Volleyball Streaks Into Wednesday's Match With Stetson
Sept. 24, 2002
Coral Gables, Fla. (www.hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami women’s volleyball team (11-0) hosts the Stetson Hatters (4-8) Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the Knight Sports Complex on the Coral Gables campus.
The Hurricanes, who hold the nation’s longest win streak at 22 matches dating back to Oct. 5, 2001, are coming off a three-game sweep 30-21, 30-26, 30-27 over nearby Florida Atlantic this past Friday at home.
Senior outside hitter Marcela Gamarra (Medellin, Colombia/Miami Dade CC) led the way for the Hurricanes dropping in 12 kills and recording 13 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Elizabeth Tyson (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny HS) registered a match-high .562 attack percentage, knocking in 11 kills on 16 attempts.
Establishing a commanding presence at the net was freshman middle blocker Karla Johnson (Houston, TX/Westfield HS), who reeled in two solo blocks, four block assists, and 11 kills.
Since the program’s restoration last season, Miami has gone 10-4 against in-state opponents. This season, the Hurricanes are 3-0 over Florida foes with a hard-fought 3-2 upset over Florida State and a pair of 3-0 defeats over cross-town rival Florida International and FAU.
The Hatters are coming off a 1-2 performance at the Falcon Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo. Stetson opened the tournament with two losses, falling in three-straight games to Air Force and Hofstra. The Hatters finished strong, though, outlasting San Francisco in five games.
Prior to the FAU match on Friday, the Hurricanes began the season with three consecutive tournament championships at Wichita State (8/30-31), own Hurricane Invitational (9/6-7) and at FIU (9/13-14).
This season the Hurricanes have claimed wins over Georgia, Wichita State, Oregon, FIU and Florida State. The victory over the Lady Seminoles was arguably the top win in the programs’ brief history, followed by the following win over FIU for the FIU Fall Classic title. Last season, both FSU and FIU claimed victories over the fledgling squad, with the loss to FIU being UM’s last recorded defeat on Oct. 5, 2001.
Miami, in its second season, begins its inaugural run in the BIG EAST Conference this weekend with road matches at Boston College and Providence on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
As a team, the Hurricanes lead the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.263), Assists (14.89) and Kills (16.84). UM’s assists also rank 22nd nationally while kills place 14th.
Gamarra places second in the BIG EAST with 4.39 kills per game. Sophomore Valeria Tipiana (Lima, Peru/Cristo Rey HS) is fifth in hitting percentage (.352) and eighth in kills (3.79), while Johnson is seventh in hitting percentage (.333) and seventh in blocks (1.11). Sophomore Jamie Grass (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa HS) ranks fourth in digs (4.05).
The Stetson match will be broadcasted live on the University of Miami’s student radio station, WVUM 90.5 FM and can also be accessed on the Internet at www.hurricanesports.com.
For more information on University of Miami athletics log on to its newly designed website www.hurricanesports.com, the official site for all Hurricane news, tickets and apparel. For Hurricane ticket information call 1-800-GO CANES.
