Terps Look For Ninth Straight Win Tuesday Against Wake
9/18/2000 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 18, 2000
COLLEGE PARK, Md.- The University of Maryland women's volleyball will look to continue its winning ways Tuesday, Sept. 19, in the ACC home opener versus Wake Forest at 7:00 p.m. The ACC showdown will feature two of the top teams in the conference with Wake Forest leading the ACC with an 8-1 record. Maryland enters Tuesday's match with an impressive eight-match winning streak and a season record of 8-3. The Terrapins continue their six-game homestand Friday, Sept. 22, against Florida State at 7:00 p.m. Duke visits Ritchie Coliseum Saturday, Sept. 23, at 3:00 p.m. in the final game of the homestand.
Scouting Maryland
The Terps open ACC play this week with three games versus conference opponents. Maryland enters the week red hot as the Terrapins have won eight in a row. The Terps defeated William & Mary, Morgan State and East Carolina to capture the Maryland Invitational championship. Senior middle hitter Maren Stuart (Tampa, Fla.) finished an outstanding weekend of play as she was named invitational MVP after finishing the tournament with 34 kills and seven blocks to go along with a .390 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Lindsay Davey (Aurora, Colo.) led the Maryland attack with 124 assists over the three games and was named to the all-tournament team. Sophomore outside hitter Carey Brennan (Smithburg, Md.) joined Stuart and Davey on the all-tournament team after leading the Terps in kills (47) and digs (34). Maryland will look to get back on the winning track versus Wake Forest since the Demon Deacons won both meetings last season.
Scouting Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons enter Tuesday's ACC showdown against Maryland with an impressive 8-1 record. Wake Forest dropped their first match of the season last Saturday in five games to Pepperdine at the Florida Invitational. Wake got back on the winning track Sunday defeating Florida Atlantic in three games. The Demon Deacons are led by junior outside hitter Trina Maso de Moya. The Florida native leads the team in kills (128), digs (116) and service aces (17). Sophomore setter Ashlee Phillips has paced the Demon Deacon attack with 346 assists. Wake Forest holds a 13-3 head-to-head advantage over the Terps all-time.
Scouting Florida State
The Seminoles begin the week with a 9-2 mark. Fresh off wins versus Samford and Florida A&M in the Lady Seminole Classic, the 'Noles face Central Florida at home Tuesday, Sept. 19, before their ACC opener Friday night at Ritchie Coliseum. Florida State returns five starters from last season's 8-23 club. The Seminoles lost both meetings against Maryland last season and have dropped the last ten matches versus the Terrapins. Maryland leads the all-time series versus the Seminoles, 11-7.
Scouting Duke
The Blue Devils went 2-1 last weekend at the Indiana Invitational in Bloomington, Ind. Duke, 9-3 on the year, dropped their final match of the invitational to Indiana (0-3) 8-15, 14-16, 15-17. Junior Ashley Harris had team-highs with 12 kills and 15 digs. Sophomore Jill Sonne and junior Dorrette Burwell each added 10 kills in a losing effort. Duke opens the 2000 ACC season on the road at Virginia Tuesday, Sept. 19. Last season the Blue Devils won both meetings over the Terrapins. Duke leads the all-time season series versus Maryland, 21-17.
Match Facts
Wake Forest at Maryland
Date: Sept. 19, 2000
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Ritchie Coliseum
Florida State at Maryland
Date: Sept. 22, 2000
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Ritchie Coliseum
Duke at Maryland
Date: Sept. 23, 2000
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Site: Ritchie Coliseum
umterps.com:
Maryland volleyball news on the World Wide Web, updated daily.
Last Time Out
Maryland won their eighth straight match of the season as the Terps cruised past East Carolina (3-0) 15-5, 15-13, 15-4, to win the Maryland Invitational. Maren Stuart led the way for the Terrapins pounding 13 kills and producing two blocks in the three-game win for the Terps. Lindsay Davey paced the Maryland attack with 39 assists and Nnenna Amobi chipped in with 12 kills and five blocks for the winners.
Sophomore Sensation
Sophomore outside hitter Carey Brennan has picked up right where she left off as a freshman. Only the third Terp ever to be named to the ACC All-Freshman team, Brennan has been a force this season. The Smithburg, Md., native leads the Terrapins in attacks, kills and digs. Brennan turned in her best performance of the season versus Lafayette as she smacked 14 kills and had a .619 hitting percentage (14K, 1E, 21TA) in Maryland's 15-2, 15-3, 15-2 victory.
In the ACC
Several Maryland players are among the league leaders in several categories as of Sept. 11. Lindsay Davey began the week leading the ACC in service aces with 16. She also ranks among the league leaders in assists with 198, good for ninth in the ACC.
Nnenna Amobi is tied for second in the conference in service aces with 14 and Carey Brennan is fifth in digs and ninth in kills. As a team, Maryland is second in service aces and third in blocks.
Three's A Charm
Maryland has been terrific in the third game of matches this season. During the third stanza, the Terps are outscoring their opponents 143-102.
Airing It Out
Sophomore outside hitter Amanda Ayres (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) has become a steady force at the outside hitter position. In her first year as a starter, Ayres is second on the team in digs with 93 and fourth in kills with 73.
Senior Duo
Maren Stuart and Nnenna Amobi will be counted on by coach Janice Kruger to lead a young Maryland team this season. Stuart and Amobi give the Terps a potent 1-2 punch at the middle hitter position. Stuart leads the Terps in hitting percentage (.300) and is second in kills (97). Amobi is second on the team in hitting percentage (.288) and is third on the club in kills (83).
Head Coach Janice Kruger
Janice Kruger has one of her youngest teams here at Maryland as she enters her 13th season with the Terps. The winningest active coach in the ACC with 241 victories, Kruger has been named ACC Coach of the Year three times (1990, 1996, 1997).
Kruger has enjoyed a stellar coaching career compiling an impressive 613-245-6 record. During her time at Maryland, Kruger has totaled 241 wins while losing only 149.
New Assistants Named
Jennifer LaGrange and Xiangrong Liu were both added to the Maryland coaching staff this past offseason. LaGrange comes to Maryland from Southwest Texas State University where she was the first assistant from 1997-99. During her three years at Southwest Texas State, LaGrange helped lead the Bobcats to a 63-35 (.643) record, a Southland Conference tournament championship in 1998 and a NCAA bid that same season.
Liu arrives at Maryland after being the assistant coach at the University of Dayton for seven seasons. During his time at Dayton, the Flyers went 133-86 (.616) and were the 1998 Atlantic 10 champions.
Alberts Out For The Season
Junior setter Libby Alberts (Eden Prairie, Minn.) will miss the entire 2000 season as she recovers from off-season shoulder surgery. A two-year starter for the Terps, Alberts has led Maryland in assists both years she has been in College Park. Last season Alberts ranked ninth in the ACC per game in assists with 8.32.
The 700 Club
Maryland is just two wins shy of the 700-mark all-time. The Terrapins have averaged just over 23 wins per year since volleyball became an official NCAA sport at Maryland.
Cherry Creek Connection
Janice Kruger knows where to go to find a setter, Cherry Creek High School in Aurora, Colo. Former Terp Eden Kroeger along with current Terp setter Lindsay Davey are both alumni from Cherry Creek.
Kroeger played four seasons for the Terps from 1994 to 1997. During that span, Kroeger was named to the freshman All-ACC team, twice named first-team All-ACC and is the only Terrapin ever named an All-American ('97).
Davey has shined in her first season as starter for Maryland. Davey leads the team in assists (381), good for 10.89 per game. Davey also leads Maryland in service aces with 19.
TERP VOLLEYBALL BY THE NUMBERS
2
The number of times Maryland has played a match longer than three games this season. Maryland is 2-0 in those matches winning both in four games.
2
Maryland has faced two ranked opponents so far this season. At the time, Maryland lost to No. 24 Michigan and No.12 Pacific at the Nike Invitational in Stockton, Calif.
3
Sophomore Carey Brennan was just the third Maryland player ever to be selected to the ACC All-Freshman in 1999.
4
Four returning players were named to the 1999-2000 ACC Honor Roll. They are Libby Alberts, Willette Dority, Maren Stuart and Shannon Toback.
5
Five Maryland opponents this season made the NCAA tournament last year. Clemson, North Carolina, Pacific, Sacramento State and Virginia all qualified for the tournament in 1999.
8
The Terps current eight-match winning streak is Maryland's longest since the 1997 season when the Terrapins began the season with a 26-match winning streak.
13
The number of Terps that have seen action this season. Out of the 13, nine are either freshmen or sophomores.
85
The number of blocks that Maryland has recorded this season. The Terps have held their opponents to just 48 blocks through seven matches.
1,822
The number of fans that attended the Maryland-Pacific match at the Nike Invitational in Stockton, Calif. The 1,822 fans were the most fans to see the Terps so far this season.
.
