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COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Freshman Michala Kvapilova (Liberec, Czech Republic) and senior Ivana Rich (Cumberland, Va.) combined for 28 kills to lead offensive-minded Virginia Commonwealth University to a 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20) victory over host Maryland Friday night in the Terrapin Invitational at the Comcast Pavilion. VCU snaps a two-match losing streak and improves to 8-4 with the win. Maryland is 6-4. Kvapilova hit .227 and added six digs and three blocks for the Rams, who hit .204 on the night. Rich, meanwhile, hit .417 in the match and committed one error in 24 attempts. Both players were key in the first set, when VCU set the tone by hitting .333 with just one error, on the way to a 25-21 win. “That’s something we’ve been working on in practice,” VCU Head Coach James Finley said of the Rams quick start. “We’ve had a lot of games this year where we get down 4-5 points early and have to fight back the whole game. So this was really good for us mentally.” Triggering the Black and Gold attack was junior setter Lenka Melicharkova (Zlin, Czech Republic), who dealt 41 assists, collected 10 digs and spiked seven kills. It’s a performance that Finley says is becoming commonplace for Melicharkova. “Lenka made some amazing decisions tonight,” Finley said. “Without her, this doesn’t happen.” Sophomore Alyssa Foster (Richmond, Va.) added 15 digs for the Black and Gold. The Terrapins, who received 13 kills from Katie Usher, capitalized on 11 VCU errors in the second set to even the match at 1-1. However, the Rams righted the ship the next set and hit .244 on the way to a 25-22, wire-to-wire victory to take command. Despite their 11 errors in the second set, VCU committed just 11 errors in the other three sets combined. “It’s nice to get this one tonight,” Finley Said. “Especially because in the regional rankings it matters. After letting one get away from us against Virginia, I knew that it was important to get this one.” The Rams continue play at the Terrapin Invitational when they meet UMBC at 11 a.m. and Howard at 5 p.m. at the Comcast Pavilion. |
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