The third straight road trip was not kind to the Terps as they finished 1-2 on the weekend. They opened the tournament with a match versus Radford who were coming into the weekend with a 6-2 record and a defeat of Cal. The first set was very close with no team having larger than a three point lead. After falling behind 24-21, Maryland tied it at 24-24. Two Radford kills pulled out set one 26-24. The second set was a mirror image of the first but this time the Terps made enough plays in the end to tie the match with a win, 25-21. Sets three and four were traded by the Highlanders and Terps. The fifth and final set was led by Radford from the beginning as they closed out Maryland, 15-10. The Terps led in team blocks by 8 (13.0 to 5.) but were outhit .211 to .235. Adreene Elliott led offensively with 20 kills with a .271 hitting percentage. Both of the middles were effective but unfortunately the other attackers were not able to be efficient.
On Saturday, Maryland faced Georgia State and Appalachian State. Due to some injuries, Coach Aird was forced to make a few lineup changes with Elliott and Chavi St. Hill sitting out. Against Georgia State, the Terps never trailed at any point and controlled all three sets. The final set scores were 25-19, 25-20 and 25-19. Freshmen Hailey Murray had a breakout match with 10 kills, 1.5 blocks and a .750 hitting percentage.
The final match of the tournament pitted Maryland versus the host Appalachian State. App State came into the match undefeated on the season. The loss of a starter (Elliott and St. Hill) along with the wear and tear of a third straight weekend on the road finally caught up to the Terps as they produced their worst performance of the season. The Mountaineers led in every statistical category and cruised to a three set sweep (25-18, 25-23, 25-18). Maryland was held to a season low .075 hitting percentage while being led in kills by Ashleigh Crutcher with 12 kills. Hailey Murray was named to the all-tournament team.
Maryland heads west to Seattle next weekend to take part in the PAC-12/B1G Challenge. They play #5 Washington and #6 USC on Thursday and Friday respectively.