Oct. 31, 2009

Box Score

DURHAM, N.C. - Senior Katie Usher led the University of Maryland volleyball team with 11 kills on .500 hitting Saturday night at Duke, but the Terrapins fell to the host Blue Devils in three sets, 25-21, 25-18 and 25-18.

Freshman Kara Bates added 10 kills for the second straight match, but Duke (21-4, 11-2 ACC) hit .337 as a team against the Terps (11-15, 3-10 ACC).

Maryland hung with Duke for the majority of the opening set, trailing by one point as late as 17-16. But the Blue Devils pulled away with a 7-2 run and never looked back.

Duke never trailed in the second set, cruising to a seven-point win.

Trailing 2-0, the Terps came out strong in the third set, grabbing an early 6-2 lead thanks to a pair of kills each from Usher and Maddi Lee. But Duke didn't trail for long. The Blue Devils scored 10 of the next 12 points to grab a four-point advantage and went on to hit .520 in the set.

Sophia Dunworth and Rachael Moss notched 10 kills apiece to lead Duke.

Maryland returns to Comcast Pavilion next weekend for matches against Clemson and Georgia Tech Friday and Sunday, respectively.

- TERPS -