Sept. 2, 2005

Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Rachel Wagener had 20 kills and Maggie Schmelzle posted a double-double to lead the University of Maryland volleyball team to a 3-1 (30-25, 30-28, 28-30, 30-27) season-opening victory over Marshall Friday night in Comcast Center Pavilion. Rutgers swept Texas-Arlington, 3-0, in the first match of the Courtyard by Marriott Ft. Meade Invitational earlier in the evening.

Wagener connected on 20 of 26 attempts while only committing two errors for a match-high .692 attack percentage. She also registered a solo block and three block assists for a solid all-around match.

Freshman Maggie Schmelzle, meanwhile, earned her first start with the Terrapins and registered 14 kills and 14 digs for the first double-double of her career. The 6-1 outside hitter also combined on three blocks.

The Terrapins (1-0) jumped out to a 10-5 lead in game one on a Schmelzle kill assisted by fellow freshman Tedi Doucet, and built an eventual 17-9 margin on a Beth Gillming kill. The Terps hit .444 as a team and cruised from there, earning the 30-25 first-game victory on a kill from Jade Brown.

Senior libero Stephanie Doiron led the Maryland defensive effort in game one with nine digs and finished with a match-high 20.

In game two, Wagener and Schmelzle had five and four kills, respectively, and the Terrapins managed a 30-28 victory despite being out-hit by the Thundering Herd, .333-.281.

Marshall (0-2) fought back in game three behind six kills from Kelly-Anne Billingy and five aces to earn a 30-28 victory.

The Terps clinched the match in the fourth game, however, as they led 14-9 after a Schmelzle ace and never relinquished the lead. Although Marshall pulled within one point at 26-25, a kill by Gillming and three more by Schmelzle gave the Terps their first victory of the young season.

Brown finished with 13 kills and hit .379, while Doucet had 23 assists, five digs and two aces in her first-career match. Gillming, meanwhile, nearly notched a double-double with nine kills and 14 digs.

Stephanie Smith also had a solid performance with six kills and three blocks, while Teryn Papp had a team-high 29 assists and posted seven digs.

Mary Beth Brown, who saw action for the first time in her career after redshirting last season, was impressive with seven kills, a .375 attack percentage and three blocks.

Marshall was led by Billingy, who finished with 19 kills. Cahill and Amber Sims were also in double digits in the kills category with 12 and 15, respectively. Defensively, Cahill also had 16 digs while libero Maggie Arias notched 12.

In the first game of the tournament, Rutgers (2-2) handled Texas-Arlington (30-26, 30-26, 30-16). The Scarlet Knights had four players reach double digits for kills and setter Roxy Calder notched a match-high 51 assists.

Ashley Van Antwerp had 12 kills to lead UTA.

The Courtyard by Marriott Ft. Meade Invitational continues Saturday when Maryland hosts Rutgers at 11 a.m. The Terrapins then conclude play with a 7:30 p.m. match against Texas-Arlington. All matches are in Comcast Center Pavilion; admission is free.