THE MATCHUPS
Friday, October 5 -- at #9 Penn State, 7:30 p.m.
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Saturday, October 6 -- at Rutgers, 7:00 p.m.
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The Maryland volleyball team will head back on the road, as the Terps ready to face #9 Penn State and Rutgers at their home gyms on back to back nights.
QUICK HITS
• Maryland stands at 11-5 overall and 2-2 in Big Ten play. In Big Ten play, the Terps have defeated Rutgers in three sets and Ohio State in five sets with losses to #7 Minnesota and #16 Purdue.
• Last week, Maryland won a five set thriller with Ohio State in front of a packed XFINITY Center Pavilion. The Terps won the first two sets, both by the score of 25-22, before dropping the third and fourth. In a seesaw fifth set, Maryland came out on top, with senior outside hitter Liz Twilley notching the clinching kill as the Terps took the fifth 17-15.
• Maryland is led by sophomore outside hitter Erika Pritchard, who has 238 kills, 155 digs and 40 blocks on the season. Pritchard has a double-double in half of Maryland's matches.
• Sophomore setter Nicole Alford leads the team with 573 assists this season, at 9.88 per set. Freshman libero Allegra Rivas is first in digs with 272, at 4.69 per set. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Katie Myers leads the team in both blocks (62) and aces (32).
ACES ON ACES
• Maryland has had a lot of success from the service line this season, especially in Big Ten play.
• Through four games of conference play, the Terps have 26 service aces at 1.73 per set, the third best mark in the Big Ten. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Katie Myers, junior setter Samantha Snyder and sophomore defensive specialist/libero Samantha Burgio all rank in the top ten in aces/set at better than 0.40.
• In last weeks five set win over Ohio State, Maryland had 14 aces, the program's most since November 25, 2015 vs. Iowa.
• Katie Myers had four aces in the win over her home state Buckeyes and leads the Big Ten with 0.55 aces per set.
COACH HOMECOMING
• Head Coach Adam Hughes will return home this week to State College for the first time as head coach to face Penn State. Hughes grew up in State College and went to college at Penn State, graduating in 2006. Following graduation, Hughes worked as a Volunteer Assistant Coach from 2006-08 before returning as the Director of Operations in 2010-13 before coming to Maryland.
• Assistant Coach Kristin Steadman helped lead Penn State to the 2009-10 NCAA Championships, being selected to the NCAA All-Tournament Team in 2010.
RIVAS EARNS BIG TEN HONORS
• After averaging a Big Ten best 6.17 digs per set in her first ever two conference matches, freshman libero Allegra Rivas was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week this last week.
• Rivas tallied 23 digs at No. 7 Minnesota, the most by a player in a three set Big Ten match in two years and the most by a freshman in a three set Big Ten match since Illinois' Brandi Donnelly had 25 against Minnesota on October 1, 2014. The 23 digs were also the most ever by a Maryland player in a three set Big Ten match.
• The Aledo, Texas native now has the most digs per set in the conference through four games of Big Ten play and stands fifth overall with 4.69 digs per set on the season.
• The freshman is the first Maryland player to earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors since Ashlyn MacGregor on August 29, 2016. She is also the first Maryland player to earn any Big Ten weekly honor since Erika Pritchard was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week last year on November 27.
KATIE ACE. KATIE BLOCK.
• Redshirt sophomore
Katie Myers returned to the starting lineup this season after suffering season ending knee injuries in each of the last two seasons. Myers was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA this spring, giving her three more seasons in College Park.
• Myers has made an impact. She leads the Big Ten in service aces with 32 (0.55 per set) and leads the Terps in blocks with 62 (1.07 per set).
EP TIME
• Sophomore outside hitter
Erika Pritchard has had an impressive start to her sophomore season. Pritchard is averaging 4.10 kills per set, the third best mark in the Big Ten.
• At the Akron Invitational, the sophomore totaled 56 kills and 35 digs, recording a double-double in all three games en route to being named the tournament's MVP. The Middletown, Md. native has a double-double in seven of 12 contests this season.
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
• Penn State stands at 11-3 and 2-2 in the conference, while placing at ninth in the country in the latest AVCA Poll. The Nittany Lions have won two straight in the Big Ten, defeating Michigan State and No. 16 Michigan last weekend.
• The Lions are led by Taylor Leath, who has 120 kills, 92 digs and 33 blocks so far this season. Serena Gray leads the conference during Big Ten play with 1.69 blocks per set.
• Maryland trails the all-time series with Ohio State, 24-6. Last season in State College, the Terps out-killed Penn State at 34-31 and Erika Pritchard had 10 kills but Maryland lost in straight sets.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
• Rutgers stands at 6-11 in the 2018 season with an 0-4 record in Big Ten play. Last weekend, Rutgers lost to No. 16 Michigan and Michigan State.
• The Terps and Scarlet Knights met a few weeks back in College Park, with Maryland winning in straight sets behind a complete team performance that featured seven kills, three aces and two blocks from redshirt sophomore Katie Myers.
• Maryland leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 15-12.
UP NEXT
Friday, October 12 -- vs. Michigan State, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 14 -- vs. #16 Michigan, 1:00 p.m.
