Miami Concludes Regular Season Against Florida State
Nov. 24, 2009
Complete Match Notes in PDF Format 
Coral Gables, Fla. – The University of Miami will conclude the 2009 regular season Wednesday with a showdown at home against ACC and in-state rival Florida State at the James L. Knight Sports Complex in Coral Gables, Fla. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
Miami (18-11, 11-8 ACC) enters the match with a two-match winning streak after sweeping Maryland and Boston College last weekend. The match also marks the last home match for seniors Maria Andersson, Cassie Loessberg, Genny Mayhew and Griffin Udelson. The seniors were honored over the weekend prior to the match against Boston College.
This year’s meeting marks the second time in as many years that Miami will close-out the regular season with FSU (27-2, 18-1 ACC). Last year, the two met a day before Thanksgiving in a five-set thriller–one that saw the Hurricanes take a 3-2 victory over the `Noles, ending the year at 26-6 for UM.
This is just the second time that Miami is facing FSU while the Seminoles are ranked. UM fell, 3-0, to the `Noles earlier this year in Tallahassee with the Seminoles ranked No. 19 nationally in the AVCA poll. The `Noles are ranked 14th in this week’s poll. The matchup marks the highest ranked team faced by the `Canes since meeting Duke, ranked No. 14 on both occasions, during the 2007 campaign. UM fell in both matches on 3-0 decisions.
The match on Wednesday will feature live stats provided by Game Tracker through the UM athletics website at www.hurricanesports.com. Live audio will be made available through WVUM (www.wvum.org).
For more information on the University of Miami Volleyball team, please log on to www.hurricanesports.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, stats and information regarding the Hurricanes Volleyball program.
Quick Hits on Florida State
Florida State has already wrapped up the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title, and moved up a spot to No. 14 this week after being tied for 15th last week in the AVCA poll. The Seminoles high-powered offense is geared around five players with more than 200 kills. Leading the pack is this week’s ACC Player of the Week Mira Djuric with a team-high 276 kills, while Brianna Barry sits behind her 257. Stephanie Neville has 249 kills.
The Seminoles use a two-setter system, which is something that has caused trouble for the Hurricanes in recent years. Leading the group is Nikki Baker with a team-best 646 assists, and Duygu Duzceler is just behind her with 589 assists. The defense for the Seminoles is provided by Jenna Romanelli with 306 digs, and teammate Fatma Yildirim is second on the squad with 289 digs.
Series Against Florida State
In a series that dates back to 1978 between these two “Sunshine State” rivals, Florida State used a victory earlier in the season to step in front in the all-time series by a count of 17-16-1. Miami swept last year’s series with wins in Coral Gables and Tallahassee–the latter being a five-set thriller with UM earning a come-from-behind win. However, FSU took this year’s earlier meeting in Tallahassee, 3-0. Since joining the ACC, UM holds a slight 6-5 advantage in the series, including wins in three of the last five contests.
Last Time vs. Florida State (11/18/09)
Three Miami players each registered five kills, but it wasn’t enough as No. 19 Florida State took down the University of Miami in volleyball, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-17), Friday evening in the ACC-opener for both clubs at Tully Gym in Tallahassee, Fla.
Miami (7-3, 0-1 ACC) was unable to get the shots on Friday evening, hitting a season-low .044 clip (28-24-91) as a team against a tough FSU opponent. Miami did battle back for its best hitting output in the third set, scoring a .233 mark behind four kills from Christine Williamson.
Florida State (9-1, 1-0 ACC), ranked no. 19 in the latest AVCA coaches poll, hit above .300 twice – in the second and third set, respectively. As a team, FSU hit .217 (40-17-106) in the match.
Lici McGee and Williamson each scored five kills for UM on the night, but Florida State’s blocking proved to be the difference in the contest. The Seminoles racked up 13 team blocks while Miami committed 24 attack errors.
UM senior Genny Mayhew supplied defense for the `Canes with a team-best 10 digs, while Becker posted three blocks (two assisted). Setter Katie Gallagher setup the UM offense with 25 assists, and Cassie Loessberg got low for eight digs of her own out of her libero position.
The Hurricanes also used seven kills from Lane Carico as she fell just short of a double-double with eight digs.
On This Date in History
In matches played on November 25, the University of Miami is just 0-1. The lone match played was a 3-1 setback at the hands of Duke University in 2005 at home in Coral Gables, Fla.
