Middletown High Grad "Killing it" in College Volleyball
[Erika Pritchard (9) celebrates a point for the Terrapins. Photo credit: Maryland women's volleyball Facebook page]
Erika Pritchard has wasted no time making her presence on the University of Maryland’s women’s volleyball team known.
Pritchard, a 2017 Middletown High School graduate, has just three weeks of college experience under her belt but already the stats and honors are piling up for the true freshman.
Granted, Maryland — with its 9-0 record — has yet to come up against any Big 10 opponents, but these early season wins have to be building confidence for the young team as the meaty part of its season begins.
The Terps began their season Aug. 25, with a match against sister school, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, to kick off the weekend’s Maryland Invite. In her first career start, Pritchard, an outside hitter, finished the match with 12 kills and nine digs. The Terps won the match, 3-1. The next day, the home team won its own invitational by defeating Northeastern, 3-1, and Temple, 3-2.
Pritchard joined redshirt freshman Katie Myers on the all-tournament team, while senior middle blocker Hailey Murray was named the tourney’s MVP.
The following weekend, the Terps headed to Lynchburg, Va., to participate in the Liberty Invitational. Maryland played the host team Sept. 1, and came away with a 3-0 victory to move its record to 4-0. Pritchard led the match with 13 kills en route to being named Player of the Match.
Elon was the team’s next opponent and the rookie Terp continued to show no mercy in her play. She finished the 3-1 victory with 14 kills, five digs and seven service aces, four of which spurred a come-from-behind game victory.
The Terps captured the Liberty Invitational title with a 3-1 victory over Furman. Pritchard tied with fellow freshman Samantha Drechsel to lead the team with 13 kills each. Her consistent and powerful play throughout the weekend earned Tournament MVP honors for Pritchard, while teammates Gia Milana and Kelsey Wicinski were named to the all-tourney team.
This past weekend, the Terps traveled to host Marshall for the Thunder Invite, with Toledo and Virginia Tech also participating. In the opening match, Maryland had to dig deep to take a 3-2 win over Toledo. On the strength of 16 kills, five service aces and three solo blocks, Pritchard was named Player of the Match.
Maryland swept Virginia Tech and Marshall in the invitational’s final two matches to claim the Thunder Invite title and move its record to 9-0. Pritchard tallied 11 kills against VT and 14 kills against Marshall to again earn all-tourney team honors. She also was named Player of the Match against Marshall.
Pritchard has Frederick County company on the team. Among her teammates are fellow Middletown High grad Samantha Higginbothem, a senior libero, and Oakdale High grad Liz Twilley, a junior outside hitter.
The Terps will play at home this weekend as it hosts the Maryland Challenge. The competition will be more of a challenge, with No. 8 Washington, No. 19 Southern California and Oklahoma coming to College Park’s Xfinity Center.
Maryland will face its first Big 10 opponent Sept. 20 when the Terps travel to Ohio State.
