Maryland volleyball swept by No. 16 Purdue in road finale

Maryland volleyball was swept on Saturday in its last road match of the season, falling in straight sets to No. 16 Purdue (24-26, 21-25, 25-27).

The Terps (16-14, 6-12 Big Ten) didn’t go down without some key contributions. Samatha Schnitta led the match with a career-high 19 kills, and the Maryland defense had 13 blocks — key in keeping Purdue (19-8, 13-5) from finishing the job earlier.

Maryland’s first set got off to a great start, taking a 15-9 lead in part due to six errors by Purdue. But the Boilermakers came roaring back with a 14-4 scoring run, putting Maryland on the ropes. Maryland stood its ground, but Purdue’s pair of Chloe Chicoine and Eva Hudson put away the first set, 26-24.

A key issue for the Terps was their lack of offensive contribution from players other than Schnitta. Maryland’s next-best scorers were Erin Morrisey and Anastasia Russ, both of whom tallied six kills, and nobody else on the team had more than three kills. On Purdue’s side, Hudson led the way with 18 kills, and Chicoine had 12.

This was evident in the second set, as the Boilermakers took a dominant stance. They led 13-12 after a slew of kills by Chicoine and Hudson, along with four aces by Raven Colvin. Hudson finished the set, 25-21, to put the Terps on the brink of being swept.

Maryland fought hard in the last set, requiring Purdue to score 27 points to put the match away. Down 10-16, Maryland went on a 4-0 run after two kills from Eva Rohrbach and one of Hudson’s few errors. The Terps then tied things up at 19 with a key block from Russ and another kill from Schnitta.

From there, it was a battle between Maryland’s Russ and Schnitta and Purdue’s Hudson and Chicoine, with the Boilermakers eventually putting the match away after two consecutive kills by their dynamic duo.

Maryland will host No. 14 Penn State and unranked Rutgers to finish its season.

Three things to know

1. Schnitta set a career-high. Schnitta had a career-high 19 kills, along with seven digs and three blocks to lead the Terps’ offense. Schnitta’s previous career high was 18 kills, set in 2021 when she played for Ole Miss.

2. Maryland’s errors were costly. The Terps had 24 attack errors in the match — eight in each set — putting them in early holes. The Terps did often battle back, but it was ultimately too little, too late.

3. Hudson and Chicoine shined. Hudson and Chicoine’s combined 30 kills were key for Purdue. Hudson replicated her success from Purdue’s last match against the Terps in September, when she racked up 20 kills.