Oct. 29, 2006
Box Score
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Maryland volleyball won its third straight ACC match today, in a five-game contest (30-28, 23-30, 24-30, 19-30, 15-13) over Florida State before 747 at the Comcast Center Pavilion. The Terps, 6-1 on the season in five-game contests, improve to 11-11 (4-9 ACC), while FSU stands at 16-7 (10-4 ACC). The win marks the first weekend the Terps have swept conference play this season.
"I'm very happy with the weekend and our team performance," said head coach Janice Kruger. "Some young players stepped up. Everyone pitched in and we stayed confident and strong despite the pressure."
Four Terrapins notched double-figures in kills, led by outside hitters Mary Beth Brown and freshman Ashley Hogan with 11, while Beth Gillming and Jade Brown each had ten for the Terps. Collectively, the Terps posted a .199 hitting percentage.
The match marked the second time this season the Terps have swatted 20 blocks. Freshman Katie Usher posted the match-high of ten blocks, moving her in a tie for eighth on Maryland's single-season record list with 123 on the year. Mary Beth Brown had eight blocks and Jade Brown and freshman outside hitter Hogan each notched five.
Maggie Schmelzle led the Terps with 14 digs, while Gillming added ten for her fourth double-double this year. Tina Aramburu collected seven digs and five kills in one of her strongest matches this season. Teryn Papp and Tedi Doucet combined for 43 assists.
Florida State got off to a quick 0-6 start in and extended its lead at 6-10, when Mary Beth Brown's two aces and key blocking by Kathleen Wilson and Hogan helped the Terps tie the game at 11-11. The Terps fell behind again at 14-18 and 21-26, when Wilson downed a kill and started a Maryland run of six of the next seven points for 26-27, causing a Seminole timeout. Two Florida State errors and two kills by Mary Beth Brown moved the Terps ahead for the win at 30-28.
The two teams traded points at the start of the second game till, at 7-7, the Seminoles won three straight points, then building to a ten-point lead at 10-20 on service aces by Sarah Griffin and key kills by Makini Thompson. The Terps closed in within five on a kill by Gillming and blocking by Aramburu, Hogan, and Wilson, but Thompson closed out the game for the 23-30 win.
Thompson finished the match with 19 kills, while Sarah Griffin and Jessica Skower combined for 27 kills and 17 digs.
The Terps and the Seminoles fought a fierce fourth game, as the teams exchanged ties 14 times. At 20-20, Gillming downed a kill, while Jade Brown posted a kill for 23-23, but the Seminoles pulled ahead on kills by Thomson and Griffin.
Jade Brown had seven kills alone in the third game.
After a 1-2 start in the third game and two games down, Maryland's resolve set-in as the squad pushed ahead to 7-3 on an ace and a kill by Mary Beth Brown, with another kill from Gillming. Maryland would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game as it went on a nine-point run for 25-15 under Gillming's strong serving. The Terps won the fourth game 30-19, forcing a fifth.
The teams were tied at 4-4, when two Terp errors and a kill by Skower led to a 4-7 score. Two errors and two kills from Aramburu sparked the Terps for 8-8. Jade Brown and Mary Beth Brown had a key block for a two-point edge at 10-8, and Usher and Mary Beth Brown paired up for two consecutive blocks for 14-11. FSU fended off two match points, but Mary Beth Brown downed the final kill for the win at 15-13.
Maryland heads to Virginia next weekend for its second-to-last ACC road matchups this year. The Terps face the Cavaliers on Friday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday, Nov. 4 contest against the Hokies at 6 p.m.
