Nov. 16, 2000

Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.- In the opening match of the 2000 ACC Volleyball Tournament, the eighth-seeded Maryland Terrapins (14-15) defeated No. 7 Clemson, (3-0) 15-12, 15-6, 15-11, on the campus of Wake Forest University. The Terps' snapped a seven-match losing streak to the Tigers and picked up their first three-game sweep at the ACC tournament since 1997 in a win over NC State.

"This was a good game plan we had for Clemson and the players carried it out and played well," commented Terrapin head coach Janice Kruger after the match. "Everyone went out there and played great. It was a total-team effort."

The Terps got off to a good start by winning the first game, 15-12. Sophomore outside hitter Carey Brennan (Smithsburg, Md.) led the Terrapin attack with nine kills and eight digs in the opening game. Maryland, which took its first lead at 8-7, used a balanced attack to take the game. Brennan had a key dig and kill to give Maryland an 11-10 lead and the Terps never looked back. The team leader in kills and digs, Brennan smacked two more kills to give Maryland a 13-10 advantage. After two points by the Tigers, sophomore outside hitter Amanda Ayres (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) nailed an ace to give Maryland game point, at 14-12. With both teams trading sideouts, senior middle hitter Nnenna Amobi (Silver Spring, Md.), picked the perfect time for her 40th ace of the season, on game point to seal the game for Maryland.

The Terrapins kept the momentum rolling by jumping out to a 9-1 lead in the second game. Freshman Lynnsy Jones (Castro Valley, Calif.) recorded two aces in helping Maryland take the early lead. Clemson fought back, winning the next five points, to close the Terrapin advantage to 9-6. After a Maryland timeout, the Terps rolled off five straight points, including Jones' third ace of the game, to take a commanding 14-6 lead. On game point, Amobi pounded home her eighth kill of the match as Maryland won the game, 15-6.

Clemson stormed out to a 5-1 lead in the third game. Maryland closed the lead to 8-6, but the Tigers' rattled off two straight points to take a 10-6 lead. The Terps' rallied to score the next two points with a pair of thunderous kills from Amobi, to make the score 10-8 Clemson. After a Clemson point, Maryland came back with five straight points, including two more aces by Jones, to give the Terps the lead at 13-11. After exchanging points, Maryland clinched the 15-11 victory on a kill by freshman outside hitter Maria DiLivio (Hamilton, Ontario).

This was the first win at the ACC Tournament for Maryland since 1998 in a first round win over Duke. Terrapin head coach Janice Kruger improves to 14-10 at the conference tournament and is just three wins shy of the 250-mark for her career in College Park.

Brennan finished the match with team-high in kills (17) and digs (13). For the season, Brennan has totaled 424 kills, placing her fourth on the all-time single season list for the Terps. Amobi also had double-digit with 14 on the night and also chipped in with four digs and two blocks. Jones finished the match with six aces as Maryland as a team had 11 service winners in the match. Sophomore setter Lindsay Davey (Aurora, Colo.) turned in a solid all-around performance with 39 assists and eight digs for the winners.

With the victory, Maryland advances to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament will they will meet the second seed, North Carolina (23-7), Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. Clemson finishes the season with a record of 13-18.

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