Oct. 28, 2005
Coral Gables, Fl. -
Jade Brown led the Terps tonight with a season high of 19 kills in a five game victory over the Hurricanes (30-27, 34-36, 26-30, 30-22 and 15-9) in the Knights Sports Complex in Coral Gables, Fl. Maryland improves its record to 12-1 in the ACC (21-1 overall) to remain first in the league while Miami falls to 5-7 in the ACC (10-10 overall). The win for the Terrapins marks their seventh victory in a row.
Maryland hit .318 on the match, while Miami was kept to .208. Maggie Schmelzle posted her ninth double-double on the year with 15 kills and 15 digs. The Terps' balanced offense was powerful as five players hit more than ten kills for the match: Brown (19), Wagener (15), Schmelzle (15), Gillming (12) and Smith (11). Teryn Papp had 41 sets for the team. Schmelzle led the team with 15 digs, followed by Stephanie Doiron with 13.
"All these games are tough," coach Janice Kruger commented. "We expect to be challenged by every opponent. We played our game and stayed focused."
The Terrapins came out with a small lead at 5-4, when Miami's Sara Duncan had a kill to tie the game. The two teams would trade ties 17 times in the first game. At 16-16, Miami's Karla Wagener had a kill, eventually tallying seven in the game and 26 kills for the night. Maryland hit .450 with Jade Brown leading the team with 7 kills in the first game. At 20-20, Maryland won three-straight points for the lead on Beth Gillming's serve. The Terps won the first game 30-27.
The Terps and the Hurricanes went almost point for point in the second game. The Hurricanes held a slight edge in hitting for the game at .289, while the Terps hit .286. The Terrapins had 42 attacks, to the Hurricanes' 45. Maryland had 10 digs to Miami's 15.
Stephanie Smith hammered a kill from a set by Tedi Doucet, bringing the Terps lead to five points at 17-12 in the second game. Angelica Ellis had a tip to close in at 22-20, spurring the Hurricanes offense. The Terps had some blocking errors and a double hit which brought the game to a tie at 28. The Terrapins had two match points, but the Hurricanes prevailed after five match points to win the game 34-36.
In the third game, the Terps had the lead at 6-3 when Miami's Sara Duncan had a kill down the line. The Hurricanes attacked fiercely, gaining the lead at 12-13 on a net violation by Maryland, never relinquishing the lead after that. The Terrapins stayed in the game and Wagener had a kill after a set by Teryn Papp, followed by a kill by Beth Gillming which brought the game to 19-24. The Terps remained close and fended off two game points, but Miami broke through winning the third game 26-30 on a kill by Johnson.
The Terps determination was evident in the fourth game as Maryland outblocked the `Canes 5-1 and kept the Hurricanes to a .023 hitting percentage. With Schmelzle serving, the Terps built an 11-4 lead at the onset of the game. Rachel Wagener and Mary Beth Brown blocked an attack by Ciara Michel to go up 17-14. On Stephanie Doiron's serve at 24-18, Smith tipped the ball over the Hurricanes' middle blockers for the point to give the Terps their largest lead of the game at 25-18. Wagener and sophomore Tina Aramburu paired up and foiled an attack by Johnson. After Tedi Doucet's dive to save an attack from Savage, Miami's return was blocked by Smith and M.B. Brown to go up 29-22, eventually giving the Terps the win on an error by Miami for a score of 30-22.
Maryland's energy carried through in the fifth game as they came out to a 3-1 lead on a kill by J. Brown. Miami shot back some quick points, and Maryland stayed aggressive with a kill by Schmelzle and blocks by Wagener and Gillming to regain the lead for a 6-5 score. At 11-8, Smith's kill was followed by an ace by Gillming. M.B. Brown had a block to go up 14-8, and the Terps had the win at 15-9.
The Terrapins will play Florida State (3-8 ACC, 5-14) on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Maryland will return to the Comcast Center on Friday, November 4th against the Virginia Cavaliers. Game time is 7:00 p.m.
