Maryland Upends Clemson on Friday Night

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-20) to the Maryland Terrapins in Jervey Gymnasium on Friday night. The Tigers fell to 9-4 overall and 0-2 in league play, while the Terps improved to 9-4 and 1-1 in the league. Clemson will play Boston College on Saturday at 6:00 pm in Jervey to close out play for the weekend. The match will be broadcast live on TigerCast for free in high definition. Live scoring is also available at ClemsonTigers.com. Senior libero Natalie Patzin’s 12 digs moved her into a tie for ninth on Clemson’s all-time digs list, as she now sits at 1,251 in her career. Mo Simmons led Clemson with ten kills in a team-high 33 attempts, but no other Tiger had more than six kills as the Tigers struggled to find consistent offense against the Terps. Maryland hit .299 in the match and knocked down 50 kills in the three sets. Clemson was unable to score on the serve for the first time this season, as Maryland was able to stay in system, finishing with three players with double-figure kills. Mary Cushman led all players with 13 kills, while Ashleigh Crutcher knocked down 12 kills and hit .462. Simmons and sophomore Karis Watson had a team-high four blocks each. Lou Davis added a career-high six digs in the match as well, and served a team-high 18 times, including a key 6-0 run in the second set in which the Tigers fought off seven match points. . Maryland got out quickly in the first set, 4-1 before the Tigers answered to take a 6-4 lead. Maryland then took off on an 11-1 run to take a 15-7 edge, and the Tigers got no closer than five the rest of the way, as the Terps scored eight of the final nine points. The second set was tight for much of the way with Clemson taking a 15-14 lead, and looking like momentum may be on the side. Maryland then ran off seven straight points to take a six-point edge, 21-15. The teams traded points before Maryland moved it to set point after a Simmons error. The Tigers weren’t finished, however, as the Tigers found Kristin Faust and then Simmons on five straight kills to pull within one at 24-23. Adreene Elliot put the set away, however, with one of her eight kills. The third set was knotted at 10-10 after a small spurt, but the Terps again went on a big run in the middle of the set to take a 16-11 lead. Clemson got back to within one at 18-17, but a pair of service errors moved the Terps closer, and Elliot again finished the set with a kill. Clemson fell to 36-28 all-time against Maryland, who snapped an 11-match losing streak to the Tigers with the win.