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.
The Terps put up horrid numbers on the attack, and were only slightly better on defense. The team had a hitting percentage of .000 on the night – meaning that their 21 kills were counteracted by 21 errors.
Players that usually step up for the team, like Lisa Scott and Brittney Grove, performed dismally. Scott recorded six attacking errors and one ball handling error, while Grove had a hitting percentage of -.143.
On the other hand, Florida State saw stellar performances out of their star players, including preseason All-ACC selection Brianna Barry. Barry recorded 11 kills, with a hitting percentage of .556. As a team, the Seminoles hit .565 in the decisive third set.
The only time the Terps seemed to be playing well was in the second set, when a late surge by the team allowed them to be within two points of Florida State at 24-22. But, on the next point, Maddi Lee went up for a spike which she hit out of bounds. The error ended any momentum that the Terps had built up, and in turn their chance at a victory.
The team has little time to recoup, as they play host to Miami on Sunday at 1 p.m., back in their regular home of Comcast Center Pavilion.
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I’m not going to put too much on here, but there are some statistics that stand out after the first two sets.
The Terps lost the first set 25-12 and the second 25-22. In both sets, the Terps hit terribly. Katie Usher has the team’s highest hitting percentage so far at .091. The team as a whole is hitting -.29, and in the first set that mark was -.176.
To contrast that, Florida State has some individual performances that have been amazing. Brianna Barry has 6 kills, while hitting at .455. Teammate Fatma Yildirim has 9 kills.
So far, the match has not gone well at all for the Terps, and it looks as if it could be over in just one more set.
Jakob Engelke is The Diamondback’s volleyball beat reporter. He can be reached at engelkedbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Jakob_Engelke.