Hurricanes Upset by Maryland at ACC Championships
Nov. 19, 2004
Charlottesville, Va. – The second seeded University of Miami volleyball team was upset by seventh seeded Maryland, 3-1 (30-26, 30-22, 22-30, 30-27), in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Championships Friday evening in Memorial Gym on the campus of the University of Virginia. The Hurricanes fell to 16-9 overall and 11-5 in the ACC.
Both teams battled for the lead early in game one, exchanging points until Maryland pulled ahead to make the score 6-3. The Hurricanes fought back after a dig by Jamie Grass led to a Valeria Tipiana kill. The Terps continued to pile on the points, however, and extended their lead to 14-10 heading into a Miami timeout. A recharged Hurricanes squad came out to score two points and pull within two but the Terps maintained a two-point lead until two Grass digs and a Tipiana kill tied the score at 17-all. Maryland rallied to make the score 20-18 but the Hurricanes closed in, notching two points to tie the score at 20. The Terrapins once again rallied and took the lead for good, closing out the close game, 30-26.
Game two saw another close battle with six tied scores and two lead changes. The Terps maintained a two-point lead through the beginning of the game until the Hurricanes battled back from a three point deficit to tie the score at 7-all. The Terps regained the lead to bring the score to 12-7 heading into a Miami timeout. The Hurricanes then went on a six-point run to tie the score at 14-all. A battle ensued for the lead with the score being tied on four different occasions until Maryland tallied two points to bring the score to 19-17. Maryland ran away with the score, 23-17, before the Hurricanes were able to tally back-to-back points to pull within four. The Hurricanes could not keep Maryland at bay, however, and fell, 30-22.
Game three unfolded in much the same fashion with both teams fighting for the lead until the Hurricanes pulled away to bring the score to 8-5. The Hurricanes extended their lead, bringing the score to 11-7 heading into a Maryland timeout. The Terps tacked on back-to-back points but the Hurricanes won a long rally and added two more points off consecutive blocks to bring the score to 16-12. Miami took a 17-15 lead into a timeout and extended their lead to four once they took the court. The Hurricanes maintained a four point lead throughout the reminder of the game until a block gave them a five point lead and brought the score to 27-22. The Hurricanes closed out the game with a Johnson kill that gave them a 30-22 win. The Hurricanes held the Terps to a .059 hitting percentage while forcing 12 attacking errors. As a team, the Hurricanes hit .406 and posted a game-high seven blocks.
Once again, both teams fought for the lead in the fourth game before a Maryland net violation gave the Hurricanes a two point lead with the score at 8-5. The Terps battled back, notching three points to tie the game at nine-all. A service ace would give Maryland the lead but a kill by Francheska Savage tied the score at ten. Down by one, the Hurricanes capitalized on block and another Maryland net violation to take a 12-11 lead. The Hurricanes called a timeout after Maryland took a 14-12 advantage. The Terps, however, got on top and maintained a two point lead throughout most of the match until they brought the score to 26-21. Despite going on a late 5-3 run, the Hurricanes could not solve the Terrapins, who took a 30-27 win and the match.
The Hurricanes were led by Johnson, who tallied 22 kills, five block assists, three digs and hit .439 in the match. Tipiana,Elizabeth Tyson and Savage also posted double digit kill efforts in the match. Tipiana notched 14 kills and seven digs. Tyson posted 11 kills and seven digs while Savage tallied 15 kills to go along with her five block assists.
Defensively, Grass tallied a match-high 17 digs while redshirt ssoophomore Ciara Michel posted a team-high seven block assists. She also posted the Hurricanes’ lone solo block.
As a team, the Hurricanes were held to a.261 hitting percentage. They posted only one block less than Maryland’s 14.0.
The Hurricanes return to action Wednesday, November 24th for senior night, where they will face South Florida at 4:00 p.m. in the final home match of the season.
