Furman
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Maryland
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Maryland volleyball team moved to 6-0 and won the Liberty Invitational with a four-set win over Furman (25-15, 25-17, 18-25, 25-14) Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore outside hitter Gia Milana and junior libero Kelsey Wicinski were named to the all-tournament team while freshman outside hitter Erika Pritchard was selected as the tournament MVP.
“I thought we did some nice things this weekend and its always great to go home with a few wins,” head coach Steve Aird said. “There's definitely some things to improve on, so we're looking forward to getting back to work in the gym.”
Against Furman, Pritchard tied with freshman opposite Samantha Drechsel to lead the Terps with 13 kills each while junior opposite Angel Gaskin notched 10. Wicinski made 20 digs and redshirt freshman middle blocker Katie Myers led the match with 10 blocks.
Milana and Myers combined for three straight blocks in the first set to put Maryland ahead 11-7. The duo posted kills to get the Terps to a 16-12 advantage. A Taylor Smith service ace and a Drechsel kill pushed Maryland to 21-13. Drechsel got the Terps to set point, 25-15, and a Furman error gave Maryland the set win.
Myers and Gaskin started the second set with a block as Maryland built a 5-0 lead. A pair of Pritchard kills put the Terps at 9-3 and a Myers kill forced a Furman timeout at 17-10. The Paladins went on a 5-1 run but late kills from Maryland's freshmen hitters helped the Terrapins reach set point, 24-17. Myers and Milana notched another block together to close the game.
The Paladins took an early lead in the third set, and Maryland called timeout down 10-6. The Terps worked back to tie, 12-12, but Furman took the advantage again, 18-14. Maryland got within one at 18-17 on a Drechsel-Myers block, but a 6-0 run from the Paladins gave them a 25-18 set win.
The Terps regrouped in the fourth to take the match win. Gaskin had three kills early in the fourth set as Maryland took a 6-2 lead. The Terps took advantage of Furman errors in the middle of the set to pull in front, 15-9. Pritchard knocked down three kills and Myers served as ace to help Maryland to 22-13 Drechsel notched a pair of kills to finish the match, 25-14.
Maryland is on the road again next weekend at the Thunder Invite. The Terps will face Toledo on Friday at 4:30 p.m., Virginia Tech on Saturday at 11 a.m. and Marshall on Saturday at 7 p.m.
-Maryland-
