Maryland volleyball takes down Ohio State in four sets

Maryland volleyball found itself down 15-14 in the opening set of its road match against Ohio State. As pin hitter Samantha Schnitta — the nation’s leader in service aces — stepped behind the service line, she hoped to tie the game.

She did just that with a service ace into the deep corner.

The ensuing serve hit the exact same spot, leaving Buckeyes’ defenders scrambling. The Terps, who post the 10th most aces per set in the country, tallied 10 in their four-set victory Friday night.

After consecutive Big Ten wins for the first time this season last weekend, Maryland hopped to ride the momentum. The Terps did exactly that, picking up their first conference road victory of the season.

“When you can go win good games on the road in the Big Ten, it helps the youngsters realize that there is a path to [win games],” head coach Adam Hughes said.

Ohio State’s outside hitter Emily Londot got her offense going with two early kills, knotting the score at four apiece. Freshman pin hitter Katherine Scherer, coming off a career-high 13 kills against UCLA, broke the deadlock with her first of the match.

Schnitta racked up her first service ace of the match before hitting the ensuing serve long. Kills from middle blocker Eva Rohrbach and outside hitter Sam Csire restored Maryland’s two-point lead, but Ohio State responded with seven of the next nine points — including another kill from Londot — moving the Buckeyes in front, 14-11.

Trailing by two, the Terps notched five straight points off consecutive blocks, and Maryland didn’t relinquish this lead despite several attempts from Ohio State. Schnitta gave the Terps set point before middle blocker Anastasia Russ closed it out with a block, 25-22.

Maryland carried this momentum into the second set, sprinting out to a 4-1 lead, after a serve from libero Lilly Gunter landed in the middle of the court. Buckeyes’ outside hitter Reese Wuebker cut the Terps’ lead to one. But three Ohio State errors pushed the score to 8-4.

A monstrous strike from Csire kept Maryland rolling. But Londot, a two-time All-American, sharply hit the ball cross court, cutting the Terps’ deficit to three. Schnitta helped restore Maryland’s five-point lead after a powerful serve gave Rohrbach an easy kill. A serve from Rohrbach just trickled over the net, moving the score to 18-13.

Just a few minutes later, Schnitta put the Terps just two points away from a second set victory after a kill and a combined block with Russ. Schnitta then closed it out, 25-18, off a kill that deflected off the fingertips of Ohio State’s front line.

“I thought we were playing pretty efficient,” Hughes said. “I didn’t think we made a ton of bad errors and bad mistakes. We were blocking some balls early and forcing them into some tough angles and tough situations.”

Londot gave the Buckeyes an early lead in the third set off a kill and service ace. But Schnitta and Scherer added a kill apiece to push Maryland in front. Ohio State responded with a major blow, scoring seven of the next nine points.

After Hughes’ second timeout in short succession, the Terps got their offense going. Schnitta tipped the ball off the block and a few points later, Russ destroyed the ball in the middle of the court.

After Maryland went down, 16-11, it rattled off six straight points. Schnitta continued her impressive game with three more service aces, giving her six for the match. Scherer added two kills to help the Terps push in front, but Ohio State stormed right back with eight points of its own, taking the third set, 25-18.

“[Schnitta] was definitely on from the end line,” Hughes said. “I thought her tosses were really good. … She started to get a little bit physically fatigued late, but she was scoring points from the front row, from the back row.”

The Buckeyes looked to carry its late momentum from the third into the fourth set. Instead, Maryland hung around, with two kills and one service ace from Schnitta tying the set at five apiece. Just three points later, middle blocker Eloise Brandewie recorded a kill, sparking a three-point run from Ohio State.

Trailing 12-8, the Terps launched a major comeback, scoring seven of the next eight points. Schnitta notched three kills and Gunter added a service ace that was barely in, landing in the back right corner. But the Buckeyes stayed in the set, knotting it at 17 apiece off two kills from Brandewie.

Both teams traded three-point spurts, as two kills from outside hitter Emmi Sellman tied the score back up. But Maryland landed the last blow — up 22-21 — it scored the final three points. A kill from Csire just tipped the fingertips of Ohio State’s blockers before the Buckeyes made two costly errors, leading to the Terps 25-21 set victory.

Three things to know

1. Maryland dominated on the road. It took the Terps nine matches to pick up their second Big Ten win of the season, but after beating Michigan State in four sets, Maryland has been rolling. Friday’s match marks the Terps’ first win in Columbus, Ohio, since 2018.

2. Schnitta kept rolling. After recording 36 kills over the last two matches, Schnitta kept the hot streak going. She tallied a match-high 18 kills on 34 attempts, hitting an impressive 44.1% in the match. She also added seven service aces.

3. Defense on full display. Maryland entered the match with the 13th-most digs and total blocks in the Big Ten. The Terps, however, seemingly tracked every ball down against Ohio State. Maryland totaled 71 digs and nine blocks, including a match-high 16 digs.