Sept. 24, 2009

Match Notes

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Fresh off its conference-opening win Tuesday at Boston College, the University of Maryland volleyball team returns to Comcast Pavilion this weekend to continue Atlantic Coast Conference play against Duke and Wake Forest.

The Terrapins will face Duke at 7 p.m. Friday, while Saturday's matchup against Wake Forest has been changed from a 7 p.m. start to a 5 p.m. start in order to avoid traffic congestion due to the football game at 3:30 p.m. All parking restrictions are lifted at 3:30 p.m., so after that, fans attending the Wake Forest match can park anywhere a spot can be found.

Maryland enters weekend play with a 9-5 record and 1-0 mark in the ACC after Tuesday's 3-1 victory at Boston College. The win was Maryland's third in a row after it took the final two matches of last weekend's Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Terrapin Invitational to win the tournament.

Senior Katie Usher has led Maryland's recent turnaround. The lone senior in the starting lineup, Usher has hit .350 or better in 10 consecutive matches and ranks sixth in the ACC with a .360 hitting percentage. Usher also moved into third on Maryland's all-time blocks list last weekend in the victory against Howard.

The Terps' young talent has made a big impact this season, as well. Freshman Sam Rosario is running away with the conference lead in service aces with 32, while ranking fourth in the league in digs with 227. Rosario's 32 aces are 11 more than any Terp registered all of last season and has made Maryland the No. 2 team in the conference in aces. Fellow freshman Kara Bates leads the Terps in kills and sophomore Lisa Scott ranks fourth in the ACC in blocks.

Duke was the preseason pick to win the ACC this season and, so far, the Blue Devils have not disappointed. Duke is 11-2 on the year, with the only losses coming to Ohio and No. 1 Penn State. Sophomore setter Kelly Catanach, the reigning ACC player of the week, leads a powerful Duke offense, which leads the ACC in kills and hitting percentage. Duke is 35-24 all-time against Maryland and has won six in a row against the Terps.

Wake Forest is off to a slow start to the 2009 season. The Demon Deacons are 2-10, winning their last two matches after starting the season on a 10-match losing streak. The Deacs rank in the bottom three of the ACC in every major statistical category minus digs, in which they rank second.

The Terps are 21-14 all-time against Wake Forest, but the Deacs have taken five of the last six matchups.

- TERPS -