Oct. 28, 2012
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
For the second consecutive match the Maryland volleyball team played five sets. Unfortunately for the Terps, the outcome was not the same as the Terps fell to Clemson (25-27, 25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 15-9) Sunday afternoon at Comcast Pavilion despite a career-high 28 kills from Ashleigh Crutcher.
Crutcher's 28 kills is the highest total for an ACC player this season and is the most for a Terp since Lynnsy Jones had 33 kills at Florida State on Oct. 12, 2002. Earlier this season, Crutcher knocked down 26 kills against Virginia Tech on Sept. 28.
Seven Terps combined for a season-high 69 kills. Mary Cushman had 16, Adreené Elliott had eight and Kelsey Hrebenach totaled a career-high seven.
Setting up the hitters, Remy McBain finished with a season-high 38 assists and Amy Dion turned in another strong performance at libero with 23 digs.
The opening set was the closest set of the day as it featured 10 ties and four lead changes. The Terps (12-13, 3-10 ACC) started the match hitting at a high level and finished the set with a .349 hitting percentage led by Crutcher's eight kills.
Maryland opened up a 5-2 lead early and extended it to 12-7 before Clemson called a timeout. The Tigers rattled off the next five points forcing the Terps to use one of their timeouts. The two teams stayed within at least one point of each other before an errant Tiger set gave the Terps a 22-20 lead.
Crutcher and Elliott each had a kill on two of the next three points to give Maryland set point. Clemson responded with three consecutive points to extend the set. With the set tied 25-25, McBain set up an Elliott kill and added one of her own to secure a first-set win for the Terps.
The Terps and Tigers switched roles in the second set. Clemson's offense caught fire and converted 44.4 percent of its attack opportunities and its defense held Maryland to .121 hitting to even up the match.
The set was nip-and-tuck early on with neither team able to gain momentum. Eventually, Clemson edged out in front at 8-5 and increased its lead to 15-11. At 18-13, a Crutcher kill and a service ace from McBain cut the deficit to three and the Tigers called a timeout. Out of the break, the Tigers regained control and scored four consecutive points as Clemson went on to win the set.
The defenses tighten up after the intermission. The Terps held the Tigers to .206 hitting, but Clemson's defense held Maryland to .154 hitting en route to a third-set win. Hrebenach got Maryland off to strong start with back-to-back service aces to give Maryland a 3-1 lead.
With the set tied 8-8, Clemson's front line picked up three consecutive blocks causing the Terps to call timeout. The timeout did not slow down Clemson. The Tigers scored six of the next eight points to increase their lead to 17-11. Two consecutive kills from Crutcher trimmed the Tiger lead to 23-22, but the Terps were unable to tie the match and Clemson won the set 25-23.
In the fourth set, the Terps got six kills from Cushman, five kills from Crutcher and three blocks to extend the match to a fifth set. After leading 8-6 early, the Terps recovered from a 14-12 deficit behind four kills from Crutcher to earn a two-point lead.
After the Tigers tied the set 17-17, Maryland scored six of the next nine points to take a 23-19 lead. Elliott knocked down a kill to give the Terps set point and McBain finished it off with solo block to send Maryland into the fifth set with momentum.
Clemson got it going early in the fifth set and scored 10 of the first 13 points to put itself in position to seal the win. Maryland showed resiliency and cut the deficit to three with three kills from Crutcher and a kill a piece from Cushman and Hrebenach. But Maryland would not get any closer as Clemson won 15-9.
