Sept. 8, 2011
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland volleyball team will host its second invitational of the season this weekend as the Terps welcome Delaware, Sacred Heart and Yale to Comcast Pavilion for the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Terrapin Invitational. The Terrapins (3-3) will be looking to capture their second consecutive tournament title and extend their three-match win streak.
Last weekend, the Terps did not lose a set in sweeping VCU, Quinnipiac and Xavier. Maryland was led by freshman Ashleigh Crutcher, who was named tournament MVP. Crutcher finished with a tournament-high 33 kills, 25 digs and a .311 attack percentage.
Junior Remy McBain and senior Maddi Lee joined Crutcher on the all-tournament team. McBain, who is fifth in the ACC in assists per set, led the tournament in assists (101) and attack percentage (.586). With her performance over the weekend, McBain moved into seventh all-time at Maryland in assists (1,653).
Lee finished the invitational second in attack percentage (.418) and established a career high against VCU, converting 53 percent of her attacks.
The event will feature two matches on Friday. Sacred Heart and Delaware will open the invitational at 4:30 p.m. and will be followed by Maryland and Yale at 7 p.m. Delaware and Yale open Saturday's four-game slate at 10 a.m., with Maryland meeting Sacred Heart at 12:30 p.m. After a short break, play resumes at 4:30 p.m. with Yale and Sacred Heart, and the tournament concludes with Maryland taking on Delaware at 7 p.m.
The Terps are 37-10 all-time against the tournament field, with 45 of those matches coming against Delaware. Maryland has played Yale twice in school history, winning both meetings. The Terrapins will meet Sacred Heart for the first time this weekend.
Visit tournament central to follow all of the action.
Delaware
The Blue Hens are 1-6 after falling to Villanova, 3-1 on Tuesday. Delaware has faced stiff competition to this point in the season. Of their seven opponents, four are ranked in the AVCA Top 25.
Sophomore Katie Hank leads the Blue Hens offense. Hank leads the team in kills (80) and is averaging 3.08 per set. Junior Alissa Alker and senior Kim Stewart are all-conference performers from last season and add to the Blue Hens' frontline. Alker has registered 75 kills this season and Stewart has chipped in with 57.
Sophomores Karina Evans and Cara Rosehill will be counted on defensively. Evans leads the team in blocks (26), while Rosehill has tallied 132 digs.
Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart arrives at Comcast Pavilion with a record of 6-1. The Pioneers are riding a six-game winning streak, which includes sweeping Brown, Hartford and Rutgers at the SHU Invitational last weekend.
The Pioneers return four All-Northeast Conference selections from last season's squad including NEC Rookie of the Year Dianis Mercado. Senior Kimmee Roleder, a transfer from USC, leads the team in kills (74).
Senior Jessica Colberg serves as the defensive backbone. Colberg's 125 digs leads the team.
Yale
The Bulldogs opened the season last weekend by winning two of three matches at the Yale Invitational. Yale defeated Boston College, 3-1, and Colgate, 3-0, before losing its final match to Utah, 3-1.
Yale led the nation in digs last season and returns four all-Ivy selections. Sophomore Kendall Polan was the league's rookie of the year and senior Bridget Hearst earned first-team all-Ivy honors.
Freshman Mollie Rogers leads the team in kills (34) and digs (49). Rogers is setup by Polan who leads the Bulldogs with 120 assists.
