per game with a 3.22 average. Freshman Katie Cramer and junior Kate Hannas rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in blocks per game with 1.35 and 1.33, respectively.
THE LAST TIME...
The last time Maryland recorded four 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. 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.
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 346 assists in 38 games for a 9.1 per game average.
BRIDOVA SEEING PLAYING TIME
Maryland sophomore setter Katarina Bridova saw her first real action this past Saturday, 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.
KRUGERS 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 212-116 record at Maryland, and has a 584-218-6 career record in her 20 years.
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 years ACC Championship Tournament, Nov. 20-22.
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 October 9, 1996, against George Mason.
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS
34
Maryland carries a 34-match ACC regular-season win streak into the 1998 season. The Terrapins last loss was on Oct. 25, 1995 at Clemson.
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.
.357
Terp freshman Katie Cramer is hitting a team-high .324.
2.9
Maryland is averaging 2.9 blocks per game with freshman Katie Cramer posting a team-high 1.3 blocks.
16.2
Maryland is averaging 16.2 digs per game.
AVCA/USA Today Poll (as of Sept. 22, 1998)1. Penn State 10-0 2. Long Beach State 10-0 3. Nebraska 9-0 4. UC Santa Barbara 10-0 5. BYU 9-1 6. Wisconsin 10-1 7. Stanford 6-2 8. USC 5-3 9. Florida 8-2 10. Pacific 8-1 11. Hawaii 7-1 12. Colorado 6-1 13. Texas 6-2 14. Ohio State 7-2 15. Loyola Marymount 8-2 16. Arkansas 7-2 17. Texas A&M 7-1 18. Michigan State 7-1 19. San Diego 8-2 20. Arizona 10-0 21. Florida State 8-3 22. Louisville 7-2 23. Illinois 7-3 24. Minnesota 10-1 25. Texas Tech 10-2
