Volleyball Faces Two Tough ACC Opponents On The Road This Week
10/29/2001 7:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 29, 2001
COLLEGE PARK, Md.- The University of Maryland women's volleyball team is hoping to rebound from Saturday's five-game loss at Virginia with two key ACC matches. The Terps travel to the state of North Carolina for a pair of matches vs. Wake Forest and Duke.
* The Terps begin their week Tuesday (Oct. 30) at Wake Forest. Wake downed the Terps in four games earlier this season at Ritchie Coliseum (1-3) 26-30, 30-25, 23-30, 22-30.
* A road trip to Durham to face the Blue Devils rounds out the week for the Terps. The two teams will face off Saturday (Nov. 3) at 7:30 p.m. Maryland earned one of its biggest wins of the season earlier in the year vs. Duke, defeating the Blue Devils in four games (3-1) 19-30, 30-25, 30-24, 30-27. At the time, it was just the second loss of the season for the Blue Devils.
Terrapins Off To Best ACC Start Since 1997
* With Maryland's five-game victory over North Carolina, it was the team's sixth ACC victory of the season. The six ACC wins are the most for the Terps since the 1997 season when the team went a perfect 16-0.
* After defeating the ACC's top two teams, North Carolina and Duke at Ritchie Coliseum this year, it marked the first time also since the 1997 campaign that the Terrapins have defeated both teams in the same season. The Terrapins are also the only team in the ACC in 2001 to defeat both the Tar Heels and Blue Devils.
Enjoying The Home Cooking
* The Terrapins have played well in their final season at Ritchie Coliseum. The Terps will play next season in the Comcast Center, but have enjoyed the home court advantage at Ritchie this season.
* The Terps are 5-3 overall at home including a 4-2 ACC mark. Over the past two seasons, the Terps only won three games each year at home and could win as many as six ACC matches this season at home. Maryland still has home dates remaining with Clemson and Georgia Tech. Earlier in the year, the Terps swept Clemson and lost in five-games at Georgia Tech.
* In just over five seasons at Ritchie Coliseum, the Terrapins own a 35-22 record. Maryland has had a winning record each season in Ritchie except in 1999, when the Terps finished with a 9-10 mark.
Terps Look To Improve Regional Ranking
* Maryland is ranked No. 7 in the East region in the NCAA regional rankings, released by the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Committee on Oct. 17.
* Six ACC schools are ranked in the East region top 10 led by North Carolina. Other ACC schools in the top 10 include No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 5 Wake Forest and No. 10 Florida State.
* The Terps own victories over No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Duke and No. 10 Florida State while dropping a hard-fought five-game decision at No. 3 Georgia Tech and to No. 10 Florida State.
* The Terps still have matches remaining vs. regional foes Duke and Wake Forest. The Terps travel to Durham to face the Blue Devils (Nov. 3) and face Wake Forest in Winston-Salem (Oct. 30).
The Inside Dish On The Demon Deacons
* Wake Forest enters the Maryland match with a 14-8 overall record including a 7-5 ACC mark. The Demon Deacons have been playing well down the stretch, winning four of their last five matches including a four-game upset victory over conference-leading North Carolina.
* Senior Trina Maso de Moya, the 2000 ACC Player of the Year, has picked up right where she left off a year ago. Maso de Moya leads the team in kills (318), digs (50) and service aces (50).
* After starting her career a perfect 5-0 coaching vs. Wake, Maryland coach Janice Kruger is 5-6 all-time vs. the Demon Deacons. The Demon Deacons have won six straight in the series with the last Maryland win coming on Sept. 26, 1998 at Wake Forest (3-1) 15-7, 15-12, 12-15, 15-9.
The Book On The Blue Devils
* Duke begins the week with a 17-3 overall record and a 9-3 ACC mark. The Blue Devils begin a three-match homestand Tuesday (Oct. 30) vs. Virginia before hosting Florida State and the Terps to round out the week.
* Other than North Carolina and Maryland, Duke is undefeated in ACC action this season. The Tar Heels swept the season series from the Blue Devils while the Terps won the first meeting of the year at Ritchie Coliseum.
* The Blue Devils have used a balanced offensive attack with five players in triple figures in kills including two players over the 200-kill plateau. Senior Ashley Harris leads the team with 241 kills and ranks second with 190 digs. Fellow senior Dorrette Burwell ranks second on the team with 213 kills and also has 139 digs to her credit.
* Janice Kruger owns a career 12-14 mark vs. the Blue Devils.
Brennan Putting Together An Impressive All-Around Season
* Junior outside hitter Carey Brennan (Smithsburg, Md.) has put together a season worthy of All-ACC honors. Brennan ranks among the league leaders in kills and digs while leading the team in those respective categories.
* Brennan has been putting up terrific numbers this season and added a career milestone in the North Carolina win. Brennan slammed 20 kills in the UNC victory including her 1,000th career kill. For the season, Brennan leads the team with 267 kills.
* Also a sound defensive player, Brennan is closing in on her 1,000th career dig. Brennan leads the Terps with 230 digs and needs just 112 digs for the 1,000 mark for her career.
Toregas Starting To Come On Strong
* Freshman middle hitter Alexandra Toregas (Chevy Chase, Md.) has come on strong in the second half of the ACC season for the Terps.
* After seeing limited playing time during the first part of the year, Toregas has continued to earn playing time in the rotation and has developed into another potent hitter.
* In the Terps' last match at Virginia, Toregas set career-highs in kills (14) and blocks (5) in five games vs. the Cavaliers. For the season, Toregas has totaled 43 kills and 17 blocks in a backup role to senior middle hitter Willette Dority (Congers, N.Y.).
