UM Volleyball Performs Well at Home Spring Tournament
April 9, 2011
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – With solid play from both areas – offensively and defensively – on Saturday morning, the University of Miami volleyball team tallied a 2-0 record in the Miami Spring Volleyball Tournament held inside the James L. Knight Sports Complex on the UM campus in Coral Gables, Fla.
With four teams participating in this year’s spring event, the Hurricanes faced off against fellow Miami-Dade institutions Miami Dade College and St. Thomas University. Cross-town university FIU also took place in the tournament.
The tournament consisted of three rounds, with two matches taking place at a time in each round. Matches were played as a best two-of-three set format going to the standard collegiate 25 points.
Miami got eight kills from freshman Emani Sims (Glenview, Ill.) in its opener against Miami Dade College. Classmate Ryan Shaffer (San Jose, Calif.) scooped up double-digit digs in the match to help the Hurricanes cruise to a two-set sweep – 25-13, 25-8.
In the second match for the Hurricanes, Miami continued its strong spring showing to-date with a three-set victory over St. Thomas on scores of 25-20, 20-25 and 15-10. The `Canes looked towards kills from junior All-America performer Lane Carico (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and freshman Alexandria Johnson (Tallahassee, Fla.) in the match, while junior Ali Becker (Katy, Texas) was a force at the net in the blocks category for most of the day.
Redshirt junior setter Katie Gallagher (Winter Park, Fla.) handed out over 30 assists on the day, with Sims showing her athleticism at the net with an unregistered amount of blocks – teaming with Becker, Carico and Johnson for the UM points in that department.
The University of Miami volleyball team will conclude the spring season with the annual Fiesta on Siesta Key Collegiate Beach Volleyball Tournament, scheduled for Saturday, April 16, in Siesta Key, Fla. Under the guidance of 10th-year head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch, the `Canes have performed exceptionally well in the annual event the past two seasons, and look to continue that trend next weekend.
A complete list of Saturday’s match results from the Miami Spring Volleyball Tournament is listed below:
Miami Volleyball Spring Tournament Results
Round 1
Court 1: Miami def. St. Thomas – 2-0 (25-13, 25-8)
Court 2: FIU def. Miami Dade College – 2-0 (25-19, 25-11)
Round 2
Court 1: Miami def. Miami Dade College – 2-1 (25-20, 20-25, 15-10)
Court 2: FIU def. St. Thomas – 2-0 (27-25, 25-16)
Round 3
Court 2: Miami Dade College def. St. Thomas – 2-0 (25-13, 25-22)
For more information on the University of Miami volleyball team, please log on to HurricaneSports.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, stats and information regarding the Hurricanes volleyball program.
For more information on the upcoming Fiesta on Siesta Key Collegiate Beach Volleyball Tournament, please check back regularly to HurricaneSports.com, or you can visit the official tournament website by clicking here.
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