Nov. 10, 2007
Final Stats
Senior co-captains Beth Gillming (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Jade Brown (Atlanta, Ga.) totaled 18 and 17 kills respectively in the last road matches of their decorated Maryland careers, but a spirited effort against red-hot Florida State came up just short, as the Seminoles outlasted the Terrapins in five games, winning by scores of 16-30, 30-25, 35-33, 28-30, 15-12 Saturday night.
The Terps (16-11, 8-10) rolled in the opening game of the night, seizing control with a 10-0 run to turn an 11-8 lead into a 21-8 lead. Maryland hit .519 for the game, converting 16 of 27 attack attempts.
Maryland led 16-15 midway through the second game. However, the Seminoles (14-12, 11-7) finished on a 15-9 run to knot the match at 1-1 heading to the break.
The third game was hard-fought by both sides and close throughout. Neither side led by more than three points and, eventually, the game was forced beyond the 30-point threshold. Florida State had three attempts to finish off Maryland, but kills by Brown and sophomore setter Hayley Hanson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) kept the Terps alive. However, the Seminoles converted a fourth game-point opportunity on a Lauren Rosenthal kill to win 35-33.
The sting of game three showed early in the fourth frame as the Seminoles jumped out to a 6-0 lead. The Terps never quit, however, answering with an 8-2 run to tie the game at eight apiece. The Terps then scored 11 of the next 15 points to go up 19-12. Maryland appeared to be cruising to a win, up 28-24, but Florida State answered with four straight points to tie the game. Maryland held on, scoring the last two points on a Gillming kill and Brianna Barry attack error.
The Terps led briefly in the fifth and decisive game, 5-4, but could not hold on, losing by three in the end.
Maryland had its most productive service match of the season, registering a season-high 10 aces, led by Hanson's three. Freshman Rachel Profit (Washington, D.C.) and sophomore Christina Paul (North Bethesda, Md.) each had two.
Sophomore Katie Usher had a big night for Maryland, netting 17 kills and five blocks while hitting .516. Sophomore middle blocker Meredith Doyle (McLean, Va.) and junior outside hitter Mary Beth Brown (Vienna, Va.) both posted six blocks. Hanson had a career-high 58 assists. Three Terps reached double figures in digs, paced by junior libero Maggie Schmelzle (Cincinnati, Ohio) with 23. Gillming had 18 and Paul had 10. Profit just missed double digits with nine.
The Terps play their last four games of the season at home, starting with the rival Virginia Cavaliers Friday at 5 p.m. Virginia Tech comes to College Park, Md. next Saturday.
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