Oct. 2, 2009
Box Score
RALEIGH, N.C. -
Led by sophomore outside hitter Maddi Lee's match-high 22 kills and .390 hitting percentage, the University of Maryland volleyball team battled back from a 2-0 deficit to rally and defeat the NC State Wolfpack, 3-2, Friday evening in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup at Reynolds Coliseum.
The Terrapins (10-8, 2-3 ACC) dropped the first two sets, 24-26 and 17-25, but rallied after the break to win the next three sets 25-19, 25-12 and 15-5. The five-set victory marked the second time in four years the Terps have overcome a 2-0 deficit at NC State (7-11, 0-3 ACC), also doing so in 2006.
Maryland trailed by as much as five in the first set at 16-11, but fought back to take a two-point lead at 20-18. The Terps faced two set points, down 24-22, before again rallying to tie the score at 24. However, the Wolfpack claimed the next two points to take a 1-0 lead.
NC State out-hit Maryland .480-.189 in the second set en route to an eight-point win and a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Up 9-6 early in the third set, the Wolfpack were eyeing a sweep. However, things changed right after that point and Maryland took over from there, dominating the rest of the match.
Four Wolfpack attack errors with a Katie Usher kill sandwiched between jumpstarted the Terps' comeback, putting them up 11-9 and forcing an NC State timeout. The timeout did no good, though, as Maryland scored the first two points out of the break and in the blink of an eye it was 18-12 Terps and the Wolfpack were forced to burn their final timeout. State got no closer than four the rest of the way and the Terps found new life.
The Terps and Wolfpack played to a 9-9 tie in the fourth set before Maryland pulled away. Usher, Sharon Strizak and Kara Bates notched consecutive kills and a bad set afterward gave the Terps a 13-9 lead. Holding a 15-10 lead, the Terps took complete control, finishing on a 10-2 run thanks to four kills from Lee.
The usually-dramatic fifth and deciding set turned out to be anything but. Lee scored Maryland's first five point of the set and six of the team's first eight. Up 10-5, Maryland scored the final five points to complete the comeback. The Terps hit .706 in the final frame.
The 0-2 comeback was Maryland's second of the season, as the Terps also did so in the second match of the season against Youngstown State. With her 22 kills, Lee owns the top two single-match kill marks by an ACC player this year. Lee had an ACC-best 24 kills in the season opener against Stony Brook.
Usher and Bates added 12 kills apiece to Maryland's attack, helping the Terps post a .315 hitting percentage in the match.
Kelly Wood paced the Wolfpack with 18 kills.
Maryland is back on the road next weekend for matches at Georgia Tech and Clemson Friday and Saturday, respectively.
- TERPS -
