Terps Travel To Loyola-Chicago To Close Out Non-Conference Schedule
9/15/2003 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 15, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland women's volleyball team (9-2) looks to finish the non-conference portion of its schedule strongly, as they hit the road for the Loyola-Chicago/adidas Invitational for matches on Friday and Saturday against host Loyola-Chicago, Southern Methodist and Xavier.
Updated Season Statistics
The Name Game
As the volleyball team heads inland to Chicago and out of Hurricane Isabel's path, it's interesting to note that only one member of the team, assistant coach Felix Hou, has had an Atlantic Ocean hurricane named for them in the past ten years. Hurricane Felix was a category four storm that hit the east coast between August 8 and August 17 in 1995. While Felix was churning over the Atlantic, the 1995 Terps were in preseason, preparing for what would become a very successful year. They finished 22-10 and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament and were led by All-ACC selection Sherry Smith. The next hurricane to be named after a member of the team would be in 2005, when Hurricane Maria (after junior outside hitter Maria DiLivio (Hamilton, Ontario) is on the schedule of names.
Career Bests
All seven starters for the Terrapins have posted new career-highs in 2003 after 11 matches. Here is a breakdown of the new personal bests:
Player Category Prev. High New High/Opponent Fiona DeFreitas Digs 16 18 (Charleston) Assists 1 2 (Towson) Maria DiLivio Digs 16 24 (Tennessee) Aces 3 5 (FAU) Blocks 3 4 (Villanova) Aimee Huddleston Digs 12 13 (Morgan State) Blocks 5 7 (South Florida) Lynnsy Jones Aces 6 7 (George Mason) Stephanie Smith Kills 11 14 (Charleston) Att. Pct. .600 .667 (Morgan State) Sarah Treadwell Blocks 2 3 (George Mason) Rachel Wagener Kills 10 13 (Tennessee) Digs 3 5 (Villanova)
The Last Time...
Maryland won eight straight matches...2002, the Terrapins opened the season at 11-0
Maryland opened the season at 9-2...1996
Maryland played a tournament in Chicago...1993, at the Depaul Classic
Maryland played a five-set match...Nov. 3, 2002, in a loss at home to Duke
Maryland won a five-set match...Oct. 25, 2002, at Clemson
Terps vs. Opponents
Maryland holds an advantage over 2003 opponents in virtually every statistical category. They have a 600-490 edge in kills, a 577-547 dig advantage and they are outblocking their opponents 116.5-71.5. The Terps have served up 79 aces so far this year, while their opponents have 43, and Maryland is hitting .287 as a team while they have limited their opponents to a .145 attack percentage.
Wagener and Smith Highlight Terps' Depth
While Jones has earned two MVP trophies and Maria DiLivio (Hamilton, Ontario) continues to lead the team in four categories (kills, kills per game, digs, digs per game), the solid play of Stephanie Smith (Bethesda, Md.) and Rachel Wagener (Chesapeake, Va.) has made the Terps' defense stand out. Wagener leads the team in blocks with 59, and Smith has notched 46 on the year. The two have also provided a spark offensively, as Wagener ranks third on the team in kills with 95 and Smith is fourth with 93. Smith, who hit for a career-high .667 vs. Morgan State, also set a new career-high when she blasted 14 kills against College of Charleston en route to being named to the all-tournament team at the Terrapin Invitational. Meanwhile, Wagener has the highest attack percentage of the Terrapin starters (.407).
Terps In The ACC and National Rankings
Here is a breakdown of Terrapins who are ranked both in the ACC and nationally in statistical categories:
Player Category/Stat ACC Rank National Rank
Rachel Wagener Att. Pct./.399 4 30 Blocks/53 2 15 Aimee Huddleston Assists/415 3 Blocks/45 5 Stephanie Smith Blocks/44 8 Att.Pct/.376 6 Maria DiLivio Kills/125 7 Aces/18 T-4 Digs/104 10 Lynnsy Jones Kills/115 8 Aces/18 T-4*Rankings reflect statistics as of September 15*
Loyola-Chicago
The Ramblers are 4-5 on the year after a loss to nationally-ranked Northern Iowa and a win against Niagara at the Radisson Invitational in Chicago. Loyola is led by Courtney Ashley (103 kills) and Lauren Holbrook (333 assists, 95 digs). Head coach Liz Tortorello-Nelson is in her seventh season. Maryland owns a 3-0 all-time record against the Ramblers, with the last meeting taking place on September 7, 1996. The Terps won that match, 15-11, 15-9, 15-8.
Southern Methodist
The Mustangs enter the Loyola-Chicago/adidas Invitational with a 5-3 overall record. Kills leaders for SMU are Beth Karasek (138), Kelly Larkan (112) and Jacky Niederstadt (111). In their last match, the Mustangs were defeated by Arizona State (30-21, 30-23, 30-18) at their own SMU Invitational. Lisa Seifert is the head coach of Southern Methodist, in her eighth year. The match will be the first meeting between Maryland and SMU.
Xavier
Xavier is 5-3 on the season after three losses at the University of Florida Hilton Classic in Gainesville, Fla. The Musketeers are led by Kate Duchek, who has amassed 102 kills and 15 blocks on the year. Other top performers include Marisa Main (96 kills, 164 assists) and Kimberly Cockerel (83 kills, .401 attack percentage). Xavier is coached by Floyd Deaton, who is in his 14th season in Cincinnati. The match will be the first meeting between the Terps and Musketeers.
Email Straight To You
If you would like the latest Maryland volleyball news emailed directly to you as soon as it breaks, email volleyball contact Amy Mulligan at mulligan@wam.umd.edu with the message "Volleyball Email" as the subject and you will receive every update distributed about the team.
