Miami Travels to Midwest for Northern Colorado Tournament
Sept. 3, 2009
Complete Tournament Notes in PDF Format 
Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team travels to Colorado this weekend as they participate in the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Tournament hosted by the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. The four-team field at this year’s event includes Miami, North Dakota State, Eastern Michigan and, of course, Northern Colorado.
The Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Tournament takes place at the Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion on the campus of Northern Colorado.
UM heads into the weekend sporting a 2-1 record after hosting the Hurricane Invitational last weekend in Coral Gables. Miami took wins over Florida Gulf Coast and Prairie View A&M, while falling in the championship match to USF in a highly-competitive contest, 3-1.
The Hurricanes face new opponents this weekend as the only team UM has seen before in the field is Eastern Michigan. UM fell to EMU by a count of 3-0 back on Sept. 1, 2006 during the Spartan Invitational in East Lansing, Michigan.
Miami is riding strong play from several players thus far on the year, including Preseason All-ACC Team members Lane Carico and Genny Mayhew. Carico leads the team with 40 kills, while Mayhew is third with 26. Lici McGee has stepped up big for UM as she sits second on the team in kills (27) and tops the squad in blocks (11). Senior libero and fellow Preseason All-ACC member Cassie Loessberg is tops on the team in digs with 40, while Carico is second with 28.
Miami will have its hands full this weekend as Northern Colorado comes in with a 4-1 record, including a victory over in-state foe Colorado on Tuesday night. North Dakota State enters working on a 2-1 record after competing in the Florida State Invitational last weekend. Eastern Michigan is 0-4 on the year.
Live stats for the Miami vs. Northern Colorado match will be available on the Northern Colorado website by visiting www.uncbears.com. You can also visit the site for all information pertaining to the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Tournament.
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.
HURRICANE QUICK HITS:
About Eastern Michigan…
The Eagles of Eastern Michigan started the year 0-4 after falling in three contests at the Army Black Knight Invitational last weekend in West Point, N.Y. EMU lost their last meeting, a 3-0 setback at the hands of IPFW on Tuesday night. The Eagles are led by the offensive exploits of Rachel Iaquaniello who leads the team with 35 kills. She also has 27 digs on the year. Beside her is Jennifer Swartz with 20 kills, eight digs and seven blocks. The setter for the Eagles is Ashley Mason, leading the way with 88 assists.
About North Dakota State…
North Dakota State went 2-1 last weekend at the Florida State Invitational (Tallahassee, Fla.) with wins coming against Central Michigan and Florida A&M. The Bison’ lone loss was a 3-2 setback at the hands of host FSU.
The Bison are led by a pair of outside hitters with 30+ kills each on the year. Leading the way is Chrissy Knuth (40k) and followed by Brooke VandenBergh (34k). VandenBergh also has 22 digs, while setter Jennifer Lopez leads the team with 73 assists and has 26 digs.
About Northern Colorado…
The Northern Colorado Bears serve as host for this weekend’s Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Tournament this weekend. The Bears are 4-1 on the year after collecting three wins over UT-San Antonio, North Texas and SMU last weekend in Denton, Texas. In their last matchup, they defeated in-state foe Colorado on Tuesday night.
Northern Colorado is led by Kenzie Shreeve with 53 kills, while teammates Taylor Smith (43) and Ashley Lichtenberg (37) follow closely. Marissa Hughes is the setter for the Bears with 164 assists, and the libero duties are held by Amanda Arterburn with 33 digs … but it’s Breanna Vandermost leading the team with 44 digs.
Freshman Sets Her Mark…
Freshman setter/right side hitter Nrithya Sundararaman made her collegiate debut during the Hurricane Invitational, taking over the setting duties for junior Katie Gallagher. Sundararaman hit her marks with 34 assists, followed by a season-high 39 assists against USF a day later.
Andersson Sets School Record…
After collecting seven service aces against Prairie View A&M last weekend, senior Maria Andersson set a new school-record for service aces in a three-set match, surpassing Kristi Sprinkel who recorded six back in 2001 against Nova Southeastern.
On This Date in History…
Miami has a favorable record on the dates for this weekend throughout history — Sept. 4 & 5. The `Canes hold a 3-1 record all-time on these dates, with the last match coming on Sept. 4, 2008 as UM collected a 3-0 win over South Dakota State in the opening round of the Hurricane Invitational.
