Nov. 20, 2004

Box Score

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The seventh-seeded Terrapin volleyball team battled back from a two-game deficit to take down No. 3 seed Duke, 3-2 (28-30, 27-30, 30-25, 30-25, 15-11), Saturday night in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Seniors Sarah Treadwell and Jennifer Dewalt each blasted 20 kills and freshman Beth Gillming had a match-high 31 digs for the Terrapins, who will take on fifth-seeded North Carolina on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the conference crown.

Dewalt hit .250 and also recorded a career-high eight blocks, while Treadwell added 14 digs. Gillming reached the 30-dig plateau for the second time this year and junior middle blocker Rachel Wagener posted 19 kills, hit .621 and had a match-high 10 blocks (four solo).

For the second time in the tournament, the Terps (15-14, 7-9 ACC) dropped the first game of the match. Duke got six kills from Tassy Rufai and out-hit the Terps, .188-.077, to take the game by a score of 30-28. Jennifer Dewalt and Sarah Treadwell led Maryland in the first game with five and four kills, respectively, while Beth Gillming had nine digs.

The teams played to 11 consecutive ties before Duke opened up a four-point lead after a Sarah Treadwell attack error and three-straight Blue Devil kills. Down 11-15, the Terrapins took a timeout and returned from the break and went on a 4-0 run to tie the score at 15. The score was tied eight more times, including the last one at 27-27, before Duke strung together a block and two kills to take the second game by a score of 30-27. Rachel Wagener led Maryland with seven kills and no errors on nine attempts in game two for a .778 attack percentage. Gillming again anchored the Terp defense with nine second-game digs.

The Terrapins' improbable comeback began in the third game when Maria DiLivio, Jennifer Dewalt and Sarah Treadwell all had five kills and the Terrapins hit .294 to earn the 30-25 victory.

Maryland jumped out to a 13-8 lead in game four, prompting a Blue Devil timeout. From there, Duke battled back to tie the game at 16 and take a two-point lead on consecutive blocks. The Terps fought back to knot the score again and eventually took a 26-24 lead on a Sarah Treadwell kills. Beth Gillming then notched two-consecutive service aces to get the Terps to game point and Dewalt and Smith came up with a block to give the Terps a 30-25 victory.

With all the momentum on its side, Maryland hit .400 in game five and rolled to the 15-11 victory to clinch the match.

Three Maryland players recorded double-doubles with Aimee Huddleston tallying a career-high 72 assists and a career-high 18 digs, Maria DiLivio recording 10 kills and 10 digs and Treadwell.

Stephanie Smith also reached double-digits in kills, notching 10 for the night to go with nine blocks.

Maryland, the defending ACC Champion, has now won six ACC Tournament matches in a row, dating back to 2003's championship run in which they won three matches in Orlando, Fla.

Duke was led by Carrie DeMange, who had 25 kills, six digs and six blocks.

In the other semifinal match of the day, North Carolina swept Clemson to advance to the title match. GameTracker for Sunday's final is available at www.theacc.com and www.umterps.com.