By: Nolan Demott

The Maryland Terrapins Volleyball Team cruised by the Eastern Michigan Eagles in a convincing straight set win on Friday that highlighted their cohesive teamwork, young, up-and-coming talent, and unrelenting perseverance. In fact, the Terps fell behind in each of the three sets, but managed to claw their way back every time.

The opening set saw Maryland trailing 12-9 right out of the gate before a 16-6 surge led by Sophomore Liz Twilley, who took over the set with six kills and four digs, allowing Maryland to comfortably close out set one, 25-18. Twilley finished the match with four more kills for a solid opening night line of 10-6 (Kills-Digs).

Head Coach Steve Aird talked about Twilley’s consistent play in comparison with fellow Terps Angel Gaskin and Taylor Smith after the game.

“I thought the balance with Angel and Liz was pretty good, and Taylor, starting her first ever college match did a pretty good job,” Aird said.

Maryland opened set number two as lethargically as the first, and found themselves down 13-8. However, that was all erased with an impressive 17-7 run, which propelled the Terps past the Eagles 25-20. The set was punctuated by the spectacular play from Gia Milana, who dominated the second set and much of the match with her thunderous spikes off the left side. Coach Aird modestly discussed Milana’s game.

” [I] thought Gia had a good match for her first ever in college,”Aird said. “She was good.”

Milana finished the match with a staggering sixteen kills and seven digs, a brilliant stat line to begin her collegiate career.

Then, Hailey Murray, the Maryland native, came alive in the third set, recording six kills to put the match to sleep. The Terps won the third set easily, 25-19, solidifying a stellar overall team performance.

However, Aird did acknowledge that his team has some areas to improve upon as the season progresses. He conveyed his alarm that his team was out-blocked by a much shorter Eastern Michigan side and commented on Maryland’s inability to put the match away.

“I thought we had built a big enough lead that I had a feeling that we’d find a way to score a point,” Aird said. “But if you’re a young team, you have to learn how to close because the teams that fight like Eastern Michigan did are going to make you pay if it’s tight.”

Another thing to note from Friday’s win was the absence of Katie Myers, who is currently waiting to return to full health. Aird says that when Myers gets back, “she will be playing a ton.”

At the end of night, though, Coach Aird was pleased with his team’s first outing: “Always happy with a win.”

Maryland has two more home matches this weekend versus Delaware State and Sacred Heart before heading out to the Kansas Invitational Tournament.