Maryland women’s volleyball toppled by No. 9 Wisconsin in straight sets

Trailing 4-2 in the opening set, defensive specialist Ally Williams went behind the service line looking to spark a Maryland comeback against No. 9 Wisconsin and get the eighth-best serving team in the nation going.

Instead, Williams recorded the first of four service errors for the Terps in the set, establishing the tone of the match. Serving struggles were evident early on, as Maryland failed to record a service ace in the opening set for the first time all season. The Terps fell to the Badgers in straight sets.

“This is one of the better passing teams in the Big Ten, and we knew that would be one of the challenges,” head coach Adam Hughes said. “When you go strength on strength, you always wonder who is going to win the battle. I think it’s a bit tougher to serve when you’re on the road and not as comfortable.”

Wisconsin middle blocker Anna Smrek recorded back-to-back kills to get her team out to a quick 2-0 lead they never relinquished. Pin hitter Samantha Schnitta, the Terps’ leader in kills with 196, tallied a kill to put Maryland on the board. However, another kill from Smrek and middle blocker CC Crawford extended the Badgers lead to 7-2.

Middle blocker Anastasia Russ and outside hitter Sam Csire cut the Wisconsin lead to one. But two service aces from Badgers freshman sensation Charlie Fuerbringer and two team blocks sparked a Wisconsin run, moving the score to 14-8.

Outside hitter Sydney Bryant tried to give Maryland some momentum with a kill, but the Badgers responded just like they had done all set. Middle blocker Eva Rohrbach and setter Sydney Dowler each tallied a kill late in the set, but that wasn’t enough. Wisconsin closed out the set, 25-15.

The second set shaped up just like the previous one, as Maryland fell behind early, 4-2. Dowler knotted the score at six apiece as she recorded the Terps’ first service ace of the match. But outside hitter Sarah Franklin, the reigning AVCA National Player of the Year, recorded back-to-back kills, giving Wisconsin the lead back.

Russ stopped the bleeding and a potential Wisconsin run with a kill, but two more kills from Franklin pushed the score to 10-8. A kill from Schnitta cut the Maryland deficit to one. That was the closest the Terps ever got as Wisconsin went on a massive run.

With Badgers libero Lola Schumacher behind the service line, Wisconsin rattled off eight consecutive points, including four more team-blocks and service ace from Schumacher. It closed out the second-set victory, 25-11, with its ninth block of the set.

Csire recorded the opening point of the third set with a kill. However, this was short-lived, as Franklin responded with a kill and service ace. Schumacher got behind the line and sparked another Badgers’ run, helped by back-to-back kills from Crawford.

Down 8-2, Schnitta hoped to give the Terps some life with another kill, but she had an attack error in the next point. Service aces from outside hitter Julia Orzol and Crawford extended the Wisconsin lead to eight. A kill from Csire and service ace Rohrbach stopped the Badgers’ run at three.

Franklin recorded Wisconsin’s 11th service ace of the match, moving the score to 17-9. Maryland battled late in the set, hoping to muster up a comeback, but three more kills from Franklin shut the door, as the Terps fell 25-15.

“The big message we talked about at the end is in the third set, we were definitely more competitive,” Hughes said. “They had some point runs that were pretty big where it kind of puts it away immediately. I was proud we didn’t surrender there and kept battling against a good team.”

Three things to know

1. Service woes. Maryland recorded just three service aces in the match, its lowest mark. Coming off an impressive 10 aces in the last match, the Terps were unable to find any sort of serving momentum. Seven service errors also led to Maryland’s struggle.

2. First straight-sets loss of the season. In every match so far this season, the Terps pulled off at least one set, even against No. 3 Penn State. However, Maryland was never within striking distance in any of the sets to position itself to earn a set victory.

3. Terps were out-blocked 13-1. Up against a very physical team, Maryland was dominated at the net. In a department that the Terps found some success early on in the season, the recent blocking struggles continued. Maryland had a hitting percentage of just 4.3%.

“They have a balanced offense and it’s hard to get anyone set up in good places,” Hughes said. “On the other side, we were out of system a fair amount, and that puts their physicality on full display. We had to find this balance of staying aggressive.”