This post was written by Hatchet staff writer Sean Hurd.

The GW women’s volleyball team dropped their season opener Friday against the University of Maryland in three straight sets (29-27, 25-21, 25-18).

In a back and forth opening set that saw 12 tie scores and three lead changes, the Colonials (0-1), who led for most of the set, were unable to stop a pressing Terrapins team who won the set on a service ace by Ashleigh Crutcher. The home opener was GW’s first game of its Labor Day weekend home tournament, the George Washington Invitational.

On the Colonials side, senior outside hitter Rachel Goss led the offense with seven kills on 12 total attacks, followed by Maggie Skjelbred, who tallied five kills on 11 total attacks.

The Terrapins were led by Mary Cushman with seven kills on 10 total attempts.

After a thrilling first set, the rest of the match belonged to Maryland. An experienced Terrapins team, who was picked to finish tenth in the ACC preseason poll, capitalized on the inexperienced GW roster.

Maryland (1-0) was led by senior outside hitter Mary Cushman in the second set, tallying six kills and seven digs in the second frame alone. After GW tied what was a close set at 18-18, the Terrapins rallied for eight of the last ten set points to win the set.

UMD’s junior outside-hitter Ashleigh Crutcher paved the way in the third set. Crutcher, who was named to the preseason All-ACC team, finished the game with 15 kills, eight of which came in the third set.

The Terrapins, who led by as much as 10 points in the final set, were able to take the set away from a GW team that failed to find a rhythm.

Sophomore libero Maddy Doyle finished the match with 18 digs, while sophomore setter Jordan Timmer tallied 26 assists for the Colonials in their first lost of the season.

The Colonials will look to rebound with their first win and close out the tournament tomorrow when they play UMBC (0-1) at 10 a.m. and Ole Miss (1-0) at 7pm.