The American University volleyball team stuck with ACC foe Maryland in Tuesday night's match, but the Terrapins were able to outhit the Eagles, .279 to .170, on their way to a 3-0 victory.

"They're a tough team," said Head Coach Barry Goldberg. "I'm telling our team that if we're ever going to succeed in the NCAA tournament, these are teams we have to beat...For us to play this team at this time of the year, this is a good match for us to get ready for the speed if we're going to be an NCAA team."

Sara Rishell led American (15-9, 6-3 PL) with nine kills, hitting .250 in the match. Kelly McCaddin paced the offense with 14 assists, also adding four blocks, while Allison Cappellino led the defensive effort with 12 digs.

Maryland (11-12, 2-9 ACC) jumped out a 13-6 lead before the Eagles fought back within four, 18-14, with three consecutive tallies. The Terrapins posted four straight points for a 24-18 advantage. American prevented set point with a kill by Juliana Crum but a kill from Ashleigh Crutcher put it away, 25-19, for the 1-0 match lead.

The Eagles opened the second set on a 6-0 run before Maryland came back to tie it on a kill from Adreené Elliott. The set was tied 10 more times before the Terrapins close it out with six consecutive tallies for the 25-20 victory and 2-0 match lead.

Maryland took a 7-3 lead in the final set on a kill from Remy McBain, forcing American to call a timeout. A block from Morgan Hendrix brought the Eagles within four, 15-11. The Eagles tallied three straight points to make it a two-point match and a kill from Rishell brought American within one, 19-18. The Terrapins responded with a 4-0 run and were able to complete the sweep on a kill by Mary Cushman, 25-21.

"They had their weaknesses too and we had moments where we exposed them, but overall they're a little bit stronger and faster than we are and we're just going to keep trying to get better at what we're doing and hopefully get there," Goldberg said.

Crutcher and Cushman posted double-digit kills to lead the Maryland offense, tallying 14 and 10, respectively. McBain had a team-best 21 assists while Amy Dion led the defense with 16 digs.

American resumes Patriot League play on Friday, October 26 when it takes on Navy at 7 p.m.