Hurricanes Host Interstate Rival FAU
Oct. 11, 2004
Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Miami women’s volleyball team will host Florida Atlantic in non-conference action Tuesday night at 7:00 pm in the Knight Sports Complex. The Hurricanes hope to improve their 7-6 overall record.
“We are looking forward to being at home all week, starting with our match tomorrow night,” said head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch. “We know that we have to be sharp to beat FAU, they are having a great season and always play well against us. Our goal is to play at a high level and put pressure on them from the start of the match until it is complete. We have been a little sporadic over some of our last few matches and that is going to be a focus for us.”
We also want to continue the success we’ve had this season against other Florida schools,” Lantagne Welch added. “Our passing and aggressiveness (offensively and defensively) should be keys to the match.”
The Hurricanes earned their first ever ACC road win when they defeated Virginia in four games Friday night. Miami split the weekend when they dropped a 3-2 decision to Maryland the following evening.
The weekend was highlighted by career performances by sophomores Jill Robinson and Ann Gallo, redshirt sophomore Francheska Savage, junior Karla Johnson, and seniors Ashley Youngs and Valeria Tipiana. Robinson set a new match-high with 67 assists against UVa before posting the same number the following night against Maryland. Gallo also set a new match-high by tallying 19 digs versus Maryland. Savage set a new career-mark in block assists with seven against Maryland. Youngs bested an 11 kill performance set against Duke with 13 kills against Maryland while Tipiana matched a match-high 28 kills, in just four games, against Virginia.
As a team, the Hurricanes hit 17.44 kills per game for a .246 hitting percentage. Defensively Miami registered 19.11 digs per game and 2.33 blocks per game. The Hurricanes held their opponents to 13.33 kills per game and a .106 hitting percentage.
FAU heads into Coral Gables as owners of a 13-2 record while going undefeated in three tries in the Atlantic Sun Conference. FAU will take on Middle Tennessee Monday before facing the Hurricanes. The Owls have been on a seven-game winning tear, most recently defeating Campbell in five games Saturday night.
As a team, the Owls own a .226 attacking percentage while holding opponents to a measly .156. They hit 15.3 kills per game and register 16.4 digs per game.
Leading the way for FAU is Iana Andonova who leads in kills (253), kills per game (4.52kpg), and service aces (31). Kelly Piava is not too far behind with 203 kills for a 3.62 kills per game average. Courtenay Kiebery leads with 531 assists.
Defensively, the Owls are led by Makra Condiel with 255 digs and Cayse Kaveny with 39 total blocks.
