Terps Face #19 Florida St. and #25 Miami
10/20/2011 8:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 20, 2011
LIKE! Maryland Volleyball on Facebook
LIKE! Maryland Athletics on Facebook
Follow Maryland Volleyball on Twitter
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland volleyball team face two stiff tests this weekend as they play host to No. 19 Florida State and No. 25 Miami. First serve for the Terps and Seminoles is set for 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 21. Maryland will face Miami Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m.
The Terps (9-12, 3-6 ACC) enter the weekend looking to end a five-match losing streak with four of the losses coming on the road. Maryland hopes the familiar confines of Comcast Pavilion will provide a spark. The Terps are 7-3 at home.
Sophomore Mary Cushman, and freshmen Ashleigh Crutcher and Adreene Elliott lead the Terps offensively. The trio has combined for 221 of Maryland's 436 kills in conference play while freshman Carlisle Abele has tallied 30 in the last four matches.
Junior setter Remy McBain touches the ball on every offensive play and has tallied 791 assists, second most in the ACC. Her .291 hitting percentage is a career best and McBain is on pace to top her career high for kills in season (146).
Junior Caitlin Adams and Elliott lead the Terps in blocks. The two have combined for 144. Sophomore Sarah Harper continues to lead Maryland in digs with 349.
The Terps are 20-18 all-time against the Seminoles. Maryland's last win in the series came last season at home against a ranked Florida State team. The Terrapins last win against the Hurricanes came in 2007. Miami leads the all-time series with a record of 8-7.
This weekend's matches are part of the fall 2011 ACC Fall Sportsmanship Awareness week. Every league team will showcase its continued dedication to sportsmanship by participating in a pregame handshake prior to each contest.
Florida State
| 2011 Florida State Seminoles: 15-4, 9-0 ACC | ||
| Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
Head coach Chris Poole's team arrives at Comcast Pavilion winners of nine matches in a row with six of the wins coming in three sets. In ACC matches, the Seminoles are second in hitting percentage and are holding opponents to a league-best .141 hitting percentage. Defensively, Florida State is averaging an astounding 3.62 blocks per set which leads the ACC.
Florida State spreads the attack around. The Seminoles do not have a player with more than 198 kills, but are offensively efficient. Elise Walch and Sareea Freeman rank in the top-10 in the ACC in hitting percentage. Walch is hitting .410 while Freeman is converting 34 percent of her attack opportunities.
Three Florida State players rank in the top-5 in blocks. Ashley Neff is averaging 1.72 per set, best in the ACC. Neff is followed by Freeman with 1.57, and Rachel Morgan is fifth with 1.22 per set.
Miami
| 2011 Miami Hurricanes: 15-3, 6-3 ACC | ||
| Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
Miami arrives after suffering only its second loss in its last eight matches. A 3-1 defeat at home against Georgia Tech. In ACC play, head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch's team leads the conference in hitting percentage (.264) and digs (18.09 per set), and is second in kills (14.84 per set).
Two Hurricanes rank in the top-10 in kills. Lane Carico is second in the ACC with 4.00 kills per set and Ali Becker is sixth with 3.44. In addition, Becker is converting 43 percent of her attack opportunities which is second in the conference.
Katie Gallagher leads the ACC in assists per set. The senior is averaging 11.44.
Three Miami players average more than three digs per set. Carico and Ryan Shaffer are averaging 4.06 and 3.97, respectively, during conference play while Alex Johnson is averaging 3.17 overall.
