Volleyball Faces First Conferece Foes Of The Season
9/24/2003 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
DUKE (4-8) at MARYLAND (11-3)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2003 * 7:00 p.m.
COMCAST CENTER GYMNASIUM, COLLEGE PARK, Md.
LIVESTATS ON THE WEB
WAKE FOREST (10-2) at MARYLAND (11-3)
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2003 * 5:00 p.m.
COMCAST CENTER GYMNASIUM, COLLEGE PARK, Md.
LIVESTATS
The University of Maryland women's volleyball team (11-3) opens the ACC portion of its schedule this weekend with matches against conference rivals Duke and Wake Forest, who travel to College Park for their first-ever matches in Comcast Center Gymnasium. Maryland is coming off a 2-1 performance at the Loyola Flattop Grill Invitational on the campus of Loyola University in Chicago, where they earned victories over host Loyola and Xavier, but fell in a five-game thriller to eventual tournament champion Southern Methodist. Maryland finished the weekend in second place and rounding out the standings were Loyola-Chicago in third place and Xavier in fourth.
Smith's Chicago
Sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Smith (Bethesda, Md.) had three impressive performances in the Windy City. In three matches, Smith racked up a team-high 43 kills (3.31 per game) and only five errors for an attack percentage of .447. Smith also posted 15 blocks and an ace to earn a place on the all-tournament team. The honor marked the second consecutive weekend that Smith, along with junior setter Aimee Huddleston (Keller, Texas), has had a spot on an all-tournament team.
Records Watch
Senior right side hitter Lynnsy Jones added her name to yet another school record last weekend. Jones, who already holds school records for kills in a game (33) and a season (533), surpassed Andrea Mandella for career aces. Serving against Southern Methodist, Jones brought her total to 173 career aces, the most of any Terrapin in history.
Huddleston Looks To Break 1,000
Setter Aimee Huddleston has dished out 634 assists in just 14 matches so far this season, bringing her career total to 991. Huddleston, along with middle blocker Stephanie Smith, was named to the Loyola Flattop Invitational's all-tournament team last weekend. In three matches, she had 164 assists (12.62 per game) and had the team hitting .285 for the weekend.
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./.396 4 24 Blocks/72 2 12 Aimee Huddleston Assists/634 3 Blocks/61 T-10 Stephanie Smith Blocks/61 T-10 Att.Pct/.407 3 22 Maria DiLivio Kills/174 8 Aces/23 6 Digs/159 6 Lynnsy Jones Kills/175 6 Aces/29 3 Sarah Treadwell Digs/157 10*Rankings reflect statistics as of September 22*
Duke Blue Devils
The Blue Devils (4-8) are on a five-match losing streak after dropping three at the Gamecock Invitational hosted by South Carolina. Most recently, Duke lost a five-game match to George Washington on Sept. 20. Freshman outside hitter Tealle Hunkus and senior middle blocker Krista Dill led Duke with 16 and 11 kills, and Dill was named to the Gamecock Invitational all-tournament squad. The Blue Devils are coached by Jolene Nagel, who is in her fifth season in Durham. Duke leads the all-time series with Maryland, 27-18, with the last meeting coming on Nov. 22, 2002, in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament in Atlanta, Ga. The Blue Devils prevailed in that match, 3-0.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The Demon Deacons are 10-2 heading into their first weekend of conference play. Wake's only losses of the season have come against Louisville and Illinois. Most recently, Wake Forest blanked Gardner-Webb in Winston-Salem, 3-0. Leading her team was Christy Williams with nine kills (.818). The Demon Deacons are coached by Valorie Baker, who is in her fourth season at the school. Maryland holds a 15-7 all-time advantage over Wake Forest, with the last meeting coming on Oct. 29, 2002, in College Park. The Terrapins won that match, 3-0.
Email Straight To You
If you would like the latest Maryland volleyball news emailed to you as soon as it breaks, email volleyball contact Amy Mulligan at mulligan@wam.umd.edu with "Volleyball Email" as the subject.
