Miami Volleyball Collects 3-0 Sweep of Maryland

Oct. 18, 2009

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College Park, Md. – The University of Miami used 18 kills from Lane Carico and eight more from Lici McGee to help power past the University of Maryland, 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-18), on Sunday afternoon in an ACC volleyball matchup housed at Comcast Pavilion in College Park, Md.

Miami head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch was looking for a host of things to occur Sunday, most importantly help guide her team above the .500 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play. She was also looking for back-to-back road wins against her alma mater, the University of Maryland.

“Winning on the road is never easy, and in the ACC anyone can challenge you on any given day,” expressed Lantagne Welch shortly after the match.

Miami (12-7, 5-4 ACC) was playing its fourth consecutive road match on Sunday, and was looking at a chance to go 3-1 in a critical road stretch midway through the conference season.

The Hurricanes got a kill from setter Nrithya Sundararaman, and blocks by Lizzie Hale and Ali Becker to grab the early 12-8 lead. Trailing 17-11, Maryland (10-12, 2-7 ACC) began a 5-0 run as Taylor Jones and Maddi Lee combined for back-to-back Terrapins kills. A Sam Rosario service ace brought the Terps to within 17-16.

The `Canes went back on top, 21-18, with the help of Carico’s kill off the set of Sundararaman, as well as two Maryland attack errors. But the Terps fought back to within 21-20 as Kara Bates and Brittney Grove smashed kills before Miami called for a timeout.

Following the timeout, Miami senior libero Cassie Loessberg recorded consecutive service aces to push the Hurricanes advantage to 24-20. Miami got a kill from Becker to close-out the set point, 25-23.

Becker would finish the afternoon with seven kills and three blocks (assisted).

In the second set, Miami jumped out to an early 7-3 lead as Carico and McGee posted two kills apiece, and Hale added a service ace in what was a 5-0 Hurricanes run. Down 3-2 before the run, the `Canes never trailed again in the set in using seven kills from Carico and five from McGee as they cruised to the 25-15 win.

Miami never trailed in the third set and there were no ties as Carico collected six kills in leading the `Canes to the 25-18 win. Also playing well in the final frame was Becker, pouring in four kills and two assisted blocks. Becker also collected two service aces, giving her three aces total for the match.

After the win, Miami’s Lantagne Welch expressed how much it meant for her team to get the road win and finish the stretch 3-1 against tough ACC opponents.

“These wins are something we want to build on as we get ready to come back home,” said Lantagne Welch. “We need to keep getting better and better, and it’s really going to be great coming back home next weekend against two more tough ACC teams.”

Maryland was led on the day by Maddi Lee’s 11 kills. She was followed by Katie Usher and Brittney Grove, each adding five kills. Usher also placed three blocks, and Grove collected a team-high 13 digs.

The `Canes were led by Carico’s 18 kills and six digs, while McGee tallied eight kills and one block assist. Sundararaman finished with a match-high 36 assists, and Loessberg added 13 digs on defense.

“I think it’s important for our team’s confidence in knowing it doesn’t matter who’s on the court and that we can prevail,” commented Lantagne Welch on the team’s character playing through injuries. “We had a lot of people playing in different spots and positions, and it’s going to help us down the stretch in knowing those people can play in those positions.”

Miami returns home Friday, Oct. 23 hosting North Carolina at the James L. Knight Sports Complex at 7 p.m. The contest will serve as Miami’s Dig for the Cure match in partnering with several volleyball programs around the nation in the fight against breast cancer.

“Participating in Dig for the Cure is special because it’s an incredible opportunity for us to reach out to the community in trying to fight, and find a cure, in a huge cause [breast cancer awareness] that affects so many people,” remarked Lantagne Welch. “We just hope to give back.”

For more information on the University of Miami Volleyball team, please log on to www.hurricanesports.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, stats and information regarding the Hurricanes Volleyball program.