Terrapin Volleyball Team Opens Home Slate Tonight vs. Towson

Sept. 15, 2004

MARYLAND (1-5, 0-0 ACC) vs. TOWSON (4-4, 0-0 CAA)
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 15, 2004 * 7:00 p.m.
COMCAST CENTER PAVILION (1,500) * COLLEGE PARK, Md.

The University of Maryland volleyball team opens the home portion of its schedule on Wednesday, Sept. 15, with a 7 p.m. match against in-state rival Towson at Comcast Center Pavilion. Maryland will look to win its 10th-straight against the Tigers and follow up last year's 3-1 victory in Towson.

The Terps are coming off of a weekend at the First National Bank/Arby's Classic at the University of Nebraska, where they went 1-2 with a win against Ball State and losses to the No. 2 Huskers and Florida A&M.

Noting The Terrapins

Maryland faced its third top-15 opponent of the season in No. 2 Nebraska at the First National Bank/Arby's Classic in Lincoln, Neb. (No. 10 California and No. 14 Kansas State were the others). Although the Terps were swept by the Huskers, they did get their first victory of the year at the tournament, a 3-1 win over Ball State. In its other match of the weekend, Maryland dropped a three-game match to tournament champion Florida A&M.

The weekend in Nebraska marked the return of head coach Janice Kruger to her home state and alma mater. Kruger, the 2003 ACC and AVCA Region Coach of the Year had this to say about playing against the Huskers: "It was a privilege to come back to Nebraska and play the No. 2 team in the nation. I am proud of my team and the way that we fought and it was a great experience."

Senior outside hitter Sarah Treadwell continues to pace the Terrapins both offensively and defensively. An all-tournament team selection in Lincoln, Treadwell is averaging a team-high 3.52 kills per game and 3.62 digs per game. Her digs per game average ranks her seventh in the ACC this year.

Joining Treadwell on the conference's top-10 lists is junior middle blocker Stephanie Smith. Smith is averaging 1.24 blocks per game (eighth-best in the ACC) and has tallied 20 total blocks on the year. As a team, Maryland is ranked fourth in the conference in blocks, averaging 2.67 per game.

Maryland has won nine-straight matches vs. Towson, dating back to an Oct. 29, 1976 loss to the Tigers. Towson won that match, 2-1 (7-15, 15-5, 15-13), and it remains the only victory the program has earned over the Terrapins. Maryland leads the all-time series, 21-1.

Wednesday's match marks the first of the 2004 campaign in Comcast Center Pavilion. In the short time the Terrapins have called the gymnasium home, it has already seen its share of historic moments and proven to be a tough place for opponents. The Terps hold a 12-5 record in Comcast Center, and the when 2003 ACC champion Maryland earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, Comcast Center was selected as a host site. It was also the site of the biggest upset in program history, a victory over then-No. 4 Georgia Tech in front of over 1,200 fans.

Last Time Out: No. 2 Nebraska 3, Maryland 0

In its final match of the First National Bank/Arby's Classic, the Maryland volleyball team dropped a three-game match (30-19, 30-17, 30-23) to No. 2 and host Nebraska. The Terrapins were led by Maria DiLivio with nine kills and Sarah Treadwell with 18 digs.

Treadwell was named to the all-tournament team after three solid performances in Lincoln. Rachel Wagener added six kills and four blocks for the Terps.

The match marked the return of Maryland head coach Janice Kruger, who played at Nebraska and later coached at Nebraska-Omaha before taking over the Terrapin program.

Freshman Sarah Pavan paced NU with 11 kills and four other players had at least six kills in the Huskers' win.

Fresh Faces

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

Gillming has seen extensive action in the back row and on the outside after recording her first career kill on Sept. 3 vs. Kansas State. In the Terps' win over Ball State, Gillming tallied an impressive career-high 16 digs. She followed up with a two-kill, 14-dig performance on Sept. 12 vs. No. 2 Nebraska.

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.

Scouting Towson

The Tigers have an even 4-4 record after dropping a four-game match to Virginia Tuesday night in Charlottesville. April Hoffman, Meghan Evans and Sarah Miller led Towson offensively. Hoffman registered 14 kills while Miller added 13 and Evans had 11. Mary Clare Coghlan hit .417 for the match and handed out 46 assists. Liz Goubeaux had a good night from the service line, hitting three aces for the Tigers. As a team, Towson hit .209 and had 11.0 blocks.

Going into Tuesday's match, Melissa Waybrant was averaging 3.82 kills per game for the Tigers.

Head coach Chris Riley is in his fifth season as the head coach of Towson University. Since becoming the Tiger coach in 2000, he has led the Tigers to a pair of conference regular season championships, three straight 20-win seasons and a 91-38 record.

The Maryland-Towson Series

Maryland leads the all-time series with Towson, 21-1, including a 3-1 victory last season at the Towson Center. The series dates back to 1972, and Towson's only win over the Terps came on Oct. 29, 1976 - a 2-1 (7-15, 15-5, 15-13) victory in Salisbury, Md.

Terp head coach Janice Kruger is 3-0 all-time vs. the Tigers with victories during the 2003, 2002 and 1994 seasons.

A season ago, Maryland pulled out a 3-1 (30-22, 30-19, 20-30, 30-20) win in Towson. Leading the Terps in that match was Maria DiLivio with 11 kills, 15 digs and three blocks. Also with strong showings were Rachel Wagener (11 kills, four blocks), Stephanie Smith (eight blocks) and Sarah Treadwell (9 kills, 12 digs).

In 2002, the Terps earned a 3-0 (30-19, 30-23, 30-21) victory over the Tigers in College Park. Jennifer Dewalt had five kills and hit .625 in that match, while Treadwell posted three kills and three digs and Wagener managed nine kills and five blocks.

Terps In The Polls

In the preseason AVCA/USA TODAY Coaches Poll, Maryland was the top vote-getter outside the Top 25. After finishing the 2003 season ranked No. 25 after winning the ACC Championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Terps had barely fallen out of the poll with 112 points. After tough losses, including three to teams ranked in the Top 15, the Terps have dropped out of the poll.

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 three 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 10.48 assists per game while contributing 2.00 digs per game.

Wagener is averaging 1.95 kills per game and has posted 23 blocks on the year (1.10 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 305-206, while her overall record is 680-311-6. 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 will take place on Sept. 17-18 in Comcast Center Pavilion. The Terps play host to Northern Arizona, Georgetown and Butler, before opening the ACC portion of their schedule on Sept. 24 at Duke.

New to the ACC this year are Miami and Virginia Tech. Miami head coach, Nicole Lantagne Welch, is a former Maryland setter and will face her former coach in Kruger.

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 Wednesday night's match vs. Towson, the Terrapins will continue their homestand with the Maryland Invitational on Sept. 17-18. Maryland faces Northern Arizona Friday night at 7 p.m., followed by Saturday matches vs. Georgetown at 11 a.m. and Butler at 7:30 p.m.

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.

Terrapin Volleyball Team Opens Home Slate Tonight vs. Towson

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