Volleyball Team Hits The Road Again
9/5/2000 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 5, 2000
COLLEGE PARK, Md.-- The Maryland women's volleyball team will pack its bags again this weekend for the Columbia/LIU Invitational, Sept. 8-9, in New York, N.Y. Janice Kruger and the Terps will look for their first win of the season this weekend in New York. The Terps faced two nationally-ranked teams last weekend at the Nike Invitational in Stockton, Calif. Maryland lost to No.24 Michigan (6-15, 7-15, 8-15), No. 12 Pacific (1-15, 6-15, 2-15) and Sacramento State (12-15, 9-15, 14-16) at the Nike Invitational. Both Pacific and Sacramento State qualified for the 1999 NCAA tournament with Pacific going all the way to the Final Four.
Match Facts
Columbia/LIU Invitational
Maryland vs. Binghamton
Date: Sept. 8, 2000
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Site: Levien Gymnasium
Columbia/LIU Invitational
Maryland vs. Columbia
Date: Sept. 8, 2000
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Site: Levien Gymnasium
Columbia/LIU Invitational
Maryland vs. Long Island
Date: Sept. 9, 2000
Time: Noon
Site: Levien Gymnasium
Columbia/LIU Invitational
Maryland vs. Lafayette
Date: Sept. 9, 2000
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Site:Levien Gymnasium
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Maryland vs. Binghamton
Maryland and Binghamton will meet for the first time in the opening game of the Columbia/LIU Invitational, Friday, Sept. 8. Binghamton will face Le Moyne Wednesday, Sept. 6, at home before facing the Terps. With five returning starters from last year's 27-9 team, the Bearcats are 3-1 to open the 2000 campaign. Binghamton opened the season with wins over Drexel, Lafayette, and Loyola (Md.) at the Drexel Tournament.
Maryland vs. Columbia
The Columbia Lions of the Ivy League are the second match of the day for the Terps Friday, Sept. 8, at the Columbia/LIU Invitational. Another first-time foe for Maryland, Columbia opens the 2000 season against the Terps. The Lions return ten letterwinners and four starters from a '99 squad that finished 14-9 overall and 1-5 in the Ivy League.
Maryland vs. Long Island
The Blackbirds and Terrapins will tangle in the first match of day two at the Columbia/LIU Invitational. The first meeting between the two schools, the Blackbirds enter the weekend with a 1-2 record after last weekend's season opening tournament at Southern Illinois University.
Maryland vs. Lafayette
Lafayette enters the Columbia/LIU Invitational looking for their first win of the season. The Leopards are 0-4 this season and have just one win in their last 31 matches. Lafayette began the season at the Drexel Tournament losing to Drexel, Binghamton, La Salle and Loyola (Md.). This is the first meeting between both schools.
Last Time Out
The Terps dropped a hard-fought, three-game decision to Sacramento State (12-15, 9-15, 14-16) in the final match for both schools at the Nike Invitational in Stockton, Calif. Sophomore setter Lindsay Davey (Aurora, Colo.) had a career-high 50 assists and 12 digs while fellow sophomore Amanda Ayres (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) finished with two career-bests both in kills (11) and digs (21). Sophomore outside hitter Carey Brennan (Smithburg, Md.) smacked 19 kills and had 21 digs in the loss for Maryland.
Coast To Coast
The Terps have had their share of frequent flier miles to start the 2000 campaign. With their season- opening trip to California, Maryland heads from the west coast back to the east coast when Maryland plays in New York City for Columbia/LIU Invitational.
TERP VOLLEYBALL BY THE NUMBERS
0
The number of times that Maryland has faced Binghamton, Columbia, Lafayette and Long Island.
2
The number of New York natives on the Terrapin roster. Freshman Trina Scalza (Warwick) and junior Willette Dority (Congers) return home to the Empire State this weekend for the Columbia/LIU Invitational.
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.
6
The number of opponents that Maryland will face for the first time ever this season. The Terps will face these six teams in their first seven matches to start the year.
8
The number of road matches Maryland will play before returning to Ritchie Coliseum Friday, Sept. 15, for the 2000 home opener versus William & Mary in the Maryland Tournament.
12/24
Two of Maryland's first three opponents were ranked in the 2000 USA Today/AVCA preseason coaches poll. The Teps faced No.24 Michigan in their season opener and followed that match with No. 12 Pacific.
233
With 233 wins at Maryland, Janice Kruger is the active leader in wins in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
1,822
The number of fans in attendence when the Terps took on No. 12 Pacific at the Nike Invitational.
Senior Duo
Maren Stuart (Tampa, Fla.) and Nnenna Amobi (Silver Spring, Md.) will be counted on by coach Janice Kruger to lead a young Maryland team this season. Stuart and Amobi will be two front line players for the Terps this season. "With Maren and Nnenna, they give us two versatile players that give us plenty of hitting power and blocking," said Kruger.
Brennan Heads the List of Top Returners
Sophomore Carey Brennan (Smithburg, Md.) will try and build on last season's success when she was named to the ACC-All Freshman team during the 1999 season. Just the third player to receive the honor at Maryland, Brennan will be part of a solid group of hitters that return to the Terrapin lineup. Along with the two seniors and Brennan, junior Willette Dority (Congers, N.Y.) and sophomore Amanda Ayres (Chesapeake, Md.) give the Terps five players up front with plenty of experience.
Alberts and Davey Return at the Setter Position
Maryland welcomes back two experienced setters in junior Libby Alberts (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and sophomore Lindsay Davey (Aurora, Colo.). Davey will handle the setting duties as Alberts continues to recover from off-season shoulder surgery. As a freshman, Davey appeared in all 31 matches.
Alberts, a two-year starter for the Terps at setter, has led Maryland in assists the past two seasons. The Minnesota native averaged 8.32 assists per game last season which was good for ninth in the ACC.
Seven Newcomers in 2000
Coach Kruger will rely on plenty of youth this season as she welcomes seven newcomers to the Maryland program. Junior Shannon Toback (Ellicott City, Md.) along with freshmen Fiona DeFreitas (Laurel, Md.), Maria DiLivio (Hamilton, Ontario), Lynnsy Jones (Castro Valley, Calif.), Trina Scalza (Warwick, N.Y.), Kathy Shahrokh (Ellicott City, Md.) and Laurel Wilson (North East, Md.) will all start
their collegiate careers this season with the Terps.
Head Coach Janice Kruger
Kruger will have 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 233 victories, Kruger owns a career coaching record of 605-245-6. Kruger has been named ACC Coach of the Year three times (1990, 1996, 1997).
In her 13th season, Kruger is the second coach in Maryland volleyball history following Barb Drum. In 1997, Kruger became just one of ten coaches in NCAA history to guide a team to an undefeated regular season as the Terps finished 25-0.
LaGrange and Liu Named Assistant Coaches
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.
On The Road Again ...
The Terps will hit the road again following the LIU/Columbia Fall Classic as they face local rival Georgetown Tuesday, Sept. 12, in Washington, D.C.
The Terps own an impressive 37-14 series record over the Hoyas as they have won five of the last six meetings against Georgetown. Head coach Janice Kruger is 10-4 all-time against the Hoyas.
Following Georgetown, Maryland returns home to Ritchie Coliseum for the Maryland Tournament. The Terps will face William & Mary Friday, Sept. 15, at 7:00 p.m., in the 2000 home opener.
The six-game homestand also includes matches versus Morgan State and East Carolina in the Maryland Tournament and the 2000 ACC opener versus Wake Forest on Tuesday, Sept. 19.
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