Emily Fraik
When outside hitter Ashleigh Crutcher suffered an injury in the third set of the Terrapins volleyball team’s loss at Minnesota on Friday, her teammates didn’t fret.
The Terps had dealt with injuries before — outside hitters Adreené Elliott, Alex Brown and Jaelyn Jackson have all been lost for the season.
So when the Terps took on then-No. 6 Wisconsin on Sunday, outside hitter Emily Fraik filled in for Crutcher without hesitation.
“[Fraik] did well today,” middle blocker Ashlyn MacGregor said after the team’s loss to Wisconsin, its ninth consecutive defeat. “She’s a smart player with where she places balls, gets hands on the block. … She did well, and I’m confident with her moving forward.”
The Terps suspect Crutcher suffered a high ankle sprain, which would keep her off the floor for a couple weeks, but they will not know for sure until she meets with a doctor.
Crutcher was scheduled to meet with one yesterday, but the Terps were stranded in Chicago for the second time in two weeks by a canceled flight.
So for now, Fraik has assumed a starting role for the Terps.
At 3.42 kills per set, Crutcher ranks seventh in the Big Ten while posting a .189 hitting percentage. Her success has led to more opportunities, and she has posted a team-high 530 attempts, though she’s played seven fewer sets than Fraik, the second-leading option with 500 total attacks.
Fraik has averaged 1.78 kills per set for the season, marking a significant drop-off from Crutcher’s production. And though she’s second on the team in digs with 143, Fraik’s .086 hitting percentage is half of the team’s average.
“She’s not as physical as Ashleigh and she knows that,” coach Steve Aird said. “But she goes hard.”
When the Terps took the floor against the Badgers, Aird started Fraik, Whitney Craigo and middle blocker Kelsey Hrebenach as hitters.
And with Hrebenach and Craigo playing out of position, Fraik reigned as the focal point on offense.
She had 26 balls pushed her way over the course of the team’s loss in straight sets and connected on 10 of them to lead the Terps in kills. She also held herself to four attack errors to post a .231 hitting percentage.
“Emily did really, really well tonight,” defensive specialist Sam Higginbothem said.
The Badgers could focus on Fraik, considering she was the only experienced hitting option on the Terps’ roster Sunday, but the junior still produced one of her season’s best outings in a role she might take more often moving forward.
“She was the No. 1 option,” MacGregor said. “She’ll be great with it.”
