Kruger Named Region Coach Of The Year, Two Terps On All-Region Team
12/10/2003 7:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Dec. 10, 2003
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Terrapin volleyball coach Janice Kruger has earned Tachikara/AVCA Region Coach of the Year, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced today. In addition to Kruger's award, Aimee Huddleston and Lynnsy Jones were both named to the all-region squad.
Despite being picked to finish seventh in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll, Kruger led Maryland to a 27-8 overall record and 12-4 mark in league play. The Terps captured the ACC Tournament title to earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Maryland is 2-2 versus top 25 teams this season, including a 2-1 mark against ACC rival Georgia Tech. The Terps are currently ranked 24th in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll after advancing to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. Kruger registered her 300th victory this season at Maryland (now 304-197) to bring her career record to 679-302-6 as a head coach. She has earned the AVCA Region Coach of the Year four times as well as the 2003 ACC Coach of the Year.
Huddleston, a junior setter from Keller, Texas, earned all-region honors for the first time in her career. The team captain orchestrated a Maryland offense that hit .262 for the year and broke the single-season assist record on Nov. 14. She finished with 1,669 assists in 2003, the best single-season mark in Terrapin history. Huddleston averaged over 12.5 assists per game in regular-season play and also excelled on offense (1.15 kills per game) and defense (1.01 blocks per game).
Jones, a four-year standout for the Terrapins, got the second all-region nod of her career. Jones, who is the school record-holder for kills in a season, kills in a game and career service aces, notched her 1,000th career kill on Sept. 12 against College of Charleston. She has led the team in kills all year, ending the season with a 3.72 per-game average, and was named MVP of the ACC Tournament.
