UMD’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) detachment ranks in the top 10% nationwide for its performance in officer production, operational efficiency and overall effectiveness.

President Darryll J. Pines on Thursday presented the commander of Detachment 330, Col. Nathan Rabe, and cadets with a special streamer to be displayed on their unit guidon, a type of forked pennant, for the next academic year in recognition of the achievement.

“We are immensely proud of this prestigious recognition, which highlights the unwavering commitment of our students who are training to become the next generation of leaders in the Air and Space Forces,” said Associate Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Studies William A. Cohen. “Their dedication and excellence embody the core values and principles of both our university and the ROTC program.”

Each year, AFROTC Headquarters conducts a nationwide Viability Assessment, which evaluates the 145 detachments across the U.S. Detachment 330 has approximately 130 cadets, comprising most UMD students but also those from other universities in the DMV.

“The exceptional leadership, tireless work ethic and dedication of our cadre are on full display,” said Rabe. “Our cadets consistently go above and beyond, demonstrating integrity, service and excellence.”

Maryland volleyball entered Big Ten play on an eight-game winning streak, its longest since 2021 when it went unbeaten in nonconference play. However, the Terps lost momentum, falling to the Northwestern Wildcats in five sets.

“The physicality, obviously, changes, that’s the one thing you notice,” head coach Adam Hughes said of conference play. “Some of the balls we usually scored early in the season get through seams that are not there anymore because blockers are more physical.”

Middle blocker Eva Rohrbach got the start after an injury to middle blocker Anastasia Russ last match. Rohrbach proved pivotal, tallying 10 kills and five blocks.

In a much-needed quick start, Maryland (9-3) got out to an early 4-0 lead. Pin hitter Samantha Schnitta recorded the opening point with a kill, before scoring back-to-back service aces. However, Northwestern (3-6) responded right back with a service ace from setter Lauren Carter and a kill from setter Alexa Rousseau.

Setter Sydney Dowler recorded a kill, breaking a 4-4 tie, before the Wildcats scored two consecutive points. With the Terps down, 7-6, middle blocker Ellie Watson sparked a run with a kill, helping Maryland score four of the next five.

A kill from Schnitta helped spark five more consecutive points for Maryland. During the run, Dowler recorded a block and Schnitta tallied another service ace, while Rohrbach and outside hitter Sydney Bryant each added a kill.

Northwestern cut the lead to five with a block before a kill from Watson gave the Terps a set point. Schnitta closed out a 25-22 set win with her fourth kill of the set, tying her with Rousseau for a set-high.

Outside hitter Sam Csire recorded three early kills, including one deep in the back right corner to help Maryland jump out to a quick 6-3 lead in the second set. Then, Northwestern’s Hazan cut the lead to one before Watson and Csire teamed up for a block.

With the Wildcats tying the score at eight, Schnitta recorded a powerful kill, putting her at five for the match. Rohrbach tallied back-to-back kills for the Terps to keep the score knotted. A kill from Bryant helped spark a late three-point run, putting Maryland in front, 20-18. After a Northwestern timeout, the Wildcats scored the next five points.

Rohrbach stopped the bleeding with a kill, but that wasn’t enough, as two late kills from Hazan gave Northwestern a 25-22 set victory.

“They did a pretty good job responding,” Hughes said. “We try to emphasize the fact that when we have a lead, we can capitalize on it. We didn’t do that, but I thought we bounced back pretty fast.”

In the next set, Rohrbach recorded a kill and block, helping Maryland get out to a 3-1 lead. Rousseau dwindled the lead to one before a Csire kill extended the lead back to four. Kills from Hazan provided a spark for Northwestern as they cut the score to two. Rohrbach capped off a three-point Terps run with a kill.

A service ace from setter Zoe Huang trickled off the net, restoring a five-point advantage for Maryland. Northwestern responded with three points of its own, forcing the Terps to call a timeout. Two kills from Schnitta extended the lead back to three.

Rohrbach tipped the ball over the net for her eighth kill, putting the score at 22-17. A big service ace from Schnitta gave Maryland a set point, before a Northwestern serve sailed long. The Terps took the third set, 25-18.

Rousseau helped spark the Wildcats’ early in the fourth set with a kill and service ace en route to an 8-3 Northwestern lead. Trailing 10-4, Maryland scored four consecutive points and forced a Wildcats’ timeout. Csire helped spark the run with a kill before later adding a service ace.

Back-to-back kills from Csire knotted the score at 13 before Watson gave the Terps their first lead of the set. A huge joint-block from Schnitta and Watson forced another Northwestern timeout.

The Wildcats marched back to level the score at 22 before Rohrbach added her 10th kill of the match. Consecutive kills from Northwestern’s Hazan forced a fifth set, as Maryland fell, 27-25.

Down 5-2 in the fifth set, Schnitta tallied a service ace and kill to knot the score at seven. The Wildcats responded right back with four points of their own before Csire recorded a much-needed kill. Schnitta pulled the Terps back within two points, but they ultimately fell in the end, 15-11.

“You can be upset about [the loss] for tonight, but then we step into practice tomorrow and it’s about Iowa,” Schnitta said. “To just move on and make sure we recover well so that we are able to give everything back to the team.”

Three things to know

1. First home loss. Coming into the match, the Terps had won five games in a row at the Xfinity Center Pavilion, dropping only one set. The streak came to an end at the hands of a tough Northwestern team. Maryland will be looking to bounce back on Saturday against Iowa.

2. Heavy dosage from Schnitta and Csire. The Terps relied heavily on their two best players, garnering 94 total attacks between Schnitta and Csire. They combined for more than half of the team’s kills (31 of 59). Whenever the team needed a point, the ball was either in the hands of Schnitta or Csire.

3. Big Ten struggle continues. Maryland has stumbled in Big Ten play recently, with three consecutive conference records of 7-13. The Terps have yet to finish with a winning record since they joined the conference in 2014. While the Big Ten is recognized as the best volleyball conference in the country, Maryland will be hoping to get over the hump soon.

By Mennatalla Ibrahim and Andrea Durán

WASHINGTON — The Chesapeake Bay is cleaner than it used to be but is falling short of 2025 targets for reducing pollution, state and federal officials – including most of Maryland’s congressional delegation – said Wednesday.

“The short version is that it’s going in the right direction. The longer story is that we’re still behind,” said Adam Ortiz, the Environmental Protection Agency’s mid-Atlantic administrator, said at a Capitol Hill press conference.

The bay failed to meet the main target of the 2025 plan, known as the total maximum daily load, which measures the total pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

“The point of the 10-year plan is to create a pollution diet to reduce the amount of phosphorous, nitrogen and other pollutants in the bay,” Van Hollen said. “That’s a measurable target. That’s how we know we’re not going to hit it this year, so we need to redouble our efforts.”

Despite missing the targets set in 2014 through 2025, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said he remained hopeful that the delegation can work together with experts at the EPA and other agencies to ensure the bay’s health continues to improve.

Maryland Democratic Reps. Steny Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, Kweisi Mfume and Jamie Raskin joined Cardin, Van Hollen, representatives from the EPA and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources at the Wednesday event.

The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science gave the Chesapeake Bay an overall grade of a C+ in July, the highest grade the bay has received since 2002.

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“I know that nobody would be thrilled with bringing home a grade of a C+, but the fact of the matter is, it is the highest grade we’ve seen in a long time,” Van Hollen said. “We all want to do better, but I do want to stress that without the collective effort we see today, the Bay would have died a long time ago.”

The Chesapeake Executive Council signed the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement in 2014 and established five strategies for the restoration and protection of the bay, its tributaries and surrounding lands.

Local, state and federal governments are required to enact the plan’s management strategies and work with academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations, watershed groups and businesses and individuals, according to the 2014 agreement.

“You need cooperation between the federal government and the states, among the states, among state governments and private industry,” Van Hollen said. “There are all sorts of sources of pollution today, and so we need to make sure everybody cooperates in producing pollution reduction.”

Ortiz said that groups committed to improving the bay were in disarray when President Joe Biden’s administration began almost four years ago.

“The states were suing the federal government, and states were pointing the fingers at each other for not making … progress,” he said.

But since then, he said, the EPA has been able to bring the states together and hold them accountable.

“The Chesapeake Bay isn’t just a bay,” Cardin said. “The Chesapeake Bay has been one of the highest priorities for our Maryland congressional delegation. We’ve been focused on not only preserving but expanding our role and partnership with states, local governments and stakeholders.”

Van Hollen emphasized the importance of identifying “measurable targets” of pollution reduction for long-term success, especially as climate change concerns surrounding the Bay grow.

“I think we’ll have to have a discussion about what the length of time for the next agreement should be. It may make sense to look at shorter time horizons,” the senator said.  “But you have to have a measurable target to hold people down.”