UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Maryland hadn't taken a set from perennial heavyweight Penn State in State College since 1983, but the Terps took two sets from the Nittany Lions Friday night in a five-set battle against the eighth-ranked team in the country.

In front of a jam-packed Rec Hall, where Maryland had not fared well since joining the Big Ten - and even before - the Terps came out firing with perhaps its most impressive offensive display of the year, hitting over .500 with just one attack error. Maryland's defense was also stout in the opening frame, forcing Penn State into a sloppy start and dealing them a first-set loss.

"The program took a step forward today," Head Coach Adam Hughes said. "We said that the goal going into it was to try to create a window and we did that... we played a phenomenal match."

Erika Pritchard capped off the first-set win with back-to-back kills, and would continue to pace the Terps offensively. She led the team with 19 kills and 16 digs on the night, while Rainelle Jones led the team with five blocks and Nicole Alford had a team-high 27 assists.

SET-BY-SET

• SET ONE (UMD, 25-18) The Terps were explosive in the first set, committing just a single attack error while outplaying the eighth-ranked team in the country in every way. Katie Myers opened the scoring in the first and continued to keep the Rec Hall crowd quiet throughout the set.
• SET TWO (PSU, 25-20) Penn State responded in the second set, though the Terps were never out of it. Penn State's largest lead was 19-13, but allowed Maryland to rally back to a two-point deficit, down 22-20. A Nittany Lion timeout regrouped the home team and a three-point run equalized the match.
• SET THREE (PSU, 25-19) Maryland went point-for-point with Penn State until Maryland trailed 16-17, when the Nittany Lions gained momentum and got the fans into it, turning a 7-2 run into a set win.
• SET FOUR (UMD, 25-14) The Terps dominated the must-win fourth set, going on two different scoring streaks that sucked all the air out of historic Rec Hall. Maryland used a five-point run early to set the tone, fueled by kills from Pritchard, Emma Schriner, and Jada Gardner. Penn State answered with their own scoring run, but Maryland exploded for a nine-point rally to lead 17-9, never letting off the gas. It would go on to be one of Maryland's most lopsided set wins of the season.
• SET FIVE (PSU, 15-6) Penn State showed why they were ranked in the top-10 of the country in the fifth set, taking control early and forcing the Terps to make mistakes they hadn't up to that point, Kills from Rainelle Jones, Rebekah Rath, and Myers was Maryland's only attack, while Penn State used the crowd and momentum to earn a match win.

UP NEXT

The Terps wrap up their weekend road trip with a match at Rutgers on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. Maryland then returns home on Oct. 16 to face Indiana on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. in the XFINITY Center Pavilion. Tickets can be purchased here.