Maryland Volleyball Takes On Wake Forest Thursday At ACC Tourney

Nov. 17, 2004

2004 ACC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
No. 7 MARYLAND (12-14, 7-9) vs. No. 10 WAKE FOREST (12-15, 12-4)
THURS., NOV. 18, 2004 * 5:00 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. * MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM (2,500)

The University of Maryland volleyball team will begin defense of its conference crown when it heads to the ACC Tournament as the No. 7 seed and faces the 10th-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons at University of Virginia's Memorial Gymnasium on Thursday, Nov. 18, at 5 p.m. The winner of Thursday's match will advance to face No. 2 seed Miami in the quarterfinal round, played Friday at 5 p.m. The semifinals will be on Saturday, Nov. 20, and the title match will take place on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m.

Maryland wrapped up its regular season last weekend in College Park and finished league play in a three-way tie for seventh place. The Terrapins head into the ACC Tournament with a 12-14 overall record (7-9 ACC).

Noting The Terrapins At The ACC Tournament

The Terrapins enter the tournament as defending champions, having captured the 2003 ACC Championship in Orlando, Fla., with a 3-1 win over Georgia Tech. Also with wins in 1990 and 1996, the Terps are going for the fourth conference title in school history.

Maryland is 26-25 all-time at the ACC Tournament and has made it to the final match four times, beating North Carolina in 1990 (3-1) and Georgia Tech in 1996 (3-0) and 2003 (3-1), and losing to the Yellow Jackets in 1995 (0-3).

The Terps have been the No. 7 seed just once in the tournament's history, and have never lost a tournament contest to their first-round opponent and No. 10 seed, Wake Forest.

The Terps have been to the semifinal round at the ACC Championships 16 times.

Against conference schools, Maryland has the best all-time tournament record against Wake Forest (1-0). North Carolina has the top record against the Terps, as the Tar Heels have bested them seven times.

In ACC Tournament matches in Charlottesville, the Terrapins are 0-2, with losses to Clemson in 1982 (3-0) and Virginia in 1991 (3-1).

Earlier this season, the Terps split matches with Wake Forest, defeating the Demon Deacons on the road (3-1), but falling to them at home in three games.

Here is a breakdown of the Terrapins' record against conference opponents this year and all-time at the ACC Tournament:

School          This Year          ACC Tourney
Clemson            1-1                  6-4
Duke               1-1		    5-5
Florida State	 1-1                  1-2
Georgia Tech	 0-2                  5-1
North Carolina	 0-1                  2-7
NC State           1-0                  3-3
Wake Forest        1-1                  1-0
Virginia           0-1                  3-2
Miami              1-1                  N/A
Virginia Tech      1-0                  N/A

Terps In The ACC Rankings

For the second week in a row, Maryland leads the ACC in blocks, averaging over three a game. In out-blocking its opponents, 3.05-2.53, Maryland is ranked 18th in the nation in the category. Leading the way are junior middle blockers Stephanie Smith and Rachel Wagener, who have each recorded at least 128 total blocks for the Terps in 2004. Smith has 136 blocks on the year (including a team-high 24 solo) and is averaging 1.37 per game (third in the ACC). Also strong is Wagener, who has posted 128 blocks on the year and averages 1.29 total blocks per game (seventh in the ACC). Offensively, Wagener is hitting a team-high .295, while Smith's attack percentage is .272.

Wagener and Brown: All ACC Selections

Rachel Wagener is a second-team All-ACC honoree and Jade Brown is a member of the ACC all-freshman squad, the conference announced at the annual tournament banquet Wednesday night.

Wagener, a two-time second-team member has led the Terps' block all season while also contributing offensive firepower. Already the school record-holder for blocks in a season (200 in 2003), block assists in a season (177 in 2003; also an ACC record) and career block assists (363 and counting), the junior is also quickly approaching the career mark for total blocks, 417 set by Kelli Myers from 1987-89. With just nine more rejections, Wagener will tie Myers' mark and with 10 more will become Maryland's all-time leader in the category.

Brown, who recorded her first-career kill on Oct. 2 at North Carolina, has exploded onto the conference scene by averaging 3.32 kills per game and notching over 150 kills this season. In 14 matches, the Atlanta, Ga., native has reached double digits in kills eight times, highlighted by a 24-kill performance on Oct. 22 vs. Wake Forest.

Freshman Sensation

Another freshman, Beth Gillming, who has played in all but one game and every match for the Terrapins, is also having an outstanding debut season. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native has appeared in the Terps' starting lineup and ranks third on the team for digs per game with 2.95. She has also recorded 22 kills and leads the team with 20 service aces. Gillming recorded her first career kill on Sept. 3 vs. Kansas State and has seen extensive action in the back row since then. She was dominant at the libero position vs. Duke on Oct. 23, recording a career-hig 32 digs (a team-high for the year). In 26 matches, Gillming has reached double-digits for digs in 14 of those contests.

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 1,199 digs for her career and sits in fourth place on Maryland's all-time list in the category. She is 130 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 363 career block assists, Wagener is now the school record-holder in the category.

The junior is also quickly approaching Maryland's career total blocks record, as she currently has 409 in less than three seasons. The school record is 418, set by Kelli Myers from 1987-89.

Scouting Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons have a 12-15 overall record and come to the ACC Tournament with a 4-12 ACC mark. Wake is on a one-match win streak after beating Virginia Tech at home, 3-1, on Nov. 13.

Wake Forest is led by Kim Stern with 348 kills on the year (3.48 per game) and Valerie Rydberg with 291 kills (3.34 per game). Klarysa Henry leads the team in digs by averaging 3.97 per game.

Maryland leads the all-time series with Wake Forest, 18-8, but fell to the Deacs 3-2 in the last meeting on Oct. 22 in College Park.

In that match, Jade Brown led all players with a career-high 24 kills and three service aces and registered her first-career double-double with 14 digs, and also added five blocks (two solo). The Terrapins had a balanced attack, as five players, including Brown, were in double digits in the kills category. Sarah Treadwell notched 16 kills to go with 15 digs for her 12th double-double of the year, while Rachel Wagener posted 14 kills and four blocks.

Wake Forest is coached by Valorie Baker, who is in her fifth season.

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. Baldwin, who saw her first playing time in an ACC match on Oct. 3 at NC State, also came off the bench strong on Oct. 22 vs. Wake Forest by tallying two block assists.

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

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 11.77 assists per game while contributing 2.08 digs per game.

Wagener is averaging 2.49 kills per game and has posted 128 blocks on the year (1.29 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 316-212, while her overall record is 691-317-6. 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.

Maryland Volleyball Takes On Wake Forest Thursday At ACC Tourney

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