PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Junior setter Whitney Craigo dished out a career-high 54 assists as the Maryland volleyball team fell to Rutgers in a five-set thriller Wednesday evening. The Terps (10-13, 0-9 B1G) dropped to the Scarlet Knights (4-17, 1-8) by set scores of 23-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-15 and 15-12.
“Congrats to Rutgers. They played hard for the whole match,” head coach Steve Aird said. “ I think we did some good things and kept fighting, but it's a good league and everyone is fighting for wins.”
Senior outside hitter Adreené Elliott led Maryland with 23 kills while freshman outside hitter Liz Twilley posted 21 on .314 clip. Sophomore middle blocker Hailey Murray notched 10 kills and led the match with eight blocks. Freshman libero Kelsey Wicinski led the match with 26 digs and served three aces.
The Terps jumped out to a 6-2 lead in set one before four straight Rutgers points tied the game. The Scarlet Knights took the lead, forcing a Maryland timeout at 14-10. Craigo served an ace and Liz Twilley and Murray notched kills as the Terps tried to catch up to Rutgers. A block from Craigo and Ashlyn MacGregor helped pull Maryland within two at 23-21 and with the Scarlet Knights at set point, Elliott posted a kill to pull within one. The home team was able to close the set, 25-23.
After trading points to start set two, Elliott posted back-to-back kills to push Maryland ahead, 9-7. The Scarlet Knights tied the set, 11-11, the Terps posted three straight kills to take a 14-11 lead. After a Murray solo block, Rutgers notched three straight points to pull within on at 18-17. Elliott posted three straight kills to put Maryland ahead, 21-18, and a block from Twilley and Murray put the Terps at set point, 24-22. Twilley finished the set with a kill for a 25-23 Maryland win.
Rutgers jumped out to a 6-1 lead in set three. Twilley and Murray helped close the gap with kills as Maryland called a timeout at 12-8. Two straight Twilley kills pulled the Terps within one, 15-14, but the Scarlet Knights took a 22-19 set lead. The home team finished the set on a 3-0 run to go up 2-1 in the match.
The Scarlet Knights again took an early lead in set four, getting to 6-1. Murray posted three straight points on two blocks and a kill as the Terps pulled within one, 7-6. Elliott notched a single block and Wicinski served an ace as Maryland took an 11-9 advantage. The Terps posted nine of 12 points as the team worked to an 18-11 lead. Murray and Elliott recorded late kills while Amy Dion served an ace as the Terps took the fourth set, 25-15.
Twilley posted three early kills in set five as Maryland took a 5-1 lead. A Craigo kill pushed the Terps ahead, 8-3, but the Scarlet Knights were able to tie the set, 9-9. Rutgers tied the set again at 11-11 and was able to find three of the next four points and take the match with a 15-12 set win.
The Terps have a rematch with the Scarlet Knights in College Park Saturday at 7 p.m.
-Maryland-
