By: Sammi Sliber

The Maryland Terrapins are starting the season on the right foot, and kept the trend going with a commanding 3-0 win over Sacred Heart (SHU). The Terps are undefeated to start the year and sweeped the Maryland Invite this past weekend.

In the first set, Maryland rocketed to a 4-0 lead to start, thanks to consecutive attack errors from SHU. As Maryland continued to capitalize on service aces and attack errors from SHU, Liz Twilley’s four kills, as well as standout performances from Hailey Murray and Gia Milana, led the Terps to a dominating 24-16 lead. Angel Gaskin solidified the set win with a kill.

The same momentum wouldn’t come early in the second set. The two teams exchanged points, then SHU jumped to a 5-3 lead. Maryland would come back from their deficit and tie the match at six, and from there, the Terps would not let up. With a continued strong performance from Twilley and Milana, blocks from Ashlyn MacGregor and continuous service errors for SHU, the Terps cruised to set point, and won thanks to yet another ball handling error from Sacred Heart.

Maryland struggled in the third set, as SHU kept up with them and continuously battled back from a deficit. SHU eventually brought the score within one, with Maryland leading 9-8, but from there, the Terps picked it up again. Blocks and effort from Murray and Whitney Craigo would help the Terrapins expand their lead over Sacred Heart, and it was Milana and Twilley with kills that led Maryland to set point. Gaskin’s kill would lead Maryland to the sweep.

 Milana led the Terps with 10 kills, and MacGregor led with 14 blocks. Twilley’s nine kills, including four in the first set, helped Maryland dominate. Gaskin had an excellent outing as well , posting eight kills and eight blocks.

The Terps are headed to the Kansas Invitational later this week, where they will take on Arkansas Friday at 11 a.m.