Sophomore outside hitter Erika Pritchard recorded two double-doubles in a career day, posting a combined 41 kills and 25 digs as the Maryland volleyball team won a pair of matches over Stony Brook and Canisius on Saturday to win the Akron Invitational.

“We started out slow in the first match obviously but came together and responded nicely while using a lot of our roster to come out of the tournament with a 5-1 record,” said head coach Adam Hughes. “We’re excited to play at home next weekend in front of our fans.”

Freshman libero Allegra Rivas totaled 32 digs, sophomore setter Nicole Alford managed 70 assists and freshman middle blocker Rainelle Jones blocked 10 balls on the day.

Maryland moves to 5-1 on the young season after going undefeated to take the Akron Invitational, only losing one set on the weekend.

STONY BROOK

Pritchard set career-highs in kills and digs with 22 and 15 as the Maryland volleyball team responded to a first set loss with three straight-set wins en route to a 3-1 win over Stony Brook.

The Terps came back from a 25-17 first set loss to take the next three sets, 25-19, 25-21 and 25-21. Beyond Pritchard’s dominant showing, redshirt sophomore middle blocker Katie Myers had double-digit kills with 12, Jones posted five blocks, Rivas tallied 18 digs and Alford accumulated 34 assists.

Pritchard led the Terps, working in tune with Alford in the second set, accumulating four kills, all on Alford assists. The sophomore from Annapolis, Md. had 10 in the set. After a 25-17 first set loss, the Terps responding, taking the second set 25-19.

Myers hit at a .455 percentage, recording six kills in the third set to lead the Terps to a 25-21 advantage. Alford had seven assists and five digs in the set.

To close out the match, Pritchard raised her game with nine kills, while Maryland played good defense, digging 27 balls with many contributors. Rivas and Alford led the defense with a combined 11 kills while Jones posted two blocks.

CANISIUS

Maryland hit at a season-high .333 percentage, led by 19 kills at a .514 percentage by Pritchard and 11 kills by senior outside hitter Liz Twilley to beat Canisius in straight sets (25-12, 25-16, 25-23).

The Terps dominated the first set, winning by their biggest margin of the season. The attack was strong as Maryland totaled 16 kills and just three errors on 31 attacks, a .419 percentage. Alford had 15 assists while Pritchard and Myers combined for 12 kills.

Twilley led the way in the second set with four kills, while Rivas and junior DS/libero Samantha Burgio both had four digs to limit the Cansius attack as the Terps won another frame, 25-16.

Canisius battled in the third set, keeping it close throughout but Pritchard and Twilley again led the Maryland offensive with 11 combined kills, while Rivas and Pritchard had 11 digs. Tied at 20, Twilley closed the match out with four kills on the last five points before Pritchard finished it with the last kill.

UP NEXT

The Terps will play at home next weekend in the Maryland Invitational at the Xfinity Center Pavilion. Maryland will open up its home slate with two games on September 8, first taking on Colgate at 10:30 a.m. before hosting an evening match against South Carolina at 7:00 p.m. On September 9, Maryland will face Liberty at 3:00 p.m.

Categories: Maryland

Tags: BIG10, Maryland, Volleyball