Ashleigh Crutcher
Ashleigh Crutcher’s team-high 202 kills have been vital for the Terrapins volleyball team all year long.
But when the Terps learned late last week that fellow outside hitters Mary Cushman (undisclosed) and Kamrin Gold (ankle) would miss the weekend’s games due to injury, Crutcher was forced to shoulder an even heavier offensive load.
And the sophomore responded. Crutcher totaled 44 kills in two weekend matches, keeping the Terps afloat during a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Virginia Tech on Friday before leading them to a 3-1 win over Virginia yesterday.
“I thought the middles did an awesome job getting single blocks and putting me in the position to put the ball away,” Crutcher said. “Especially not having the outsides, I really had to step up.”
She did step up. Crutcher notched a career-high 26 kills in the narrow loss to the Hokies, the most for a Terp since Jade Brown totaled 27 against North Carolina on Nov. 25, 2006.
For much of the night, the team’s performance on the floor was just as impressive as Crutcher’s numbers on the stat sheet. After losing the first set, the Terps (10-6, 2-3 ACC) stormed back to win the second and third sets, eventually taking the Hokies (11-4, 4-1) to a decisive fifth set despite not having two of theirmost dynamic offensive weapons.
But Crutcher’s efforts wouldn’t prove enough in the end. Virginia Tech overcame seven lead changes to best the Terps in the fifth set, leaving Comcast Pavilion with the victory.
“At the end of the day, we got to figure out how to win that match,” coach Tim Horsmon said. “That’s a good team that we played and we had our chances to beat them. So we’re getting better.”
The loss was a difficult one for the Terps to take, but one that served as motivation heading into yesterday’s tilt with the Cavaliers (5-10, 0-5).
“I think we definitely got better on Friday; it was a really tough loss,” setter Remy McBain said yesterday. “But we really wanted to come out here and take it to [Virginia].”
That’s exactly what they did. Though they again dropped the first set in the match, the Terps won the second set without trailing and never looked back, cruising to a 3-1 victory.
And just like she did on Friday, Crutcher led the way.
The outside hitter not only continued her remarkable offensive pace — she totaled 18 more kills against the Cavaliers — but also shored up the team’s defense, picking up a career-high 19 digs.
“We had to face a lot of adversity and people playing different positions,” Crutcher said. “But I felt like the team really took their roles over and ran with it.”
Her teammates might have played well in their roles, but it was Crutcher who made the difference. She was able to score at will against a pair of ACC teams, set an example for teammates and carry the Terps through two rivalry games.
And she accomplished all that against opponents who, knowing Gold and Cushman were sidelined, focused all their attention on stopping her.
“That team knew the ball was going to her and they served her. They were double blocking her and she still was aggressive and she led,” Horsmon said. “She was a ton of fun.”
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