Volleyball Closes Home Regular Season This Weekend
Nov. 18, 2010
Complete Match Notes in PDF Format 
Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Miami will close its home regular season this weekend, playing host to Boston College (Fri., Nov. 19) and Maryland (Sun., Nov. 21) at the James L. Knight Sports Complex. The BC match begins at 7 p.m., while the Maryland match will start at 1 p.m.
Miami (20-8, 10-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) will honor seniors Ariell Cooke (Oakland, Calif.) and Lici McGee (Warr Acres, Okla.) on Sunday prior to the match against the Terrapins.
After winning both matches a week ago, UM jumped to No. 26 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. The `Canes are one of three ACC schools ranked in the RPI top 30 alongside Duke and Florida State. The `Canes also collected their fourth 20-win season in Division I history a week ago, and the second in the last three years–all under Nicole Lantagne Welch.
Miami is led on offense by junior outside hitter Lane Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) with 398 kills (3.72 per set), ranking her third in the ACC in that category. Carico also ranks among the ACC’s best in service aces (second) with 36 (0.34 per set). Fellow outside hitter Christine Williamson (Tampa, Fla.) moved into 10th place all-time at UM for career kills last weekend, and sits second on the team in that department this year with 309 (2.92 per set). Williamson is hitting at a team second-best .278 clip on the campaign, while her kills total this season is a new season-best for the junior.
Freshman libero Ryan Shaffer (San Jose, Calif.) charges the Hurricanes’ defense with 446 digs (4.43 per set). That total ranks her sixth in the ACC, while Carico is just behind her with 405 digs (3.79 per set). Carico needs just 10 more digs to establish a new personal season-high in that department.
Katie Gallagher (Winter Park, Fla.) sets up the `Canes offense, leading the team with 1,039 assists (10.71 per set). Gallagher ranks fourth in the league in assists.
UM 10th-year head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch goes for win No. 190 this weekend, and could pick that up on Friday night against Boston College.
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.
You can also keep up-to-date with all UM Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/HurricaneSports.
Quick Hits on Boston College
Boston College comes into Friday’s match with a 0-17 record in league play, and an 8-22 overall mark. After defeating Central Connecticut State on Sept. 17, the Eagles have dropped their last 17 contests–all against league opponents.
The Eagles are led offensively by Tsvetelina Dureva with 335 kills, while teammates Val Mattaliano (208) and Brennan Clark (201) are also over the 200-kill plateau. Since the last time UM and BC met, the Eagles have gone to a two-setter system, led by Cagla Sen with 452 assists (6.19 per set), backed well by Krissy Mussenden with 351 assists (9.24 per set). Kristen Baader leads the squad in digs with 430 (4.10 per set) and Brennan Clark has 403 (3.84 per set).
Series against the Eagles
Against Boston College, Miami owns an all-time record of 10-2. UM has won the last five meetings, including 3-0 sweeps in four of those contests. UM won the earlier contest this year on scores of 25-19, 25-12 and 25-15. The last BC win against the `Canes came back on Oct. 12, 2007.
Quick Hits on Maryland
Maryland enters the weekend in a four-way tie for third place in the league standings with Miami, Florida State and Georgia Tech. The Terrapins are 19-10 overall (10-7 ACC).
Maryland is sparked on offense by Mary Cushman with a team-high 312 kills (2.92 per set). Behind her are Lisa Scott (238), Brittney Grove (213) and Maddi Lee (208) all with over 200 kills on the year. Scott holds a team-best .345 hitting percentage for the Terps, ranking among the top 10 in the league.
The setter for the Terrapins is Remy McBain with a team-high 1,085 assists (10.14 per set). Digs are accumulated by libero Bethany Springer with a team-leading 468 (4.37 per set), as well as Sarah Harper with 255 (2.38 per set).
Series against the Terrapins
The University of Maryland leads the all-time series against Miami by a 7-6 count. However, UM has won the last four meetings against the Terps, including the first-ever sweep of Maryland in a two-match series during the 2008 campaign. The `Canes took the previous match this season by a 3-1 decision.
In-Match Chat
HurricaneSports.com will feature a live gameday chat for fans to follow at home or in the office. To participate in the in-match chat below, return to this page 10-minutes prior to the start of the match. Live stats will also be available through Game Tracker at HurricaneSports.com.
