Aug. 24, 2012

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. - Junior Mary Cushman and sophomore Adreené Elliott combined for 28 kills and Remy McBain totaled a match-high 25 assists to lead the Maryland volleyball team to a 3-0 win Friday night at Villanova to open the 2012 season.

The Terps turned in a complete team effort as six different players registered a kill and freshman Mackenzie Dagostino complimented McBain with 17 assists of her own. Cushman had a match-high 16 kills and Elliott added 12. Junior Sarah Harper turned in a solid defensive effort with 16 digs.

Maryland was solid on defense. The Terrapins held the Wildcats to a .143 hitting percentage and forced 15 Villanova errors.

The third and final set was the most entertaining frame of the evening, but started unfavorably for the Terps. The Wildcats scored the first five points of the third set and increased their lead to eight points following a Krista Andersen kill. The Terps called a timeout to settle themselves. After the break, Maryland scored seven of the next 10 points behind three kills from Cushman and two kills from senior Caitlin Adams to cut the Villanova lead to 15-11.

After the Wildcats increased their lead to six points, Cushman added another kill followed by an Adams service ace and two kills from Elliott to trim the Villanova lead to 17-15 and force the Wildcats to take their second timeout.

Spurred on by a kill from freshman Ashleigh Crutcher and three kills from McBain, the Terps tied the match at 19. The match remained tight with neither team able to grab a lead larger than a point. Finally, with the match tied at 28, Dagostino set up fellow setter McBain and followed with another assist to Elliott to seal the win.

In the opening set, the two squads traded points. With the set tied at nine, Elliott singled handedly propelled the Terps in front. The Winston-Salem, N.C., native notched four straight kills, three of which were off of feeds by Dagostino, to force the Wildcats to call a timeout.

The Terps continued their run following the break as Cushman tallied one of her five first-set kills to push the Maryland lead to 15-9. After three Villanova errors, a service ace by freshman Emily Fraik and another Cushman kill, the Terps led 19-9. Maryland withstood a late Villanova run to win the opening set 25-22.

Trailing 7-6 early in the second set, Dagostino set up Cushman for her seventh kill of the match to spark a seven-point run to give the Terps the advantage. Villanova pulled within two points at 14-12, but Maryland responded behind Fraik who scored three of the next five points to give the Terps a 19-12 lead. The Wildcats pulled within five points, but would not get any closer as the Terrapins won the second set 25-19.

The Terps continue play at the Villanova Classic tomorrow morning. Maryland takes on New Hampshire at 10:30 a.m. and will close the tournament against Robert Morris at 3:30 p.m.

- Terps -