By Joseph Foley

The Maryland Women’s Volleyball team fell to Michigan State in four sets (25-18, 22-25, 25-15, 25-18) Wednesday night in East Lansing.

After losing the first set, a rejuvenated team came out ready for the second set. The teams exchanged points early on. A kill from setter Whitney Craigo gave the Terps a 13-12 lead and forced a Michigan State timeout from head coach Cathy George. Maryland then went on a 3-0 run capped by a combo block from middle Ashlyn MacGregor and outside hitter Liz Twilley. From there Maryland was able to maintain a steady and comfortable lead, as Twilley put away the set with one of her 10 kills on the day.

The Spartans were too much to handle coming out of intermission. After going back and forth early in the third set, Michigan State went on a nine point run to stretch their lead to 20-9. Maryland coach Steve Aird used both his timeouts during this run but to no avail. The Spartans closed out the set on a kill from opposite Allyssah Fitterer, who led the team in both kills (13) and blocks (8).

The Terps weren’t ready to quit in the fourth set. A 10-10 tie turned into a 16-11 advantage for Maryland after middle Hailey Murray put one away for the Terrapins, forcing George to use her second timeout of the set. Yet, the ongoing theme of not finishing sets haunted Maryland once again. The Spartans answered with a five point run of their own to give them a 21-17 lead, which was too much to overcome. Three consecutive attacking errors from the Terps gave the set and match to Michigan State.

Leaders for Maryland included Murray and Twilley with 10 kills each, Craigo with 39 assists, and libero Amy Dion with 14 digs. Maryland’s hitting percentage as a team was .063. The Terps were out-blocked by the Spartans 12.5-6.

The Terps now travel downstate to Ann Arbor to take on #23 Michigan tonight at 7 p.m. Maryland is still looking for its first win over a ranked opponent in the Steve Aird era. The game can be seen on BTN Plus.