The Terps fall to 13-15 on the campaign.
Maryland volleyball was ahead, 18-15, in the opening set and looked poised to take a 1-0 set lead against Michigan. The Terps, who have been plagued all season long with late-set collapses, once again failed to keep their grasp on the set. And this crumble proved costly.
Wolverines’ opposite hitter Valentina Vaulet — who has the fifth-most service aces per set in the country — kick-started the rally with a kill and an ace. Michigan seized this newfound momentum, scoring six straight points en route to Maryland’s straight-set loss on the road.
“We talked about when we had some success of late, when we got off to good starts,” head coach Adam Hughes. “We were able to win game one and get control of the match. I think that does boost some confidence. In our last two outings, we haven’t had great starts, and we’ve got to find ways that we can find solutions to that.”
After a loss to No. 4 Penn State snapped their three-game winning streak, the Terps looked to get back on track. Instead, their road struggles continued — Maryland is now 1-7 away from College Park.
The opening set started off tight, with both squads exchanging points from the get-go. But Michigan landed the first big blow of the match. Knotted at four apiece, the Wolverines rattled off seven of the next eight points. Maryland (13-15) shot itself in the foot with two costly errors.
But the Terps stormed right back, scoring six straight points. Outside hitter Sam Csire tallied three kills to knot the score at 11 apiece. Setter Sydney Dowler continued the momentum, adding a kill, while Csire and middle blocker Anastasia Russ tallied a block.
Kills from Csire and pin hitter Samantha Schnitta extended Maryland’s lead to three, 18-15. But then the Wolverines took full command, pushing out to a 22-19 lead on the heels of two kills apiece from middle blocker Jacque Boney and outside hitter Amalia Simmons. Maryland fell 25-21 in the opening set.
In the second set, middle blocker Eva Rohrbach helped catapult the Terps out to a 6-2 lead with back-to-back service aces. Maryland maintained its lead at 11-9, but then the Wolverines went on a big run.
Two kills from Vaulet and a joint block with middle blocker Serena Nyambio moved Michigan in front, 13-11. Vaulet’s second ace of the match moved the Wolverines up by four points.
Schnitta and Russ looked to change the tide, teaming up for a block, but Michigan scored six of the last seven points. Back-to-back kills from outside hitter Kendyl Reaugh closed it out for the Wolverines, 25-17.
Michigan pushed out to an early 6-1 lead in the third set, as three kills from Simmons led the charge. But Maryland had an answer, temporarily. Schnitta got the Terps back on track with two kills and service ace, leveling the set at nine apiece.
Rohrbach pushed Maryland in front by two, but then Michigan landed the last blow. Vaulet and Reaugh each totaled two kills to set up match point.
“[Vaulet] was two of the big runs that we couldn’t find solutions to,” Hughes said. “She was the better [opposite hitter] in the match. She did a good job scoring from the front row and back row.”
The Terps had one last spurt, tallying four straight points. A swing off the top of the block from pin hitter Katherine Scherer got the run started, and just like she’s done all season, Schnitta added a big swing from the back row, landing in the deep corner. Maryland moved the score to 24-21, but then Reaugh finished it off, 25-21.
“Disappointing result, didn’t play well and couldn’t find any sort of offensive rhythm,” Hughes said. “One of the goals was to win the match out of system, be good in a space where we could score out of system and try to slow them down.”
Three things to know
1. Susceptibility to big runs. The Terps struggled to prevent Penn State from opening up big leads, which ultimately cost them the match. Against Michigan, this was no different. Maryland allowed three runs of at least five points, repeatedly putting itself behind the sticks.
2. Vaulet outdueled Schnitta. In a battle between two of the top five servers in the country, Vaulet had just one more service ace, 3-2, but she made her presence known at the net. Schnitta had just six kills to Vaulet’s match-high 14.
3. Struggles against Michigan. Maryland entered the match with a 3-16 all-time record against the Wolverines. While Hughes has all three of the program’s wins, Michigan has come out on top in six of the last eight matches.