After finally returning home from a two week road trip, the Terrapin volleyball team started their homestand the right way.

In front of one of the largest crowds they have drawn all season, the Terps (13-5, 4-2 ACC) put on a show of domination against Virginia Tech (10-6, 1-5), defeating them in straight sets, 3-0.

Freshman outside hitter Mary Cushman led the way for the Terps, finishing the match with 10 kills and no errors.  Sophomore setter Remy McBain led the team with 33 assists, and senior libero Bethany Springer added a team-high 11 digs.

The Terps will play next on Sunday when they host Virginia at 2 p.m. in the Comcast Center Pavilion.

Josh Vitale is The Diamondback’s volleyball beat writer. He can be reached at vitale@umdbk.com

Coming into the weekend’s Villanova Classic in Philadelphia, the Terrapin volleyball team was on an eight-match win streak and they were looking for more.

Their opponents, however, had other ideas.

The Terps dropped their first two games of the weekend, suffering heartbreaking 3-2 losses to Villanova Friday evening and William & Mary on Saturday. The Terps (9-3) were able to force a fifth set in each match, but they couldn’t close out either team, losing their fifth sets 15-12 and 15-10, respectively.

But, on Saturday night against Long Island, the Terps were able to get back on the winning track, beating the Blackbirds 3-0, ending their weekend on a positive note.

Freshman defender Sarah Harper was the Terps’ lone representative on the All-Tournament team, finishing the weekend with 32 digs.

Sophomore setter Remy McBain led the team with 116 assists, and freshman outside hitter Mary Cushman added 34 kills to her team-leading total. Senior libero Bethany Springer finished the weekend with 71 digs, and junior middle blocker Lisa Scott led the team with 13 blocks.

Tuesday night the Terps will host Boston College in their ACC opener at 5:00 p.m. in the Comcast Center Pavilion.

Josh Vitale is The Diamondback’s volleyball beat writer. He can be reached at vitale@umdbk.com

The Terrapin volleyball team swept all three of their opponents for the second straight weekend, taking home the tournament crown in the second of the Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Maryland Invitational Tournament.

The Terps (8-1) beat took on Fairfield earlier in the day, defeating them I straight sets by the scores of 25-14, 25-16, and 25-15. Freshman outside hitter Mary Cushman led the team with 10 kills, and sophomore setter Remy McBain added 18 assists.

Tonight the Terps faced Tulane, narrowly defeating the Green Wave in four sets by the scores of 25-13, 22-25, 25-17, and 25-22. Cushman and McBain again led the way for the Terps, finishing with 15 kills and 45 assists, respectively.

McBain and senior outside hitter Michelle Kenning were both named to the All-Tournament team, and junior middle blocker Lisa Scott was named the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Next weekend the Terps will travel to Philadelphia for the Villanova Classic, where they will face Villanova, William and Mary and Long Island.

Josh Vitale is the Diamondback’s volleyball beat writer. He can be reached at vitale@umdbk.com

The Terrapin volleyball team stayed undefeated at the Comcast Pavilion tonight, beating Penn to extend their winning streak to six straight matches.

The Terps (6-1) defeated the Quakers in straight sets Friday night by the scores of 25-15, 25-19, and 25-15. Senior outside hitter Michelle Kenning and junior middle blocker Lisa Scott lead the Terps with nine kills each. Sophomore setter Remy McBain recorded 34 assists for the Terps, and senior libero added 16 digs.

The Terps won’t have much time to celebrate their win, however, as they play two more games tomorrow. The Terps will face Fairfield at 12:30 and Tulane at 7:00 at the Comcast Pavilion. The Stags and Green Wave are a combined 2-13 on the season.

Josh Vitale is the Diamondback’s volleyball beat writer. He can be reached at vitale@umdbk.com

In the third and final set of today’s matchup against Boston College, the Terrapin volleyball team trailed 20-17. The Eagles were on a roll, and the Terps looked disorganized and flustered. Coach Tim Horsmon knew he needed to calm his team down, so he called a timeout.

Immediately following the one minute pause from game action, the Terps went on a six-point run to go ahead 23-20. Led by Kara Bates, who was responsible for three of those six points, the team went on to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-0.

Bates was a force to be reckoned with today, as she recorded 16 kills and two blocks en route to a .433 hitting percentage. Following her lead, Remy McBain had nine kills and one block, while Lisa Scott recorded four kills and six blocks.

For the Terps (14-19, 6-14 ACC), this match marks the end of their 2009 season. It was also the last match for the senior class of Hayley Hanson (one kill, one service ace), Christina Paul (two assists, seven digs) and Katie Usher (five kills, two blocks).

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There was a block party in College Park tonight; and no, I’m not talking about your typical frat bash that we’ve all stumbled upon while walking down College Ave. or Knox Road.

So, if you decided to spend your Friday night inside one of those drunken extravaganzas and not at Comcast Center Pavilion, let me fill you in.

The Terrapin volleyball team lost it’s third straight match tonight against visiting Clemson. The Tigers (19-7, 9-5 ACC) were clearly the better team tonight, as they beat the Terps (11-16, 3-11) in three straight sets by the scores of 25-18, 25-14 and 25-15.

The Terps were dominated on front line play, as Clemson recorded 11 total team blocks. The Tigers’ block-fest was highlighted by the play of Sandra Adeleye, two solo blocks and four block assists, and Alexa Rand, one solo block and four block assists.

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UPDATE:

On the main floor of Comcast Center, and in front of an energized and very large crowd for volleyball standards, the Terrapin volleyball team was embarrassed by No. 17 Florida State.

The Terps (10-11, 2-6 ACC) were swept in three sets (25-12, 25-22, 25-14) by the Seminoles (16-2, 7-1). And although the Terps had been swept four times before tonight, their loss at the hands of Florida State was by far the worst.

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The Terrapin volleyball team only scored 50 total points in a lopsided loss to Duke tonight in Comcast Center Pavilion.

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Sophomore outside hitter Maddi Lee led the Terrapin volleyball team with 16 kills, as it was able to defeat UMBC in four sets by the scores of 25-17, 20-25, 25-18 and 25-18.

With the win, the Terps (8-5) claimed the tournament championship going 2-1 on the weekend. Freshman libero Sam Rosario was named tournament MVP, as she recorded 5 service aces and 14 digs against UMBC.

That’s all I’ll say for now. Look for a full weekend’s recap at www.diamondbackonline.com on Monday.

Jakob Engelke is the Diamondback’s volleyball beat writer. He can be reached at engelkedbk@gmail.com