Sept. 1, 2005
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
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The Texas-Arlington volleyball team will take part in this weekend's Courtyard by Marriott Ft. Meade Classic hosted by the University of Maryland.
The Mavericks (1-1) are coming off of a two-game split at the Texas A&M/Fazoli's Funfest last weekend. They defeated Prairie View A&M, 3-0 in the opening game, but fell to 16th-ranked Texas A&M, 3-0 in the tournament finale.
Senior Ashley Van Antwerp led the Mavericks with 15 digs in both matches, earning her Aeropostale student athlete co-defensive player of the week in the Southland Conference. Sophomore transfer Emily Nedderman also had two fine outings, posting double-doubles in both matches. The Maverick setter dished out 28 assists and tallied 12 digs against Prairie View A&M and followed that up with a 22-assist, 10-dig performance against Texas A&M.
Texas-Arlington will open up the tournament Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. against Rutgers. They will follow up on Saturday with matches against Marshall at 12 p.m., and defending ACC champion Maryland at 6:30 p.m.
SCOUTING RUTGERS: Rutgers (1-2) is coached by interim head coach Orlando Gonzalez who is in his first season ... The Scarlet Knights defeated Lehigh, but fell to Temple and Townson in last weekend's Temple tournament ... They are led by preseason all-Big East outside hitter Lora Yankauskas (3.45 kpg, 2.55 dpg) and fellow outside hitter Courtney Stout (2.72 kpg, 4.00 dpg) ... Setter Jocelyn Greenwald leads the team with 7.91 apg, while libero Justine Park is averaging 3.82 dpg ... Texas-Arlington leads the all-time series with a 2-1 mark ... The two squads have not played each other since 1984, when the Mavericks defeated the Scarlet Knights, 3-0, at the Houston Invitational.
SCOUTING MARSHALL: Marshall (0-1) is coached by Mitch Jacobs who has led the Thundering Herd to three-straight 20-win seasons in his first three years ... Marshall opened the season with a three-game loss against former MAC-rival Miami (Ohio) ... They are led by Conference-USA Preseason Player of the year Kelly-Anne Billingy ... She tallied 21 kills in Monday's loss ... Setter Katie Stein dished out 37 assists against Miami (Ohio) ... This will be the first meeting between the Thundering Herd and the Mavericks.
SCOUTING MARYLAND: Maryland (0-0) is led by head coach Janice Kruger who is in her 18th season with the squad ... The Terrapins finished 1815 last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament on the strength of an ACC Tournament championship ... They are led by preseason All-ACC selections Rachel Wagener (2.66 kpg, 1.36 bpg) and Stephanie Smith (2.33 kpg, 1.46 bpg) ... Libero Beth Gillming led the team with 3.47 dpg last season ... This will be the first meeting between the Terrapins and Mavericks.
OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN: Seniors Melissa Marek and Ashley Van Antwerp have been selected by a vote of their teammates to serve as co-captains in 2005.
SISTER: Freshman Megann Findley and assistant coach Erin (Findley) Clute become only the third set of sisters involved with UTA Volleyball in the history of the program in 2005. They join Donna (1978-79) and Teresa (1977-78) Frederick, as well as current Maverick Ashley (2003-) and Caley (2001-04) Smith. The Findley's are the first coach/player combination at the same time on the Maverick's squad.
SENIOR SALUTE: Melissa Marek and Ashley Van Antwerp are this year's only two seniors. In their three-year career so far, these players have guided the Mavericks to a 67-28 (.705) overall record, and 47-13 (.783) in the Southland Conference.
HITTING THE BOOKS: Senior Melissa Marek graduated valedictorian out of 125 students at Cameron Yoe High School.
RICH HISTORY: The Mavericks have made eight trips to the NCAA Tournament. The 1989 squad advanced to the national semifinals before falling to Long Beach State. UTA defeated North Carolina, LSU and Texas on its way to a third-place finish.
