Maryland wins opening set, falls in four sets to Washington

After going up 24-21 late in the opening set against Washington, Maryland volleyball looked poised to get its first set victory since Oct. 5. But the Huskies responded with two straight points of their own, putting the Terps at risk of blowing a lead eerily similar to Friday’s match.

Instead, pin hitter Samantha Schnitta clobbered a kill down the line — her fifth of the opening set — to give Maryland the set win. Schnitta, the team’s leader with 238 kills, entered the match in the midst of her worst three-game stretch of the season, recording just 20 kills.

The Terps headed into Seattle, Washington, hoping to avoid six matches without a set victory. Maryland left the road trip with some progress, but still fell in four sets on the road.

“Disappointed with the result, no moral victories,” head coach Adam Hughes said. “We want to find ways to get wins, and I think we’re capable of doing that here. Just came up a little bit short.”

Outside hitter Sam Csire, who led the Terps (10-11) with 10 kills against No. 11 Oregon, opened the scoring with a kill before recording a second one just two points later. Maryland got out to an early 4-1 lead.

Back-to-back joint-blocks from setter Sydney Dowler and middle blocker Anastasia Russ extended the Terps’ lead to six, 11-5. But the Huskies (16-4) stormed back with eight consecutive points, giving themselves a two-point lead. Outside hitter Kierstyn Barton had three kills during this stretch.

Trailing 15-13, Maryland scored five straight points including a service ace from defensive specialist Lilly Gunter and a kill from middle blocker Eva Rohrbach. Back-to-back kills from Washington outside hitter Madi Ensley helped knot the score at 21 apiece. But Maryland closed out the first set with four of the last six points, en route to a 25-23 set victory.

“I thought we did a good job in game one of standing tall,” Hughes said. “Had a chance there to maybe panic a little bit, but we didn’t and found a way to execute.”

The Terps’ momentum quickly vanished after the Huskies got out to an 8-2 lead in the second set. Barton led the run with three early kills. Rohrbach cut the Maryland deficit to three with a kill, the closest it ever got in the set.

An attacking error from Csire pushed Washington ahead by six, 15-9. Outside hitter Sydney Bryant tried to give the Terps some sort of spark with three kills. However, consecutive service aces from libero Lauren Bays eliminated any hope of that, making the score 23-14.

A service ace from Dowler and one kill apiece from Csire and Schnitta were late consolation points before middle blocker Katy Wessels closed it out for Washington. Maryland fell 25-17 in the second set.

The Huskies sprinted out to an early 5-0 lead in the third set after two kills from Ensley. But Maryland stormed right back, cutting the deficit to two. Schnitta and Dowler led the charge with two and one kills, respectively, while Dowler also added a service ace.

A tip-shot over the net from Russ leveled the score at 13 apiece before Csire moved the Terps in front with a service ace. With Maryland ahead 18-17, another service ace from Bays helped push Washington in front, 21-18.

Two kills from Csire — including one to the deep left corner — were followed up by a service ace from Dowler, tying the set at 23 apiece. On the seventh set point, Ensley tipped the ball just inside the sideline, and the Terps fell 31-29 in the third set.

Dowler helped push Maryland in front, 4-1, in the fourth set after her fourth service ace of the match. But two kills from outside hitter Kiune Fletcher moved the Huskies in front by one. A service error from Wessels temporarily tied the score at five, before Washington rattled off four quick points.

After Schnitta’s 13th kill of the match, Bryant stuffed the Huskies’ attack at the net, cutting the Terps’ deficit to two. With Maryland down 11-10, Washington went on a run of its own, capped off by a service ace from Endsley.

But the ensuing Huskies’ serve went straight into the net, moving the score to 15-12. An emphatic kill from Russ looked to provide a spark that the Terps so desperately needed. The Huskies had other plans, though, scoring six of the next eight points. Stepping behind the service line, Schnitta wrecked havoc, helping Maryland muster up three points.

An attack from Bryant was stifled at the net, moving Washington two points from the finish line. Consecutive kills from the Huskies closed out the forth set, 25-19.

“The biggest thing in game two and four was just big serving runs,” Hughes said. “We got stuck in a rotation each time, and at the elite levels, those things just get smaller. If you miss, you got a five or six-point run, it’s really hard to work your way back out of that.”

Three things to know

1. Set-drought over. Maryland was able to pick up its first set win in three weeks. After going scoreless against four ranked teams, the Terps closed out the opening set in the match before falling in the latter three.

2. Balanced offense. Led by 14 kills from Csire, Maryland had a very spread-out attack. Three players had double-digit performances, including Schnitta and Bryant with 13 and 10, respectively. Dowler and setter Zoe Huang combined for 44 assists.

“The setters did a good job of mixing and matching a little bit,” Hughes said. “Game one we passed really well. … I think we had 18 kills. That was pretty much because we were in system.”

3. Six-straight losses. Despite the first set win, Maryland has now fallen in six consecutive matches. The Terps have a 1-9 conference record and are tied for 16th in the Big Ten. Maryland returns home to face No. 10 Purdue on Friday.