Sept. 14, 2012
Box Score
BROOKLYN, N.Y. -
The Maryland volleyball team used a strong defensive effort to defeat St. John's in three sets (25-15, 25-12, 25-18) Friday afternoon in the first game of the Blackbird Invitational at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center on the campus of LIU Brooklyn.
The Terps (6-4, 0-1 ACC) tied a season high with 12 blocks and held the Red Storm to a .069 hitting percentage, while forcing St. John's into 23 attacking errors.
Sophomore Adreené Elliott continued her strong form. Elliott had a career-high eight blocks to go along with a match-high 15 kills to pace the Terps offensively. Junior Mary Cushman tallied 13 kills and five blocks, while freshman Mackenzie Dagostino had 20 assists.
Cushman and freshman Kamrin Gold got the Terps off to a strong start in the opening set. Maryland jumped out to a 7-3 lead behind two kills each from Cushman and Gold to force St. John's to take an early timeout. Following the timeout, Elliott went to work offensively by scoring two of the next three points to put Maryland up 9-4.
The Red Storm rallied to cut the Terrapin lead to two points at 13-11 before Maryland ripped off the next nine points to put the set out of reach. During the run, Maryland picked up three blocks including a solo block from sophomore Ashleigh Crutcher and an assisted block from Crutcher and Elliott.
St. John's responded by gaining the upper hand early in the second set. Maryland miscues helped the Red Storm gain an early 7-3 lead. But the Terps slowly chipped away at the deficit before a Cushman kill and another block by Crutcher and Elliott put the Terps in front at 12-11.
Following a St. John's timeout, the Red Storm scored the next two points to regain the lead. But a kill from Elliott sparked a five-point Maryland run to put the Terps up 17-13 forcing the Red Storm to take another timeout.
The Red Storm cut the Maryland lead to two points on two occasions, but each time Maryland extended its lead. Senior Caitlin Adams gave Maryland set point followed by a Red Storm error to put the Terps up 2-0 heading into the intermission.
Maryland ended any notion of a St. John's comeback early in the third set. With the match tied at 6-6, the Terps scored seven points in a row to put them in control of the third frame.
After the Red Storm cut the lead to three points, consecutive kills by Cushman put Maryland up 15-10. Cushman added her fifth kill of the set following a Maryland service error to increase its lead to 16-11. The Terps went on to win the set by seven points.
Maryland is back in action tomorrow against NJIT at 12:30 p.m. The Terps close the Blackbird Invitational with a 6:30 p.m. match against LIU Brooklyn.
