COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Senior outside hitter Adreené Elliott paced the Maryland volleyball team with 16 kills as the Terrapins challenged No. 1 Penn State in four sets Thursday on the XFINITY Center main court. The Terps (12-15, 2-11 B1G) fell by set scores of 25-21, 17-25, 12-25, 22-25 to the top-ranked Nittany Lions (22-2, 11-2).
“I think we did some nice things. It's always a difficult match for me, playing my alma mater,” head coach Steve Aird said. “Penn State has a lot of great tools, and I think we'll see a better version of them in a couple weeks. I thought our youngsters played well against a really high caliber team. The best part of the night for me was that we didn't roll over in game four and we kept competing.”
Freshman opposite hitter Angel Gaskin notched 11 kills while fellow freshman outside hitter Liz Twilley posted 10 kills. Freshman libero Kelsey Wicinski led the match with 13 digs while leading Maryland with two service aces. Four Terps made two blocks each.
The Terrapins hit .207 against the Nittany Lions, led by a .381 clip from Gaskin. Penn State came into the match limiting opponents to a .137 hitting percentage.
After multiple ties to start the match, a service ace from Amy Dion helped push the Terps ahead, 13-12. Elliott notched two kills as Maryland pushed ahead, 18-16. The Terps were able to capitalize on Penn State errors, holding the opponents to just a .133 hitting percentage in the first set. Twilley hit a kill before a Penn State error put the Terps at set point. Wicinski served an ace to seal the set win over the top-ranked Nittany Lions, 25-21.
Gaskin and Hailey Murray put up early kills in set two before Penn State used an 8-2 run to pull ahead, 13-7. Gaskin and Elliott posted late kills to help the Terps spark a small run. With the visitors at set point, Elliott and Twilley notched kills to extend the point, but Penn State was able to tie the match with a 25-17 set win.
The Nittany Lions took advantage of Maryland errors in the third set, taking a 15-4 lead. Murray and Whitney Craigo combined for a block and Craigo served an ace but Penn State still lead, 18-7. Elliott and Twilley again extended the match with the Nittany Lions at set point, but Penn State took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-12 set win.
The fourth set featured eight ties and three leads changed as the Terps tried to force the match to five. MacGregor recorded a tip-in kill and an ace as Maryland took an early 4-2 lead. Elliott posted a solo block and two kills as the Terps took a 10-7 advantage. Penn State tied the set, 11-11, before taking a 15-13 lead. Wicinski served another ace to tie the set, 17-17, and Maryland took the lead off a kill from MacGregor. The Nittany Lions climbed back to take a 22-19 lead. Gaskin and MacGregor combined for two straight blocks to tie the set, 22-22, but three straight Penn State points sealed the set, 25-22, and the win for the Nittany Lions.
The Terps are back in action Friday against No. 12 Ohio State at 6:30 p.m. The match will be played in the XFINITY Center Pavilion and will be live streamed on BTN Plus.
-Maryland-
