Volleyball goes 0-for-2 in weekend's fifth-set battles

One thing the Terrapins volleyball team has been yearning for all season is consistency. It may have found it this past weekend — just not the kind it was hoping for.

The Terps fell to both Georgia Tech and Clemson on what was the first of several Southern road trips in their ACC schedule. The losses helped establish a trend to the team's success this season, which has been hard to determine thus far. The Terps currently have a three-match losing streak, and have won just three of their last nine.

"We played in two tough away matches, but we didn't perform the way we needed to," coach Tim Horsmon said. "We didn't play as a team, and we didn't get it done."

The weekend did get off to a deceivingly good start. Trailing 17-11 in the first set against the Yellow Jackets on Friday, the Terps (9-10, 3-4 ACC) used a four-point and six-point run to go ahead 21-18. Although Georgia Tech threatened late in the set, consecutive kills by middle blockers Caitlin Adams and Adreene Elliott finished the set for a 25-22 victory.

The second set went in a different direction. After a tight beginning, the Terps looked to maintain their momentum and at one point led the set 15-12. But the Yellow Jackets (2-4, 9-7) stormed back with an 8-1 run, and they never looked back, tying the match with a 25-19 set win. The last two sets went in a similar fashion. Both times, Georgia Tech started strong, and any comeback bid by the Terps was squashed early. The Yellow Jackets won the third and fourth sets, 25-11 and 25-12, to take the match.

"We're close, but we've got to get over the hump in those five-set matches," Horsmon said.

The match against Clemson a day later become a battle that would need five tight sets to determine the winner. The Terps, down 13-8 and then 19-13 in the first set, still managed to crawl back and get the lead at 22-21. But a four-point run by the Tigers stunned the Terps and set the tone for the rest of a match that would be filled with lead changes and momentum swings.

Clemson (5-2, 13-5) led the second set 12-7 before the Terps came back, and the two squads remained deadlocked for the remainder of the set. With a score of 23-23, outside hitter Mary Cushman took it upon herself to tie the match. After delivering a critical kill to give the Terps the lead, she then served an ace and gave the Terps the set victory. Cushman did more of the same in the third set. Her five kills early on allowed the Terps to gain a 16-8 lead, and the squad held back a Tigers rally and escaped with a 2-1 advantage.

However, the Terps still failed to grab the elusive winning set. Although the fourth set had 10 ties and lead changes, they would not ultimately go in the Terps' favor, and they lost the set, 25-20. In the fifth and final set, with both teams at the breaking point with a 14-14 score, Clemson got a kill and a block to win the match.

"Physically, mentally, and emotionally, we competed, and we were committed to that match," Horsmon said. "We played very well, and they were just two points better than us."

Although it came amid disappointment, setter Remy McBain notched an astounding 80 assists over the two matches to pass Libby Alberts for fifth all time in assists in school history. Outside hitter Ashleigh Crutcher, who sat out last weekend out with concussion symptoms, returned to the lineup and tallied 28 kills over both matches. Cushman again was a huge part of the Terps' attack, getting her third double-double in the last four matches.

The Terps are now 2-5 in matches that go the distance to five sets.

"Surely, we're not happy with not winning this weekend, but it's about those young kids being in that situation and learning how to win," Horsmon said.

munson@umdbk.com