Terp Volleyball Takes On Clemson and Georgia Tech

Nov. 16, 2006

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Terrapins look to build on their (4-14 ACC, 11-16) record as they head south for their final road contests of the season to take on Clemson and Georgia Tech as conference play winds down. The Terps face Clemson (12-6 ACC, 17-8) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Georgia Tech (10-8 ACC, 17-10) on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Both games this weekend can be followed on Gametracker, while the match against Georgia Tech can be viewed live online by signing on to ACC Select.

Post Season Play

For the second consecutive year, a conference tournament is not held in the sport of volleyball. Conference leader Duke (17-1 ACC, 24-3) holds a three match lead over Virginia (14-4 ACC, 21-6), as the ACC Champion is determined by the team with the best conference record. The Terps had won three-consecutive ACC Championships (2003, 2004 and 2005).

A Look at the Terps

The Terps (3.19 bpg) are ranked second in the ACC behind Clemson (3.26 bpg) and are twentieth in the NCAA in blocks. Freshman middle blocker Katie Usher leads Maryland with 155 blocks and is nineteenth in the NCAA and third in the ACC with 1.52 bpg. Redshirt sophomore Mary Beth Brown has (1.01 bpg) 97 blocks for the squad.

Maryland holds a .176 hitting percentage and is led by junior outside hitter Jade Brown (.204) who is tenth in the league. Junior outside hitter Beth Gillming (.159) has a 2.00 kpg, while Mary Beth Brown (.186) has a 2.10 kpg. Aramburu (.118) has 59 kills and 47 blocks for the Terps this season.

Sophomore Maggie Schmelzle holds the team-high of 312 digs for a 3.03 dpg, helping the team to a 13.27 dpg. Gillming is second with 2.95, while Jade Brown has 2.29 dpg.

Senior setter Teryn Papp has 5.10 assists per game this season, as she is ranked seventh on Maryland's career record list for assists with 1,286.

Last Weekend's Notes

The Terps suffered two losses over the weekend, dropping both matches 3-1, against Wake Forest, (20-30, 25-30, 32-30, and 30-27) and Duke (30-26, 22-30, 16-30, 28-30).

In the contest against the Demon Deacons, Jade Brown (15 kills-10 digs) and Gillming (11 kills-12 digs) notched their twelfth and sixth double-doubles of the season, respectively. Mary Beth Brown (.381) recorded nine kills for the Terps, while Schmelzle added eight as she returned to the outside hitter position.

The Terps outblocked the Deacs (19-16), with freshman Usher led all players with nine block assists and one solo block. Schmelzle had two solo blocks, as redshirt sophomore Kathleen Wilson had six total blocks for the Terps.

The Terps outblocked Duke (12-5), as Jade Brown (.279) led all Terrapins with 16 kills, while Usher (.500) added nine kills and four blocks. Redshirt sophomore Wilson led all Terps with three solo blocks and four block assists.

Gillming had 16 digs for the Terps, while Schmelzle notched 12, helping the Terps to a total of 52 digs. Freshman Hayley Hanson recorded 26 assists for the team.

Brown has posted double-digit kills in 20-of-26 matches this season. Record Watch

Jade Brown is now eighth on Maryland's single-season list for total attacks with 2,641 for her career. She also holds 950 career kills with four matches remaining in the regular season.

Freshman Katie Usher is fifth on Maryland's single-season record list in block assists with 149, while also breaking into the top ten list in total blocks with 155.

Currently holding 1,186 career digs, junior co-captain Gillming surpassed her 1,000 career dig this season in the match against NC State. She also is ranked tenth for digs in a single-season with 434 digs, compiled during the 2004 season.

About Clemson

Clemson (12-6 ACC, 17-9) dropped a Tuesday night matchup against Georgia Tech (30-28,26-30,30-24,29-31,6-15) and is currently third in the league. The Tigers split matches last weekend (Nov.10-12) and have won four of their last seven matches. The Tigers fell to North Carolina , 3-2 (30-18,30-26,24-30,20-30,15-17), yet rebounded with a sweep over NC State (30-21,30-19,30-24).

Four Tiger players notched double-digit kills against Clemson, with Danielle Hepburn leading Clemson with 18. In last weekend's matches, Jeannette Abbott notched 23 kills against North Carolina, while Hepburn matched her career-high of ten blocks against the Tarheels. Both Abbott and Meghan Steiner notched 14 kills in the contest against the Wolf Pack.

Clemson posts a .236 hitting percentage, and is first in the league in blocks with 3.23 bpg and fourteenth nationally. Abbott leads the ACC with 4.60 kpg. Hepburn is fourth in the NCAA and leads the league in blocks (1.75 bpg), while she is also ranked first in the ACC in hitting percentage (.367).

The Tigers are 10-3 at home in the Tiger Pit in Clemson, S.C. The Terps fell to the Tigers 3-0 (30-32,25-30,22-30) on Oct. 8 in the Comcast Center.

Scouting Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is running a seven-game winning streak, dating back to the 3-2 win over Duke on Oct. 27 to knock the Blue Devils out of the AVCA/CSTV top 25. The Yellow Jackets won four-consecutive road games, including a sweep over NC State (30-23,30-21,30-27) and a five-game match over North Carolina (24-30,20-30,30-13,30-20, 15-12) last weekend (Nov. 10-12), followed by the win over Clemson Tuesday night.

The Yellow Jackets posted a .258 hitting percentage in the contest over Clemson, with four players collecting double-digit digs. Lindsey Gray led Georgia Tech with 18 kills, while the team collected 89 digs in the five-game match (28-30,30-26,24-30,31-29,15-6).

The Yellow Jackets are second in the ACC in hitting percentage (.258) and are led by Talisa Kellogg (.255) with a 3.52 kpg and Ulrike Stegemann (.311) with a 2.85 kpg.

Allie Niekamp is third in the ACC with 11.73 assists per game, while the team registers 13.64 a/g..

On defense, Nikki Kaminskas holds the team-high of 1.06 bpg, while the Yellow Jackets post a 2.42 bpg. Abby Showers has 3.94 dpg, as the team holds 14.68 dpg.

The Yellow Jackets are 11-3 at home this season. Maryland won the last contest against Georgia Tech on Oct. 6 as the Terps posted a dramatic, five-game win over the Yellow Jackets (16-30,30-23,22-30,30-26,15-13). Jade Brown recorded her season high of 23 kills in the match, as Usher notched 13 blocks for her season-high of blocks.

Coming Up

Maryland returns to Comcast to host NC State and North Carolina at the Comcast Center when the season wraps up (Nov. 24-25). The Terps will host Senior Day on Nov. 24 where seniors Tina Aramburu and Teryn Papp will be recognized.

Players Mentioned

Tina Aramburu

Jade Brown

Mary Beth Brown

Beth Gillming

Hayley Hanson

Teryn Papp

Maggie Schmelzle

Katie Usher

Kathleen Wilson

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