Sept. 15, 2011

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland volleyball team will travel to Columbus, Ohio, to participate in the Sports Imports Classic this weekend , the final tournament before the Terps begin ACC play on Tuesday.

Maryland (5-4) will kick off the invitational against Akron at 7 p.m. Friday. The Terrapins will face Albany at 1 p.m. Saturday before concluding the tournament against No. 25 Ohio State at 7 p.m.

Last weekend, the Terrapins notched wins over Yale and Delaware in the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Terrapin Invitational. Sophomore Mary Cushman, second on the team in kills (99), led the tournament with 47, and junior Caitlin Adams finished with an invitational-best .338 hitting percentage en route to earning all-tournament honors.

Junior Remy McBain continues to be the linchpin of the Terrapin offense. McBain, sixth all-time at Maryland in assists, tallied 154 over the three matches, averaging 11 per set.

The Terps turned in one of their best defensive performances against Sacred Heart. Maryland totaled 20 team blocks, one shy of a school record. Adams and senior Maddi Lee finished with 12 and nine blocks, respectively.

The Sports Imports Classic starts at noon Friday.

SCHEDULE

SPORTS IMPORTS CLASSIC
St. John Arena (13,276), Columbus, Ohio

Sept. 16
Akron (3-7) vs. Albany (2-6)............................Noon
Ohio State (7-3) vs. Albany.............................5 p.m.
Maryland (5-4) vs. Akron ...............................7 p.m.

Sept. 17
Ohio State vs. Akron .....................................11 a.m.
Albany vs. Maryland .......................................1 p.m.
Ohio State vs. Maryland ..................................7 p.m.

Coached by MJ Engstrom, the Great Danes are 3-6 overall after winning the Fordham Rose Hill Classic with 3-0 wins over Fordham (25-21, 25-20, 25-11) and Colorado (25-22, 25-21, 25-18) and a 3-1 victory over Siena (25-15, 22-25, 25-16, 25-13) last week. Casey Wright has a team-high 3.33 points per set average with Sara Pope second at 3.12 and Samantha Brostrom third at 2.79.

Pope has a team leading 3.10 kills per set average. Wright, at 2.77, ranks second with Brostrom third at 2.67. Leading the squad in attack percentage is Gabby Whitworth at .300. Wright ranks second at .271 with Dunja Prgomet third at .222.

At setter, Brooke Stanley is averaging 10.17 assists per set. Stanley has a team-high .33 aces per set average with 10. Laurie Gonzalez ranks second at .27 with eight and Abbey Wexel third at .27 with eight. Defensively, Gonzalez has a team-high 4.60 digs per set average. Lindsey McCloskey ranks second at 2.58 with Brooke Stanley third at 2.20. At the net, Wright has a team-high .67 blocks per set average with six solos and 14 assists. Vanessa Sheffield, at .57, ranks second with eight assists and Whitworth is third at .50 with two solos and 13 assists.

Albany is averaging 15.50 points, 13.00 kills and 11.93 assists per set while hitting .206. The Great Danes average 1.27 aces, 15.20 digs and 1.23 blocks per set. Opponents average 16.30 points, 13.57 kills and 12.43 assists per set while hitting .255. They average .87 aces, 15.53 digs and 1.87 blocks per set.

Akron

Coached by Ron Arenz the Zips are 3-7 overall after playing in the Marquette Invitational last weekend. The Zips lost 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-18) to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-12) to Marquette and 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 22-25, 25-16, 15-10) to Southern Mississippi.

Courtney Jarvis leads the team in points per set at 3.21. Tina Dimitrijevs ranks second at 3.18 with Alex Cocklin third at 2.07. Jarvis has a team-high 2.91 kills per set average for Akron. Dimitrijevs ranks second at 2.46 with Cocklin third at 1.93. Leading the squad in attack percentage is Dimitrijevs at .367. Kymberle Gordon ranks second at .269 with Jarvis third at .193.

At setter, Morgan Kuhn has a 9.82 assists per set average. Kuhn is the team leader in aces per set at .36 with 10. Jill Paluch, at .15, ranks second with five and Dimitrijevs and Jarvis are tied for third at .14 with five.

Defensively, Jarvis has a team-high 2.34 digs per set average with Paluch ranking second at 2.03 with Kuhn third at 1.93. At the net, Dimitrijevs leads the team in blocks per set with a 1.00 average with six solos and 29 assists. Gordon, at .58, ranks second with four solos and 15 assists and Kuhn is third at .50 with three solos and 11 assists.

Akron is averaging 14.71 points, 11.60 kills and 10.74 assists per set while hitting .197. The Zips average 1.17 aces, 13.74 digs and 1.94 blocks per set. Opponents are averaging 16.04 points, 12.77 kills and 11.89 assists per set while hitting .225. Zip opponents average 1.43 aces, 14.71 digs and 1.84 blocks per set.

Ohio State

Coached by Geoff Carlston, the 25th-ranked Buckeyes are 7-3 after three wins at the Toledo Rocket Classic. OSU won 3-1 decisions over Penn (25-20, 23-25, 25-13, 25-21), Alabama (18-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-16) and Toledo (23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 27-25). Emily Danks and Sarah Mignin were named to the All-Tournament team at the Classic with Mari Hole named the tournament most valuable player.

Leading the Buckeyes in points per set is Danks at 4.79. Hole ranks second at 4.64 with Kelli Barhorst third at 2.73. Hole has a team-high 4.00 kills per set average with Danks second at 3.86 and Kaitlyn Leary third at 2.56. Barhorst is hitting .293 to lead the squad. Danks ranks second in attack percentage at .287 with Anna Faul third at .278.

At setter, Taylor Sherwin is averaging 9.57 assists per set with Amanda Peterson at 9.00. Leading the squad in aces per set is Danks at .51 with 18. Hole is second at .26 with nine and Sarah Mignin is third at .17 with six.

Defensively, Mignin has a team-high 4.83 digs per set average. Hole ranks second at 2.43 with Alyssa Winner third at 1.94. At the net, Barhorst leads the team with a 1.11 blocks per set average with six solos and 33 assists. Faul ranks second at 1.07 with a solo and 14 assists. Mariah Booth, is third at .91 with one solo and 20 assists.

In serve reception percentage, Mignin has a .976 serve reception percentage handling 207 of 212 attempts. Hole is second at .965 handling 138 of 143 attempts. Davionna DiSalvatore ranks third at .964 handling 134 of 139 attempts. Winner, at .942 ranks fourth handling 146 of 155 attempts.

Ohio State is averaging 18.27 points, 14.60 kills and 13.54 assists per set while hitting .232. OSU is averaging 1.14 aces, 15.94 digs and 2.53 blocks per set and has a .961 serve reception percentage. Buckeye opponents average 14.43 points, 11.91 kills and 11.29 assists per set while hitting .170. They average .77 aces, 15.09 digs and 1.74 blocks per set and have a .944 serve reception percentage.