Hurricanes Square-Off at Tri-Match in Gainesville
April 10, 2009
Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Miami Hurricanes volleyball team gets back to the court on Saturday, Apr. 11, taking part in a tri-match affair at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Due to construction, all matches will take place inside Florida Gym (located east of Ben Hill Griffin Football Stadium).
This year’s event will feature four teams all from the Sunshine State, including Miami and host Florida. The other two participating teams are FIU (Florida International University) and Florida State. Each team will participate in six matches with two sets scored to 25, concluding with a third set to 15.
UM head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch is excited about this weekend’s activities, and hopes the Hurricanes can showcase their hard work from the previous weeks of practice in the last indoor team event of the spring. Miami travels to the Collegiate Beach Volleyball Challenge next weekend in Siesta Key, Fla.
“We conclude our spring indoor competitions this weekend at Florida,” stated Lantagne Welch. “We will be getting in a large amount of sets. So, the key is that we use each one to improve in some phase, and to continue to gain valuable experience for the fall. We will continue to work to improve the rhythm and balance of our offense, and the consistency of our defense.”
There will be two courts of live action beginning at 10 a.m., running through the last match which is scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm.
The Hurricanes and Gators met-up last year in a six-match affair in Coral Gables. The two teams split the matches (3-3) at the James L. Knight Sports Complex on the campus of the University of Miami.
UM will begin Saturday’s action against ACC rival Florida State before concluding the morning session with host UF. Miami split a match with FSU two weeks ago at the UCF Spring Tournament, and defeated FIU in a best-of-three match in Coral Gables back on Mar. 13.
In the afternoon gathering, the Hurricanes begin their first match at approximately 2:30, ending the day-long festival at 4:30.
Miami was last in action at the UCF Spring Tournament two weeks ago in Orlando. The `Canes finished the event with two wins and two ties, with victories against UCF and USF. They would tie matches with Florida State and West Florida. UM had solid defensive play from Cassie Loessberg, as well as the front line of Ali Becker and Lici McGee. Setter Katie Gallagher helped the `Canes hitting a .550 clip in the four matches with 11 kills and zero errors. Teammate Ariell Cooke was solid in consecutive outings with a .316 clip.
For more information on the Florida Tri-Match, please log on to www.GatorZone.com.
For more information on the University of Miami volleyball team, please locate your internet browser to www.hurricanesports.com – the official athletic website for all varsity sports for the University of Miami Hurricanes.
