Hurricanes Head to New Jersey to Open BIG EAST Play

Hurricanes Head to New Jersey to Open BIG EAST Play

Sept. 26, 2003

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami volleyball team travels to New Jersey this weekend to face Seton Hall and Rutgers, opening the BIG EAST portion of the Hurricanes’ schedule.

The Hurricanes enter the weekend with an overall record of 10-4 after sweeping cross-town rival, Florida International, 3-0 on Sept. 23 at the Knight Sports Complex. Miami held the Golden Panthers to a .070 hitting percentage – the second lowest by a Hurricane opponent this season.

Junior Valeria Tipiana and senior Leyre Santaella Sante each posted 10 kills in the victory over FIU and junior Jamie Grass turned in 13 digs.

Miami will square off against Seton Hall (11-3) on Saturday, Sept. 27 at noon in South Orange, N.J. This will mark the second meeting between the Hurricanes and the Pirates. Miami knocked off SHU, 3-0 last season in Coral Gables.

Seton Hall currently holds a seven-match winning streak after going 3-0 last week, including three sweeps over Fairfield, Wagner and Lafayette. Freshman outside hitter Katherine Whitney paces the Pirates after earning BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honors for her play last week. Whitney totaled 27 kills with only six hitting errors to finish the week with a hitting percentage of .389. She also added to her BIG EAST lead in service aces by colleting 10.

The Hurricanes will travel to Piscataway, N.J. on Sunday, Sept. 28 to take on Rutgers at noon. Miami defeated the Scarlet Knights in the two school’s first meeting, blanking Rutgers, 3-0 last season in Coral Gables.

Rutgers fell to 6-7 after two losses at last weekend’s Outback Invitational in Athens, Ga. The Scarlet Knights started the weekend off strong, downing Furman, 3-0 before falling to host Georgia and Florida A&M on Saturday, falling to 1-2 on the weekend. Senior Shayla Bush and sophomore Ashleigh Young led the team with eight kills apiece, and sophomore Courtney Stout paced the team on defense with 13 digs. Bush and junior Dawn Christjaener were named to the all-tournament team.

For all you Hurricane volleyball information please visit hurricanesports.com.