Sept. 20, 2008

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - Senior right side Mary Beth Brown recorded five kills and three blocks to move into fourth place on the school's all-time blocks list as the University of Maryland volleyball team defeated Lehigh in five sets Saturday morning at the Towson Invitational.

Brown now has 401 kills in her career, surpassing Sherry Smith in the record book and the Terps (3-8) survived a scare from the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (4-7) to win in five sets, 25-15, 25-14, 22-25, 18-25 and 15-6.

The Terps and Mountain Hawks mainly traded points in the early going of the first set, until Maryland opened a four-point lead at 11-7 on back-to-back service aces from sophomore Michelle Kenning. The Hawks got within one at 15-14, but the Terps quickly increased the lead back to four thanks to a pair of kills from Kenning, forcing a Lehigh timeout. The timeout did little to quell the Maryland run, however, as the Terps came out of the break with five straight points, including two Bethany Springer service aces. The Terps went on to take the first set, 25-15.

Kenning paced the Terps with five kills and five digs in the set on .400 hitting. Maryland out-hit Lehigh .300 to .065.

Maryland carried the momentum from the first-set win into set No. 2, scoring the first four points. The Terrapins led by as many as six at 8-2 before the Hawks got as close as two at 10-8. However, the Terps took command of the set, eventually going up by eight at 19-11. Maryland proceeded to take six of the next nine points to take the set, 25-14.

Freshman Lisa Scott had three blocks and two kills in the set while Katie Usher added three kills.

The Terps fell behind early in the third set and could not recover. The Mountain Hawks scored the first three points of the set and jumped to a 17-11 lead before the Terps rallied to cut the deficit to two at 18-16. Lehigh scored two straight points out of a timeout to increase the lead to four, but Maryland got back within one at 20-19 on two kills by Brown.

Maryland could not draw even, though, eventually dropping the set by a score of 25-22 to force a fourth set.

Brown converted all three of her attacks in the set to lead the Terps.

The Terps started slow again in the fourth set, falling behind quickly, 7-1, forcing a timeout. The Terps got as close as four on several occasions, but could inch no closer. Maryland made a brief rally late in the set, turning a 22-14 deficit in half at 22-18, but again could not get any closer, as the Hawks recorded the next three points for a 25-18 victory, forcing a fifth and final set.

With the match on the line, Maryland head coach Tim Horsmon re-inserted senior leaders Maggie Schmelzle and Brown into the starting lineup.

Both sides went back and forth in the deciding set until the Terps went up by four at 8-4 on a pair of Usher service aces. The Terps went up 9-4 on a Lehigh attack error and then 10-4 on yet another service ace by Usher, forcing a Lehigh timeout. The timeout did little good, however, as the Terps continued to roll, scoring the next three points to fully take control of the match at 13-4. Schmelzle recorded two kills in the Terp run. A Lehigh service error sealed the deal for Maryland, giving it a 15-6 victory.

Usher paced the Terps with 10 kills on .364 hitting while Scott added nine kills and a match-high seven blocks, tying her season high. Freshman Maddi Lee posted a season-high six kills. Setters Hayley Hanson and Sharon Strizak nearly split the team's assists, with Strizak recording 23 and Hanson 21, respectively. Maryland out-hit Lehigh .199 to .101 in the match.

Angelika Kopacz led Lehigh with 12 kills while Mo McReynolds added 10 more.

The Terps are back in action at 4:30 this afternoon against North Dakota.

-TERPS-