Match Stats
- Maryland (8-3) defeats Oklahoma (9-3) – 3-1 (30-28, 25-13, 22-25, 25-19)
Kelsey Wicinski racked up a career-best 28 digs as Maryland outlasted Oklahoma in four sets at the Pac-12 Challenge.
The sophomore libero also hit 4 service aces, and teammate Gia Milana chipped in 20 kills to help Maryland win a match that was contentious from the get-go.
The opening set was a tooth-and-nail battle, with Maryland finally pulling out a 30-28 win.
The Terps pulled away to win the second set easily (25-13), but Oklahoma didn’t quit fighting. The Sooners took a hard-fought third set, and Alyssa Enneking drilled 14 kills, though Oklahoma would eventually fall in the fourth set.
Closing out the tournament, Oklahoma would go on later in the night to fall to #5 Washington, while Maryland will play #21 USC later tonight.
Press Releases
Maryland:
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Sophomore liberoKelsey Wicinski set a new career record with 28 digs as the Maryland volleyball team (8-3) defeated Oklahoma (9-3) in four sets on Friday afternoon at the Galen Center. The Terps defeated the Sooners by set scores of 30-28, 25-13, 22-25, 25-19.
“This was a really good win for our program,” head coach Steve Aird said. “I have a ton of respect for the Oklahoma staff and team. I’m proud of the team for getting the win, but we need to move on quickly as we have another massive challenge tonight.”
Freshman outside hitter Gia Milana also set a personal best with 20 kills while adding 10 digs. Freshman setter Taylor Smith dished out a career-high 52 assists.
Four Terps hit double-digit kills, including Milana, sophomore outside hitter Liz Twilley(14), senior middle blocker Ashlyn MacGregor (12) and junior middle blockerHailey Murray (10).
MacGregor led Maryland at the net with nine blocks while junior opposite hitter Angel Gaskin posted six and Murray notched five.
Both teams battled in the first set as there were 19 ties and nine lead changes. The Terps pulled away to take a 14-12 lead on a Murray kill before the Sooners charged back to take an 18-16 lead. Oklahoma led by three, 20-17, but a block from Murray and Gaskin helped pull Maryland within one, 20-19. A block from Murray and Smith and an Oklahoma attack error put the Terps at set point, 24-22.
The Sooners notched two straight points to tie the set before taking a 25-24 lead. A Smith-MacGregor block put the Terps back ahead, 26-25, but Oklahoma came back to tie the set three more times. Gaskin and Milana posted kills as the Terps closed out the first set, 30-28.
Maryland handled Oklahoma in the second, paced by seven kills on a .583 clip from Milana. Kills from Twilley and Milana helped the Terps pull away, 8-5, and Maryland went on a 3-0 run to go ahead 12-7. Maryland used a run of strong serving from freshman Megan McTigue and a solo block from Murray to continue the lead, 18-10.
Wicinski posted a strong run of serving, and two straight Maryland blocks finished the set, 25-13.
The Sooners came out of the break and surged to an 8-3 lead in set three, forcing a Maryland timeout. The Terps were able to pull within five on a Milana kill at 14-9, but Oklahoma took a 19-13 lead. The Sooners reached set point at 24-18, but Maryland was able to rattle off four straight points to extend the set. Oklahoma notched a kill to finish the game, 25-22.
Three aces from Wicinski and a 7-0 run pushed the Terps to a 12-6 lead in set four. MacGregor and Milana helped keep Maryland ahead with kills, and Twilley tallied a kill to lead 19-14. Twilley and MacGregor posted late kills, and an Oklahoma attack error finished the set, 25-19.
Maryland hit .299 in the match while holding Oklahoma to a .132 hitting percentage. MacGregor led the Terps with a .579 clip. The Terrapins also out-blocked the Sooners 14.0-7.0 and held a 63-58 advantage in digs.
The Terps close out the Pac-12 Challenge against No. 21 Southern California on Friday night at 11 p.m. ET.
Oklahoma:
LOS ANGELES – The University of Oklahoma volleyball team dropped a pair of matches at the Galen Center on Friday to close out the Pac-12 Challenge. The Sooners dropped to 9-4 on the year with a 3-1 loss to Maryland and a 3-0 loss to No. 5 Washington.
Oklahoma held off the Terrapins (8-3) in the first before Maryland came through with a 30-28 win on its sixth set-point. The Sooners then fell, 25-13, before winning the third, 25-22. The Terrapins finished the match with a 25-19 victory.
Sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Enneking (League City, Texas) led Oklahoma with 14 kills and added five digs. Senior middle blocker Micaela Spann (Carrollton, Texas) hit a team-high .500 with 13 kills and four blocks.
Redshirt-senior outside hitter Madison Ward (Lawton, Okla.) was third on the team with 10 kills and provided five digs. Senior outside hitter Kimmy Gardiner (Grapevine, Texas) tied her career-high in digs with 19. Sophomore setter Audrey Alford (Norman, Okla.) notched her first double-double of the season with 43 assists and 10 digs.
For Maryland, Gia Milana led the way offensively with 20 kills and added 10 digs in a double-double effort. Liz Twilley hit .355 with 14 kills and Hailey Murray hit .444 with 10 kills for a Terrapin team that hit a collective .299.
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