After three straight seasons of winning at least a share of the ACC championship, the Terrapin volleyball team bottomed out last season with a dismal 6-16 conference record, finishing 11th in the conference.
Starting tomorrow with Boston College, the Terps will try to return to the form they showed from 2003 through 2005 when they were the class of the ACC. After finishing non-conference play with an 8-1 record and two tournament championships, senior outside hitter Beth Gillming said the Terps are ready for Saturday.
“We are really excited. We had a great preseason, great non-conference competition,” Gillming said. “We have a lot of camaraderie on the court; it’s going to be good to start our first ACC game this Saturday. I am real happy about where we are at right now. I am excited to get into the ACCs.”
The Terps will begin their season this weekend when they open up ACC play on the road against Boston College. Last season, Boston College swept the season series against the Terps, winning all six games in the two matches.
“BC is playing at home, they are competitive. They have a lot of young players but they are experienced from looking at the film,” Kruger said. “Winning on the road is a big deal in the ACC. They are a tough defensive team, and won’t beat themselves.”
The Terps return almost the entire 2006 squad after losing just two seniors to graduation, starting setter Teryn Papp and outside hitter Tina Aramburu. Sophomore Haley Hanson and freshman Rachel Profit have split time at setter so far this season while junior Tedi Doucet recovers from a stress fracture in her foot.
The Terps are riding a six-match winning streak, including two matches they swept, but the team had similar success last season. The Terps had similar success in non-conference matches, posting a 7-2 record before going 6-16 the rest of the way.
The Terps were picked to finish ninth in the ACC in the preseason poll, and while Kruger was unmoved by the ranking, the players have turned it into motivation.
“It doesn’t mean anything to me, its just preseason rankings, if they are basing it off our performance last year, we have to prove ourselves.” Kruger said. “However, it’s motivation for the players, I have always said that it’s better to be the underdog than the one on top.”
Junior hitter Mary Beth Brown said the Terps have been looking forward to this moment ever since the close of last season.
“We are looking forward to redeeming ourselves from last year and starting off on the right foot,” Brown said.
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