Oct. 7, 2010
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland volleyball team welcomes a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference rivals from the commonwealth this weekend when Virginia Tech and Virginia visit the Comcast Pavilion Friday night and Sunday afternoon, respectively.
The Terps (12-5, 3-2 ACC) will take on the Hokies (10-5, 1-4 ACC) at 7 p.m. Friday and then the Cavaliers (7-8, 1-4 ACC) at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Maryland is coming off of a four-game road trip in which they topped North Carolina State and Wake Forest, but fell to North Carolina and Duke.
The Terps are led by Lisa Scott, who leads the team in attack percentage (.337) and total blocks (66). Freshman Mary Cushman is Maryland's top attacker at the net; she leads the team with 192 kills. Sophomore Remy McBain leads Maryland in assists with 605 is seventh in the ACC with 9.36 dishes per set. Last weekend against Duke, McBain recorded her first career triple-double with 40 assists, 18 digs and 10 kills.
Virginia Tech started the 2010 season strong, with a 10-1 record, but the squad has struggled within the ACC. The Hokies are on a four-game losing streak, having lost to Miami, No. 20 Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech. Virginia Tech is led by senior Felicia Willoughby and sophomore Car Baarendse who are No. 1 and 2 in the ACC in hitting percentage with rates of .395 and .392.
Maryland leads the all-time series against the Hokies, 8-5. Last season, the Terps defeated Virginia Tech 3-2 in the teams' only meeting.
Virginia has also struggled within the conference; the Cavaliers were on a three-game losing streak in the ACC before narrowly defeating the Clemson Tigers 3-2 in Charlottesville, Va. Virginia's Jesscia O'Shoney trails only the Hokies' Willoughby and Baarendse in hitting percentage. The sophomore is No. 3 in the conference with a percentage of .388. With 274 digs in only 57 sets, senior AJ Cushman leads the Cavaliers in digs and ranks second in the conference, averaging 4.8 per set.
Against Virginia, the Terps hold a 32-19 series advantage over their ACC rivals. In 2009, the Cavaliers defeated Maryland 3-0.
The Terrapins' 12-5 start overall is the program's best under third-year head coach Tim Horsmon. With a pair of wins this weekend, Maryland would match its season mark from last season with 14.
