Volleyball Hosts Home Invitational this Weekend
9/4/2008 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland volleyball team plays its first home matches of the season this weekend as the Terrapins welcome Missouri, Kentucky and St. John's to College Park for the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Maryland Volleyball Invitational.
After going 1-2 last weekend at the VCU Third Degree Sportswear Invitational in Richmond, Va., the Terps face a challenging task this weekend as all three visiting schools made the NCAA Tournament in 2007.
The Terps are trying to defend the championship in their home tournament after knocking off New Hampshire, James Madison and Temple to claim the crown a year ago.
Maryland does not have much history with any of this weekend's opponents. Maryland has never played Missouri or St. John's and has played Kentucky only three times in its history. Kentucky leads the all-time series, 2-1, but the Terps claimed the last match, ousting the Wildcats in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament in five sets.
Sophomore outside hitter Michelle Kenning is the Terps' leading attacker through one week of play, notching 34 kills in 10 sets en route to all-tournament honors at VCU last week.
Kenning ranks seventh in the ACC in kills while teammates Katie Usher and Bethany Springer rank seventh in the league in blocks and digs, respectively.
Missouri enters the weekend with a 2-1 record with wins against Tulane and Utah State and a tough, five-set loss to then-No. 20 BYU. Kentucky is 3-1 with wins against Pittsburgh, Western Carolina and Morehead State. The Wildcats' lone loss came to No. 10 Wisconsin. St. John's is 2-2, dropping its first two matches at California and against UC Santa Barbara, before grabbing road wins at San Jose State and Central Connecticut State.
The doors to Comcast Pavilion will open at 4 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday. Admission is free.
Tournament Schedule
Friday, September 5
St. John's vs. Kentucky 5 p.m.
Missouri at Maryland 7 p.m.
Saturday, September 6
St. John's at Maryland 10 a.m.
Kentucky vs. Missouri Noon
Missouri vs. St. John's 5:30 p.m.
Kentucky at Maryland 7:30 p.m.
-TERPS-
