Oct. 14, 2010
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The University of Maryland volleyball team will take on two sunshine state Atlantic Coast Conference foes this weekend, when Miami and Florida State visit College Park Friday night and Sunday afternoon, respectively.
The Terps (13-6, 4-3 ACC) will take on the Hurricanes (13-5, 3-4 ACC) on the main floor of the Comcast Center at 5:30 p.m. Friday to begin the university's annual Maryland Madness, which will also introduce both the men's and women's basketball teams for the first time this year.
Following its match against Miami, Maryland will host No. 22 Florida State (13-4, 5-2 ACC) Sunday at 1 p.m.
Currently fourth in the ACC, the Terps swept the Virginia Tech Hokies Oct. 8 before being swept by the Virginia Cavaliers on Oct. 10.
The Terps are led by junior Lisa Scott, who leads the team in attack percentage (.343) and is second on the team with 70 total blocks. Freshman Mary Cushman is Maryland's top attacker at the net; she leads the Terps with 207 kills, tied for sixth-most in the conference. Sophomore Remy McBain is Maryland's leader in assists with 667. Currently seventh in the ACC with 9.53 assists per set, McBain recorded her first triple-double against Duke earlier this season with 40 assists, 18 digs and 10 kills.
Picked to finish fourth in the ACC, the University of Miami volleyball team has struggled as of late. The Hurricanes lost three straight to North Carolina, NC State and Georgia Tech before finally defeating the Clemson Tigers at home, 3-1. The Hurricanes are led by Lane Carico, whose 224 kills are the fourth-most in the conference. Ali Becker leads Miami in hitting percentage (.350), just ahead of Scott.
Maryland leads the all-time series against the Hurricanes, 7-6. Last season, Miami swept the Terps.
Florida State is led by a pair of top-10 blockers in Lauren Young (1.19 blocks/set) and Sareea Freeman (1.12), who rank third and sixth, respectively, within the conference. Visnja Djurdjevic leads the Seminoles with 206 kills and her 3.22 kill per set average is the seventh-highest in the ACC. The No. 22 team in the country, the Florida State was ranked as high as No. 13 before losing three of its last seven. Most recently, the Seminoles lost at home to Georgia Tech, 3-2.
Against Florida State, the Terps are 19-17 all time. In 2009, the Seminoles won both matches against Maryland.
With one win this weekend, Maryland would tie its win total from last season. The Terps' 13-6 start is their best under third-year head coach Tim Horsmon.
Doors open at 4:30 on Friday and fans are encouraged to bring canned food and other non-perishable items as a donation to the Capital Arena Food Bank. Drop locations will be situated inside the Comcast Center entrances, staff by the Maryland Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
-ES-
