Hurricanes Hit the Road to Face Duke and Wake Forest

Oct. 20, 2005

CORAL GABLES, <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team will hit the road for two Atlantic Coast Conference matches against Duke and WakeForest this weekend. The Hurricanes will face the Blue Devils Friday at 7:00 p.m. before squaring off against the Demon Deacons Saturday at 6:00 p.m. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

The Hurricanes return to action after finishing 2-1 last week. Miami claimed a 3-1 victory over FloridaState at Tallahassee on Tuesday before suffering a four game home loss to Virgina Friday. The Hurricanes then walked away with a 3-1 victory over Virgina Tech on Sunday to improve to 10-7 overall and 5-4 in ACC play.

Driving the Hurricanes is the play of redshirt junior Francheska Savage who was named ACC player of the week after stellar performances last week. In three matches, Savage registered 5.33 kills per game and a .445 hitting percentage. She is currently ranked sixth in the AC with 3.84 kills per game and ninth with a .302 season hitting percentage.

Senior Karla Johnson remains atop the ACC with 4.97 kills per game. Johnson’s team-leading 29 service aces and 0.43 aces per game average places her seventh in the ACC.

Junior Jill Robinson’s 12.31 assists per game is ranked third in the ACC. Robinson became the only player to surpass 3,000 career assists in Miami’s victory over Virginia Tech.

As a team, the Hurricanes are ranked fourth in hitting percentage (.218), blocks (2.69pg) and kills (15.68pg). They are also ranked third in assists (14.35pg).

Duke will host FloridaState on Thursday before welcoming Miami into Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time in UM history the following evening. The Blue Devils, who are 11-6 overall and own a 5-4 mark in ACC play, split matches against BostonCollege and Maryland last week. In a 3-1 victory over BostonCollege, Duke’s Ali Hausfeld recorded a triple-double, positing 11 kills, 70 assists and 12 digs in the match. Duke was then swept by Maryland, 3-0, on Sunday.

Hausfeld is first in the ACC with 13.24 assists per game while Carrie DeMange leads the Blue Devils with 4.72 kills per game, which places her second in the ACC behind UM’s Johnson. Jenny Shull is second in the conference with 5.11 digs per game.

As a team, Duke is first in kills (16.50pg), assists (15.26pg) and digs (18.64).

The Duke-Miami series is tied at 1-1 after the Blue Devils defeated the Hurricanes, 3-2, on October 7, 2004. Miami won the first-ever meeting between the two teams on December 6, 2002, in the first round of that year’s NCAA Tournament.

Wake Forest will likewise host FloridaState before facing Miami on Saturday. The match will mark the first time that Hurricanes will play at the Demon Deacons’ Reynolds Gym. WakeForest carries a 9-9 record and 2-7 ACC mark into the weekend.

Last Week, WakeForest fell short of its bid to upset Maryland, falling 3-2 in College Park. On Sunday, the Deacs claimed a 3-0 victory over BostonCollege.

Wake Forest is led by Lauren Paterson’s 2.84 kills per game and Erin Borhart’s 9.85 assists per game. Natasha Shafer leads the defense with 3.49 digs per game while Jackie Lucas is sixth in the ACC with 1.27 blocks per game.

Opponents are hitting 16.0 kills per game as opposed to the Deacs’ 13.9 and are posting a .222 hitting percentage, slightly better than the Demon Deacons who are hitting .205.

The Hurricanes claimed a three-game sweep in the first-ever meeting against the Demon Deacons on October 1, 2004.

Stay tuned to the Official Home of Hurricane Athletics, www.hurricanesports.com, for the latest Miami volleyball news, results and statistics.