Maryland Volleyball Heads To Clemson and Georgia Tech

Oct. 14, 2004

MARYLAND (8-8, 3-3 ACC) at CLEMSON (11-7, 3-3 ACC)
FRI., OCT. 15, 2004 * 7:00 p.m.
CLEMSON, S.C. * JERVEY GYM (2,000)

MARYLAND at GEORGIA TECH (11-5, 6-0 ACC)
SAT., OCT. 16, 2004 * 7:00 p.m.
ATLANTA, Ga. * O'KEEFE GYMNASIUM (1,356)

The University of Maryland volleyball team travels to hostile territory this weekend, as it faces conference opponents Clemson and Georgia Tech in Jervey Gym and O'Keefe Gymnasium. The Terps (8-8, 3-3 ACC) are coming off a five-game victory over Miami and will square off against the Tigers Friday at 7 p.m. Saturday's contest at Georgia Tech, a rematch of the 2003 ACC Championship in which the Terps won the conference crown, will begin at 7 p.m. Gametracker is available on umterps.com for both matches.

Noting The Terrapins

Maryland returned to Comcast Center Pavilion and split matches with Florida State and Miami last weekend, as it dropped a match to the Seminoles, 3-1, Friday night, but bounced back with a 3-2 victory over Miami on Saturday. The Terps are 8-8 on the year and 3-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The loss to Florida State marked the first time the Terps dropped a match at Comcast Center Pavilion this season. They now hold a 5-1 record on their home court in 2004 and a 16-6 all-time record in the arena.

Maryland won the first-ever volleyball meeting with Miami Saturday, 3-2 (23-30, 30-28, 30-28, 19-30, 15-11). Hurricanes' head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch, a four-year starter for the Maryland volleyball team from 1990-93, faced her alma mater for the first time, but it was Terp head coach Janice Kruger's squad that prevailed.

The Terrapins won two out of three matches with Clemson in 2003, as each team won on the other's home floor during the regular season. The Terrapins went on to best the Tigers in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Orlando, Fla., dominating for a 3-0 victory. Maryland also won the majority of its matches with the Yellow Jackets in 2003, defeating them in Comcast Center Pavilion on Nov. 1 and in the final match of the ACC Tournament. That 3-1 win on Nov. 23, 2003, gave the Terps their third conference title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

As a team, Maryland is averaging nearly three blocks a game and ranks second in the conference in the category behind NC State while outblocking its opponents, 2.98-2.70. Leading the way is junior middle blocker Rachel Wagener, who has recorded 80 blocks on the year and is averaging 1.36 per game (fourth in the ACC). Also providing strong blocking is junior Stephanie Smith, who has posted 75 blocks on the year (including a team-high 16 solo) and averages 1.27 total blocks per game (seventh in the ACC). Smith is also hitting a team-high .303, while Wagener is hitting .291 in 2004.

Joining the middles on the conference top-10 lists is Sarah Treadwell, who ranks ninth in digs (3.69 per game) and Aimee Huddleston, who is eighth in assists (11.66 per game).

Senior Leaders

The hard-hitting combination of Sarah Treadwell and Maria DiLivio has sparked the Maryland offense in 2004. Treadwell averages a team-leading 3.58 kills and 3.69 digs per game, while DiLivio is averaging 2.56 kills and 2.98 digs per game. Senior Jennifer Dewalt, meanwhile, has come on strong for the Terps' block, as she ranks third on the team in the category and averages nearly a block a game. Dewalt has recorded 54 blocks and 100 kills this year.

Freshman Impact

Freshman Beth Gillming, who has played in all but one game and every match for the Terrapins, is making an immediate impact in her first year of collegiate volleyball. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native has appeared in the Terps' starting lineup and ranks fourth on the team for digs per game with 2.72. She has also recorded 16 kills.

Gillming recorded her first career kill on Sept. 3 vs. Kansas State and has seen extensive action in the back row since then. On Sept. 24 vs. Duke, Gillming recorded an impressive career-high 23 digs and followed up that performance with 16 digs in the victory over Wake Forest on Sept. 25. In 16 matches, Gillming has reached double-digits for digs in eight of those contests.

Another freshman with a bright future with the Terps is newcomer Jade Brown, who saw her first action and recorded her first career kill on Oct. 2 at North Carolina. The Atlanta, Ga., native was inserted into the line up and immediately gave the Terps an offensive spark, notching eight kills. She followed that up with a five-kill performance at NC State on Oct. 3. Most recently vs. Florida State on Oct. 8, Brown had a team-high 15 kills.

Record Watch

Sarah Treadwell notched her 1,000th career dig on Sept. 25 at Wake Forest. The senior headed into the match needing nine to hit the milestone and recorded 11 on the night. Treadwell now has 1,061 digs for her career and sits in fourth place on Maryland's all-time list in the category. She is 268 digs away from Carey Brennan's four-year total, 1,329.

Rachel Wagener, already one of the most prolific blockers in Terrapin history, recorded her 303rd career block assist on Oct. 3 at NC State, tying Sherry Smith for Maryland's individual career total in the category. She broke the record in the Terps' next match, Oct. 8 vs. FSU. With 320 career block assists, Wagener is now the school record-holder in the category.

Another Terp poised to hit an impressive milestone is senior Maria DiLivio, who is on pace to join the elite club of Maryland volleyball players who have recorded both 1,000 kills and digs for their careers. DiLivio needs 32 kills for 1,000 on her career and is on track for 1,000 digs as well.

Last Time Out: Maryland 3, Miami 2

The University of Maryland earned a conference victory last Saturday night, defeating Miami, 3-2 (23-30, 30-28, 30-28, 19-30, 15-11), at Comcast Center Pavilion. Senior Sarah Treadwell had an outstanding performance for the victorious Terps, as she had 20 kills and 24 digs, and Maryland evened its record to 8-8 overall, 3-3 in conference action.

Treadwell was one kill shy of her career-high, as she had 20 on 48 swings and hit .250. Her 24 digs was a team-high and she also contributed a block and two assists. Stephanie Smith and Maria DiLivio also had standout nights for the Terps, as Smith notched 11 kills and four blocks, while DiLivio registered eight kills, 22 digs and two aces.

The teams played back and forth early in the match before the Hurricanes stretched out a 19-14 lead on a kill by Karla Johnson. Although the Terps would battle to within three points at 21-18 on a Jade Brown kill, they would get no closer as Miami took the first game, 30-23. Brown, who got her first career start, finished the night with nine kills, two digs and a block.

Treadwell and DiLivio had five and four kills, respectively, in game two and the Terps earned the 30-28 victory despite being out-hit by the Hurricanes, .220-.159.

The Terps fell behind early in game three, as Miami was able to open up a five-point lead at 14-9, but the Terps eventually tied the game on a Rachel Wagener block. Wagener finished with eight kills and a team-high five blocks. The Terps were able to keep up the pressure and earned a 30-28 third-game victory.

In game four, Miami capitalized on Maryland's .190 team attack percentage, got six kills from Valeria Tipiana and won the game, 30-19. Tipiana led Miami with 21 kills and 20 digs.

The fifth and decisive game was back and forth until Treadwell gave the Terps a 10-9 lead with a cross-court kill and DiLivio followed up with a service ace to extend the lead to two points. From there, Maryland never trailed again and got a kill from Jennifer Dewalt on match point to take the fifth game, 15-11. Dewalt finished with eight kills, three digs and three blocks.

Freshman Beth Gillming had another solid defensive effort with 14 digs, with Aimee Huddleston had 52 assists, eight digs and four blocks in an outstanding all-around effort. For Maryland, it was their second five-game victory of the year and the squad earned a win despite being out-blocked, 13-10, and out-hit, .223-.170. The Terps are now 5-1 at Comcast Center Pavilion this year.

Fresh Faces

Including Gillming and Brown, Kruger's squad welcomes five new faces in 2004. Charese Baldwin, Jade Brown, Mary Beth Brown, Gillming and Katie Luhrsen are the Terps' class of 2008, along with redshirt freshman Tina Aramburu.

Luhrsen got her first collegiate action at the Houston Invitational, playing in two games vs. California on Sept. 4. Luhrsen had a strong showing, as she tallied eight digs and two assists. On Oct. 9 vs Miami, Luhrsen saw time at libero and notched nine digs.

Baldwin played in her first collegiate match vs. Towson on Sept. 15. She recorded her first career kills on Sept. 18 vs. Georgetown, including the match-winner.

Aramburu earned her first collegiate experience vs. Georgetown on Sept. 18, notching a dig.

Scouting Clemson

The Tigers have an 11-7 (3-3 ACC) record after defeating Wake Forest (30-26, 28-30, 30-24, 30-22) on Oct. 9. In that match, Leslie Finn led Clemson with 22 kills and 12 digs, while Anna Vallinch added 21 digs and Lori Ashton posted 13 kills, four digs and a team-high seven blocks. The Tigers' conference losses have come at the hands of North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

Finn leads the ACC in kills, averaging 5.27 per game and also averages 2.75 digs per game for the Tigers. Ashton ranks fifth in the conference for hitting percentage (.329) and tenth for kills (3.63 per game). Valinch is third in the ACC for digs with 4.62 per game.

Clemson, as a team, ranks second in the conference in aces (1.78 per game), fourth in hitting percentage (.237) and fourth in assists (14.31 per game).

The Clemson program is in its 12th season with Jolene Jordan Hoover at the helm. Hoover has compiled a 244-136 record in Clemson.

Maryland holds a slight edge in the all-time series, 24-23, and won two out of three matches with the Tigers last season. The teams' last meeting, on Nov. 22, 2003 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, resulted in a 3-0 Maryland victory.

In that match, The second-seeded Maryland Terrapins defeated the sixth-seeded Clemson Tigers, 3-0 (30-26, 31-29, 30-25) at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. With the win, Terps' head coach Janice Kruger became the all-time winningest coach in ACC volleyball history. She earned her 302nd ACC win and surpassed former Duke coach Jon Wilson's 301 conference victories. Sarah Treadwell continued her strong performance at the conference tournament, posting 11 kills and eight digs, while Jennifer Dewalt had a stellar performance off the bench with nine kills (.350), two digs and two blocks. Rachel Wagener hit a team-high .643, had nine kills and added six blocks.

Terps head coach Janice Kruger is 15-18 all-time against Clemson.

Scouting Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech, the 2003 ACC regular-season champion, enters the weekend at 11-5 overall (6-0 ACC). The Yellow Jackets are on a nine-match win streak and have not been defeated in ACC play.

In its last match, Georgia Tech dominated Duke (30-22, 30-21, 30-26). In that match, Lynnette Moster had 21 kills and 14 digs to lead the Jackets.

Moster ranks second in the ACC for kills per game (5.17) and for service aces (0.49 per game). ACC Player of the Week Jayme Gergen leads the league in hitting percentage (.403) and is sixth for blocks (1.30 per game).

Georgia Tech, as a team, leads the league in hitting percentage (.294), kills per game (18.00) and assists per game (16.75).

Georgia Tech head coach Bond Shymansky is in his third year and has compiled a 78-15 record in Atlanta.

Maryland leads the all-time series with Georgia Tech, 22-16, including victories in two out of three matches in 2003. The teams' most recent meeting, for the 2003 ACC Championship, resulted in a 3-1 Terrapin victory on Nov. 23, 2003, in Orlando, Fla.

In that match, the second-seeded Maryland Terrapins upset the first-seeded Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 3-1 (26-30, 33-31, 30-27, 30-22). Three Terrapins posted double-doubles including tournament MVP Lynnsy Jones with a team high 18 kills and 14 digs, Maria DiLivio (11 kills, 15 digs) and Sarah Treadwell (15 kills and a game-high 21 digs).

Maryland Picked To Finish Second In ACC

The University of Maryland volleyball team was selected to finish second in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Terrapins, who earned the school's third ACC title a season ago, earned 112 points and finished just behind Georgia Tech with 116 points. Rounding out the top was North Carolina (93) and Wake Forest (78).

Huddleston And Wagener: Preseason All-ACC

Senior setter Aimee Huddleston, a first-team All-ACC selection last season, and Rachel Wagener, a second-team honoree in 2003, represent Maryland on the preseason All-ACC squad.

Huddleston is averaging 11.66 assists per game while contributing 1.85 digs per game.

Wagener is averaging 2.47 kills per game and has posted 80 blocks on the year (1.36 per game).

Kruger Embarks On 17th Season At Maryland

Janice Kruger, who became the ACC's all-time winningest coach last season, returns for her 17th year at the helm of the Terrapins. Her record at Maryland is 312-206, while her overall record is 687-311-6. Last season's ACC Coach of the Year and AVCA Region Coach of the Year, Kruger won her third ACC Championship and made her fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

2004 Schedule: One Of The Toughest

Maryland, which captured the ACC Championship last season en route to its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance, faced three teams that advanced to the 2003 NCAA Sweet Sixteen within the first two weeks of the fall schedule.

Maryland's home tournament took place on Sept. 17-18 in Comcast Center Pavilion and proved that its home court is a tough place to play. With four wins at home in the 2004 campaign, Maryland is now 13-5 all-time in Comcast Center.

The Terps opened the ACC portion of their schedule on Sept. 24-25 at Duke and Wake Forest, earning a victory over the Demon Deacons but falling to the Blue Devils.

New to the ACC this year are Miami and Virginia Tech. Miami head coach, Nicole Lantagne Welch, is a former Maryland setter and faced her former coach in Kruger. The Terps prevailed in a five-game battle in the first volleyball meeting between the teams.

The Terrapins, who defeated Georgia Tech, 3-1, for the 2003 ACC Tournament title will look to defend their crown at this year's tournament which is being held in Charlottesville, Va., on Nov. 18-21.

The team will have a final regular-season game after that tournament, a home contest vs. Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 27.

Up Next

Following this weekend's road trip, the Terps return for a four-match homestand in Comcast Center Pavilion next week. Wake Forest and Duke travel to College Park for matches on Fri., Oct. 22 and Sat., Oct. 23, respectively, while Virginia and Maryland will play a Tuesday night matchup on Oct. 26.

Email Straight To You

If you would like the latest Maryland volleyball news emailed to you directly as soon as it breaks, email volleyball contact Amy Mulligan at mulligan@umd.edu with "Volleyball Email" as the subject and you will receive every update distributed on the team.

Maryland Volleyball Heads To Clemson and Georgia Tech

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