Sept. 20, 2008

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - The University of Maryland volleyball team tied a school record with 21 total blocks in a four-set victory against North Dakota Saturday evening in the Towson Invitational.

The Terrapins (4-8) posted their first back-to-back wins of the season, defeating the Fighting Sioux, 25-22, 31-33, 25-23 and 25-20.

Maryland also recorded 21 blocks once each in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The last time came Sept. 18, 2004 in a five-set victory against Butler in College Park, Md.

Freshman Lisa Scott led the Terps with 12 blocks, including two solos and senior Maggie Schmelzle and freshman Sharon Strizak each recorded six blocks, including three solos from Schmelzle. Senior Mary Beth Brown added five blocks and junior Katie Usher had four.

Maryland came out firing in the first set, scoring the first four points, including two kills from Strizak. North Dakota (14-2) cut Maryland's lead to one on a couple occasions, but the Terps had an answer every time, eventually going up 18-14 to force the Sioux to call timeout. Maryland kept rolling out of the timeout, however, scoring four straight points to force another timeout. Scott was involved in three block assists and a Sioux handling error accounted for the other point.

Up 24-20 with set point, the Terps got a scare when the Sioux scored two straight points to cut the deficit to two. However, Usher finished the first-set win with a kill from Strizak to win 25-22.

Maryland out-hit North Dakota .258 to .093. Scott and Schmelzle each had three blocks.

After a 3-0 Maryland run to start set No. 2, things were nip and tuck the rest of the way, with both teams exchanging small scoring runs. Neither side could gain a lead larger than three. Down 22-20, the Terps scored four consecutive times to hold set point at 24-22. Unfortunately, the Sioux answered with three straight points to hold set point, 25-24.

Maryland fended off defeat briefly and then both teams continued to swap points as the set continued well past 25. The Terps held five set points from that point, but could not finish the deal as the Sioux rallied to win, 33-31, on back-to-back Maryland attack errors by Hayley Hanson and Usher, respectively.

The third set was almost identical to the second with both teams going back and forth and neither taking command. Neither side led by more than two at any point in the set and there were 19 ties.

Tied at 22, Maryland finished the set on a 3-1 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Terps benefited from two Sioux hitting errors before Schmelzle finished the set with a kill for the 25-23 win.

After the hard-fought win in set No. 3, the Terps started quickly in the fourth set, grabbing a 7-2 advantage. The Terps led 17-13 and seemed to be in good shape, but a service error and North Dakota service ace cut the lead to one at 17-16, forcing the Terps to call timeout and regroup.

The Terps responded positively to the timeout, embarking on a 4-1 run to again go up by four points, 21-17. The Sioux would get no closer the rest of the way and Scott provided the clinching kill to give the Terps their second victory of the day.

A day after tying for third place in school history in digs, Schmelzle moved into sole possession with a team-high 15 digs. Schmelzle also added a service ace to move into the top 10 in school history, tying Lindsay Davey with 91 in her career.

Usher led Maryland with 14 kills on .440 hitting and Schmelzle also reached double digits with 12. Brown added nine kills on .348 hitting and sophomore Michelle Kenning had seven kills. Hanson led Maryland with 30 assists, followed by 15 from Strizak.

Devin Trefz led North Dakota with a match-high 19 kills. Sophomore Bethany Springer and Strizak joined Schmelzle with double-digit digs, recording 13 and 10, respectively.

With Towson's sweep of Lehigh Saturday evening, three teams finished 2-1 for the weekend. North Dakota was crowned the tournament champion due to the total-sets-won-versus-sets-lost tiebreaker. North Dakota finished plus-four for the weekend, Towson was plus-three and Maryland was even.

Usher and Strizak were named to the all-tournament team.

Maryland is now done with non-conference play and open Atlantic Coast Conference competition at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening when the Boston College Eagles visit Comcast Pavilion.

Towson Invitational All-Tournament Team