Sept. 16, 2004
Coral Gables, Fla. –
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The University of Miami volleyball team heads to Dallas, Tex for the Hurricane Ivan-Sugar Bowl Classic at Moody Coliseum on the SMU campus, this Friday and Saturday. The Hurricanes will face LSU, SMU and Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the two-day tournament.
SMU took on the hosting duties after Hurricane Ivan forced the cancellation of the Nokia Sugar Bowl Volleyball Classic that was going to take place at Tulane on the same dates. Both SMU and Wisconsin-Milwaukee were set to take part in the tournament. LSU joins the other three teams after their own tournament was cancelled because of Ivan.
The Hurricanes (2-2) look to improve their record with their final non-conference tournament of the 2004 season.
Miami was recently ranked 28th by the NCAA in blocks per game (2.97) while senior rightside hitter Valeria Tipiana was ranked 6th in service aces per game (0.87).
The LSU Tigers are 5-1 this season after dropping only one match to Texas, who is currently receiving votes in the USA TODAY/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Tigers are led by Ivana Kuzmic who owns a .329 attacking average and 3.18 kills per game. Teammate Regan Hood follows closely behind with 68 kills this season. As a team, LSU has held their opponents to a .161 attacking percentage. The Hurricanes hold a 2-1 advantage in all-time matches against LSU.
The SMU Mustangs are currently 4-2 with losses to Texas and most recently a tough five game loss to Cal State Northridge. Offensively Beth Karasel leads with 99 kills and 4.71 kills per game. She is also has a team-high 80 digs. Jackie Niederstadt is second on the team with 4.10 kills per game. The team holds a .239 attacking percentage. This is the Mustangs’ first meeting with the Hurricanes.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee enters the SMU Tournament after having their four game win streak snapped by the College of Charleston in three games at their own Panther Invitational. The Panthers are led by senior Karen Fruit who had registered 105 kills in 20 games for a .249 attacking percentage. Jamie Gabrielson leads defensively with 64 digs. This is also their first ever meeting with the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes are set to face LSU on Friday at 11:00 am followed by an evening match with tournament host SMU at 7:30 pm. Miami will close out the weekend with a 5:00 pm match-up against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.