Sept. 19, 2008

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - Senior Maggie Schmelzle moved into a tie for third place in school history in digs as the University of Maryland volleyball team lost to in-state rival Towson in straight sets during first-round play of the Towson Invitational Friday evening.

Schmelzle recorded five digs to tie Eden Kroeger for third, but the host Tigers won 25-23, 25-20 and 25-21.

The Terps (2-8) led 11-9 in the first set, but fell victim to a big Tiger run to fall behind 16-11. The Tigers led 22-17 and seemed to be in control of the set, however, the Terps answered with a 5-0 to tie the score at 22 and force a Towson timeout.

Towson responded well to the timeout and scored the set's next two points to hold set point, 24-22. The Terps briefly fended off a loss with a tandem block from Lisa Scott and Sharon Strizak, but that was as close as they could get, falling, 25-23.

Maryland hit .161 in the set. Katie Usher and Mary Beth Brown hit well in the set, combining to convert six of eight attempts.

The Tigers (9-3) grabbed a quick 3-0 lead in the second set and never trailed the rest of the way, winning 25-20. Michelle Kenning had three kills in the set while Usher and Brown added two more apiece.

The third and final set was close early, but another big run by the Tigers put it away as they grabbed a 16-9 advantage en route to a 25-21 victory.

Usher led the Terps with 11 kills on a season-high .526 hitting. Brown tied her career high in hitting percentage, converting four of six attacks for a .667 percentage.

Senior Maddie Haseltine led the Tigers with 12 kills on .500 hitting.

The Terps are back in action tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks before finishing non-conference play against North Dakota.

-TERPS-