Volleyball Travels to Tobacco Road
6/21/1999 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
October 6, 1998
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland (7-7, 1-3) travels to Tobacco Road this week for matchups with NC State (10-5, 0-3) on Wednesday and North Carolina (14-3, 3-0) on Saturday. Both matches begin at 6 p.m. North Carolina is atop the ACC standings with a perfect 3-0 league record, while NC State is last with an 0-3 record. North Carolina last defeated the Terps on Oct. 6, 1995, 3-2, while NC State has not defeated the Terps since Oct. 14, 1988. The Terps lead the NC State series, 20-15, and North Carolina leads the Maryland series, 17-13.
TERPS FALL TO GEORGIA TECH AND CLEMSON
Maryland suffered its first back-to-back ACC regular-season losses since Oct. 21, 1995, dropping a five-game contest to Georgia Tech (13-15, 7-15, 15-10, 15-9, 12-15) on Friday, and then falling to Clemson in three games (4-15, 9-15, 7-15). The loss to Georgia Tech also snapped the Terps' 20-match home win streak which dated back to Oct. 9, 1996. The Terps had not lost an ACC regular-season match at home since its 3-0 loss to Duke on Oct. 7, 1994. The last two teams to hand the Terps back-to-back ACC regular-season losses were, ironically, Georgia Tech and Clemson.
GEORGIA TECH RECAP
Maryland junior outside hitter Beth Murphy (Golden, Colo.) totaled 18 kills and sophomore outside hitter Katie Jentes (Madbury, N.H.) added 15 to lead the Terps on offense. Murphy also led all hitters with a .229 hitting percentage. Freshman setter Libby Alberts (Eden Prairie, Minn.) tossed up 47 assists and had a team-high 16 digs. The Terps fell behind 2-0 and rallied back to win games three and four, before losing the fifth, 15-12.
CLEMSON RECAP
Maryland senior outside Kim Adolphs (Runcorn, Australia) led all Maryland hitters with 11 kills in the Terps' three-game loss to the Tigers. Junior outside hitter Kate Hannas (Ellicott City, Md.) hit .214 to lead all Terps in hitting and also had a team-high 10 digs. Clemson held the Maryland offense to a .035 hitting percentage, and outblocked the tall front line of Maryland, 12-4.
DUKE ENDS TERPS' 34-MATCH ACC REGULAR-SEASON WIN STREAK
Maryland's 34-match ACC regular-season winning streak came to a halt on Sept. 25, 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.
NET NOTES
Maryland is hitting .184 as a team, and .159 in Atlantic Coast Conference play ... freshman Katie Cramer (Loveland, Colo.) leads all hitters with a .311 hitting percentage and has a team-high 72 blocks ... senior middle hitter Jaime Summers (Conneaut Lake, Pa.) is hitting .231 ... junior outside hitter Beth Murphy (Golden, Colo.) is averaging a team-high 3.01 kills per game ... freshman setter Libby Alberts (Eden Prairie, Minn.) is averaging 9.18 assists per game ... senior outside hitter Kim Adolphs (Runcorn, Australia) leads all Terps on defense with a 3.50 digs per game average.
RECEIVING WILSON
Maryland freshman defensive specialist Autumn Wilson (Rising Sun, Md.) is seeing significant playing time in the back row. She has appeared in 40 of the Terps' 57 games and has seen action in all 14 matches. She has totaled 48 digs and is one of the Terps' best serve receivers.
BLOCKIN' TERPS
Maryland is third in the ACC in blocks per game with a 2.82 average (as of Sept. 29). Freshman Katie Cramer (Loveland, Colo.) and junior Kate Hannas (Ellicott City, Md.) rank third and seventh, respectively, in blocks per game with 1.33 and 1.24, respectively (as of Sept. 29).
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.
QUICK SET
Freshman Libby Alberts (Eden Prairie, Minn.) has earned the starting nod for the Terps at the setter position. In her first year in a Maryland uniform, Alberts has totaled 514 assists in 56 games for a 9.18 per game average.
THE SCOOP ON SUMMERS
Undoubtedly the focal point of the 1998 Maryland offense is senior middle hitter Jaime Summers (Conneaut Lake, 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 .231, which is second-best on the Terp squad, this season and is third on the team in blocks with 56.
THE LAST TIME...
The last time Maryland recorded seven losses this early in the season was in 1995. The Terps opened the season with three straight losses (Akron, George Washington and Pittsburgh, respectively). 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.
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 214-119 record at Maryland, and has a 586-221-6 career record in her 20 years.
BRIDOVA OUT WITH ANKLE INJURY
Maryland sophomore setter Katarina Bridova (Bratislava, Slovakia) is out indefinitely after spraining her ankle in practice last week. Bridova has appeared in 11 matches, playing in 23 games. She is averaging 2.52 assists per game.
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS
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.
.311
Terp freshman Katie Cramer is hitting a team-high .311.
2.77
Maryland is averaging 2.77 blocks per game.
1.29
Freshman Katie Cramer is averaging a team-high 1.29 blocks.
15.54
Maryland is averaging 15.54 digs per game.
12
Maryland senior Kim Adolphs is ranked 12th in the country in digs with a 4.21 per game average (as of Sept. 29).
