A history-making Friday night: No. 16 Minnesota 2, Maryland 3
Maryland volleyball was dealt a harsh blow last week when it was swept by No. 22 Ohio State. But the Terps returned home Friday night and bounced back in a huge way, defeating No. 16 Minnesota for the first time ever, 3-2 (25-18, 22-25, 24-26, 25-21, 15-10).
“We continue to do it. I mean, I say that in a very confident way,” head coach Adam Hughes said. “You know it was beating Wisconsin two years ago, last year you got your first win against Ohio State and you know, [we] just keep chopping…”
It was an ugly game throughout, as both sides had a combined hitting percentage of under .150. Minnesota also committed 15 service errors.
Errors were a problem all match long for Minnesota, and that was epitomized on the final point of play, when sophomore outside hitter Mckenna Wucherer sent a strong attempt out of bounds, solidifying the match’s result.
Maryland shot out to an early lead thanks to back-to-back kills from senior outside hitter Sam Csire. She recorded seven in the first set to lead all players.
Despite Minnesota’s best efforts, Maryland never trailed in the first set. The Gophers constantly put themselves in tough positions in the first set, committing six service errors.
Leading 20-16, Maryland went on a 5-0 run, finished off by a Csire putaway, to go up 1-0 in the match.
“We worked a lot on staying in our huddles and being more effective in there,” Csire said of Maryland’s strong start. “All week we did it, and today, when they went on runs or we made mistakes, we talked in the huddle to ‘shake it off’.”
As Maryland had done in the first set, Minnesota got out to an early advantage in the second set, exemplified by to back-to-back kills from Wucherer and senior outside hitter Lydia Grote.
Down 13-14, Minnesota embarked on a 4-0 run as Wucherer really began to establish herself. A huge block from Anastasia Russ ultimately gave Maryland back the lead at 19-18, but multiple challenges from Hughes went the Gophers’ way, and Minnesota took the second set, 25-22.
The crucial third set was back-and-forth, filled with runs from each team. Minnesota eventually got out to a 23-18, though, and the set looked to be out of reach.
But back-to-back kills from Csire helped bring the Terps back to level terms, before the Gophers edged out the set, 26-24.
Needing a win in the fourth set to stay alive, Maryland did just that. It led for almost the entirety of the set, and despite a late Minnesota run, Csire took over late to force a deciding fifth period.
Looking to secure its first-ever win against Minnesota, Maryland fought hard in the fifth set. The Terps ended the match on a 5-1 run, which included crucial blocks from Csire and Eva Rohrbach.
A disappointing loss to cap off the weekend: Indiana 3, Maryland 0
After its history-making win on Friday night, Maryland volleyball was brought back down to earth in a straight-set loss to Indiana Saturday (18-25, 19-25, 20-25).
“We played kind of where our average is,” said head coach Adam Hughes. “Today Indiana was on fire and I thought in a lot of ways they played really, really clean.”
Maryland fell behind within the first five points of all three sets and spent much of the match vying to remain competitive.
The Terps defeated Minnesota despite some sloppy offensive play, but Indiana took advantage. Its hitting percentage was less than .180 for the third match in a row and errors resurfaced, as Maryland recorded 30 total errors on the day.
Defensively, the Terps allowed three different Hoosiers to record double-digit kills, the fifth time Maryland has allowed such a feat this season.
Indiana entered Saturday’s match first in the Big Ten with 118 service aces, and recorded eight to Maryland’s three.
“They’re one of the best serving teams if not in the Big Ten, in the country,” said Hughes. “We knew that was gonna be one of the challenges is when they’re hot and they’re good from the end line, they can go on big runs.”
Senior right side Laila Ricks started strong against Indiana with back-to-back kills as Maryland embarked on a 5-0 run, to which Indiana responded with a 10-1 run to take a 16-11.
In a set that saw a lot of great defensive saves from Maryland, Indiana’s offense was too much for the Terps to respond to early. Senior middle blocker Savannah Kjolhede recorded two kills late to put the first set on ice for Indiana, 25-18.
“I thought they just did a better job doing the little details cleaner then we did,” said Hughes.
An 8-2 Hoosier run propelled Indiana to an early second set lead as Kjolhede began to establish herself with two more kills from her and sophomore middle blocker Avry Tatum.
A team that went point-for-point with ranked Minnesota just one day prior, Maryland continued to give up chances as Indiana continued to break out. Camryn Haworth recorded back-to-back kills as Indiana ended on a 7-3 run to take the second set, 25-19.
Firmly in the driver’s seat, Indiana was met with fierce opposition from Maryland as it looked to avoid being swept.
Russ recorded six of her 11 kills in the third set trying to provide a spark, but her efforts were in vain as the Terps dropped the deciding set, 25-20.
Three things to know
1.History-making match. The five-set victory over Minnesota marked Maryland’s first-ever victory against the Golden Gophers.
Minnesota had swept seven of the previous nine meetings entering Friday’s matchup.
2. Csire cooled off. Csire became the first Terp on the season to record 20 kills when she did so Friday night. However, she did not tally a single kill Saturday, and played just one set.
3. A tail of two games. Maryland’s win over Minnesota was its first win over a ranked opponent since Nov. 18, 2022, when it took down then-No. 15 Ohio State, 3-1. However, the Terps’ loss to Indiana was the second time they were swept in the last three games, detailing the highs and lows of Maryland volleyball.
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