Terps Host Maryland Volleyball Invitational Friday And Saturday

Sept. 16, 2004

Volleyball Viewpoint: Beth Gillming

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
**All matches in Comcast Center Pavilion, admission is free

BUTLER (4-4) vs. GEORGETOWN (6-1
FRIDAY, SEPT. 17, 2004 * 5:00 p.m.

MARYLAND (2-5) vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA (1-6)
FRIDAY, SEPT. 17, 2004 * 7:00 p.m.

MARYLAND vs. GEORGETOWN
SATURDAY, SEPT. 18, 2004 * 11:00 a.m.

NORTHERN ARIZONA vs. BUTLER
SATURDAY, SEPT. 18., 2004 * 1:00 p.m.

GEORGETOWN vs. NORTHERN ARIZONA
SATURDAY, SEPT. 18, 2004 * 5:30 p.m.

MARYLAND vs. BUTLER
SATURDAY, SEPT. 18, 2004 * 7:30 p.m.

The University of Maryland volleyball team continues its four-match homestand with the 2004 Maryland Invitational in Comcast Center Pavilion on Friday and Saturday. The Terps are coming off an impressive 3-0 victory over Towson on Wednesday night and will play host to non-conference opponents Northern Arizona, Georgetown and Butler. In the first night of action on Friday, Butler and Georgetown square off at 5 p.m. before Maryland takes on Northern Arizona at 7 p.m.

The tournament is the final weekend of non-ACC action for the Terps, as they travel to North Carolina next weekend for their conference-opening matches at Duke and Wake Forest.

Noting The Terrapins

Maryland opened the home portion of its schedule on Wednesday night and earned its second win of the year, a 3-0 (30-26, 33-31, 30-22) victory over Towson. With the win, Maryland improved to 13-5 all-time in Comcast Center Pavilion and to 22-1 all-time vs. the Tigers. The Terps also ran their 2004 record to 2-5.

Since head coach Janice Kruger took over the Terrapin program in 1988, the Terps have hosted at least one regular-season home tournament in 12 of the last 16 years. Kruger's squads have amassed an impressive 39-9 record in these invitationals.

Senior outside hitter Sarah Treadwell continues to enjoy a stellar senior season, as she leads the team in both kills per game (3.83) and digs per game (3.33). The outside hitter, who is quickly approaching the 1,000-dig plateau for her career, was named to the First National Bank/Arby's Classic all-tournament team in Lincoln, Neb., last weekend, and her digging average ranks her seventh in the ACC this year. With 68 more digs, Treadwell will surpass 1,000 for her career.

Also getting close to career milestones is senior Maria DiLivio, who is on pace to join the elite club of Maryland players who have registered both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs during their careers.

Joining Treadwell on the conference's top-10 lists is junior middle blocker Stephanie Smith. Smith is averaging 1.25 blocks per game (eighth-best in the ACC) and has tallied 30 total blocks on the year. Smith also leads the team with six solo blocks, while Maryland, as a team, is ranked fourth in the conference in blocks, averaging 2.67 per game.

When Maryland and Georgetown face each other Saturday, it will be the 55th meeting between the two teams. The series dates all the way back to the inaugural Maryland volleyball season in 1971 and Maryland has played the Hoyas more than any other team in the country over the past 32 years.

Wednesday's match marked the first of the 2004 campaign in Comcast Center Pavilion and this weekend's round-robin tournament is the first of its kind in Comcast Center this year. 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 13-5 record in the pavilion, 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: Maryland 3, Towson 0

Sarah Treadwell led all players with 18 kills and Maria DiLivio registered the only double-double of the match as the University of Maryland volleyball team defeated Towson, 3-0 (30-26, 33-31, 30-22), at Comcast Center Pavilion Wednesday night. With the win, the Terps improved to 2-5 on the season, while Towson fell to 4-5.

DiLivio finished with 13 kills and 12 digs while hitting .300, and Treadwell notched four digs and hit .282 for the Terps. Towson was led by April Hoffman with 14 kills, Sarah Miller with nine kills and 12 digs and Christina Birog with a game-high 17 digs.

Game one was closely contested as the teams played to five consecutive ties before Towson gained a two-point lead at 7-5. Maryland would tie the score at 8-8, however, on a block by Jennifer Dewalt and Stephanie Smith, and Treadwell's seven first-game kills led the Terps to a 30-26 victory. Dewalt finished the match with six kills and a team-high six blocks, while Smith added nine kills and four blocks.

Towson led by as many as four points late in game two, but the Terps battled to within one point at 24-25. At that point, sophomore setter Teryn Papp entered the game to serve. After a Towson attack error that tied the score at 25, Papp delivered an ace and the Terps won the next two points to go up, 28-25. Although Towson was able to tie the game, 31-31, on a kill from Sarah Miller, the Terrapins would win the next two points and the game by a score of 33-31.

The third game was all Terrapins as they hit a blistering .562 as a team en route to the 30-22 victory. Maryland outhit the Tigers, .346 to .180 for the match, and outblocked Towson eight to three.

Junior libero Rachel Moore, starting her first game at the position for the Terrapins, recorded a team-high 13 digs. Freshman middle blocker Charese Baldwin saw the first action of her career, while fellow freshman Beth Gillming tallied eight digs and a kill. Rachel Wagener and Aimee Huddleston also had strong showings for Maryland, as Wagener had six kills while hitting .667 and Huddleston dished out 46 assists and had eight digs, four kills and a block.

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 on Sept. 10, 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. While playing in 23 games on the season, Gillming is averaging 2.00 digs per game.

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.

Baldwin played in her first collegiate match vs. Towson on Sept. 15.

Scouting Northern Arizona

The Lumberjacks have a 1-6 record after most recently dropping a three-game match to Akron on Sept. 11. NAU's win came on Sept. 10, a three game sweep of Rider.

Ellie Butterfield (4.00 kills per game) and Katy Knowlton (3.33 kills per game) lead Northern Arizona offensively, while Marie Pastores (4.96 digs per game) and Butterfield (3.29 digs per game) anchor the defense. Pastores' average ranks her tops in the Big Sky conference.

One player averages over a block per game for NAU, Renee Lathrop. She has recorded 1.12 blocks per game in 2004.

The Lumberjack program just began its first season under acting head coach Chris Campbell, who has a Division I record of 46-43 in three seasons at Lousiana-Lafayette.

Maryland is 0-1 all-time against Northern Arizona, with the only meeting coming on Sept. 4, 1989. The Lumberjacks won that match in College Park by a score of 15-4, 4-15, 15-12, 15-11.

Scouting Georgetown

Georgetown enters the weekend at 6-1 overall, with its only loss coming to Tulane.

Maryland leads the all-time series with the Hoyas, 40-14, including a road win during the 2002 season. The Terrapins won that match, the most recent between the two teams, 3-1 (30-26, 27-30, 30-25, 30-28).

Terp head coach Janice Kruger is 4-6 all-time vs. the Hoyas.

Georgetown is led by Sara Albert, who averages 3.65 kills per game for the Hoyas. Like the Terrapins, Georgetown has three players who are averaging over a block a game - they are Albert, Annie Connor and Jenny Weed. Defensively, Katie Nulty leads the team with 3.77 digs per game.

In 2002, the Terps earned a 3-1 victory over the Tigers in Washington, D.C. Maryland got 17 kills from Sarah Treadwell, who as a sophomore in '02 started her first collegiate game vs. the Hoyas. Rachel Wagener also earned her the first starting assignment of her career in that match.

Georgetown is coached by Li Liu.

Scouting Butler

Butler is 4-4 on the year, including a 3-1 victory over Saint Louis on Sept. 14.

The Bulldogs are paced by hitters Kali Carter (5.09 kills per game) and Areal Bienemy (4.15 kills per game).

Bienemy is also averaging 1.39 blocks per game while Megan Knightly tallies 4.42 digs per game.

This will be the first meeting between Butler and Maryland.

Head coach Sharon Clark is in her fifth season at the helm of Butler volleyball and the Bulldogs were picked to win the Horizon league this season.

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 11.08 assists per game while contributing 2.08 digs per game and 1.00 kills per game.

Wagener is averaging 1.96 kills per game and has posted 27 blocks on the year (1.12 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 306-203, while her overall record is 681-308-6. 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 takes 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 this weekend's tournament, the Terrapins will hit the road for conference matches vs. Duke and Wake Forest. On Friday, Sept. 24, Maryland takes on Duke in Durham, N.C., followed by a 6 p.m. Saturday match at Wake Forest.

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.

Terps Host Maryland Volleyball Invitational Friday And Saturday

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