Despite facing the largest crowd in Maryland volleyball history, No. 1 Nebraska crushed the Terps in front of their record-breaking 15,127 fans.
While the Terrapins played with tenacity and well overall, the Cornhuskers’ lethal offense refused to let a point go.
In three sets, 13-25, 20-25 and 15-25, the Huskers continued their season winning streak, breaking the Terrapins’ home game winning record.
In their fourth game of conference play, Maryland struggled in serve-receive, with 12 reception errors throughout the match.
“For us to get aced 12 times and be on the offensive, it’s just going to be a big, big challenge against one of the best teams in the country,” Maryland head coach Adam Hughes said.
Another weakness was the Terps’ offense. Without being able to start the play with a solid pass, the Terps struggled to attack, racking up a .117 hitting percentage to the Huskers’ .278.
Nebraska took down Maryland fairly quickly in the first set, showcasing their fast, aggressive offense and wall of blocks. The Huskers left the first set with 13 kills to the Terps’ 8.
The second set proved to be a ray of hope for the Terps, consisting of long battles for each point and going point-for-point with Nebraska. The Terps and Huskers matched in attack attempts, attack errors and blocks.
In the second set alone, Maryland’s hitting percentage was .321 with the help of senior Sydney Bryant and freshman Ava Brown.
“They went on a run in Game Two, we said, ‘Hey, you know, got to find a way to reset, get back to it,’ and you know, for us to finish at least hustling, I can appreciate that,” Hughes said. “Work rate wasn’t the issue. It was a little bit more execution today.”
Whatever fire the Terps had in the second set vanished in the third, with a total of three kills after 26 attempts for an attack.
Freshmen made an impact on the court with Brown recording five kills and Brooklynne Brass with six kills and five digs.
“I want the youngsters to realize that they can do this. And I thought the serve and pass was more mental than it was physical,” Hughes said.
Senior leadership from Eva Rohrbach and Bryant was unfaltering as well throughout the match, with Rohrbach with five kills and Bryant with eight.
While the Terps couldn’t pull ahead, the energy from the record-breaking crowd created a great environment, according to Hughes.
“It definitely felt like the energy was very high, and if anything, I was trying to get the team to be a little bit calm out of the gate because I figured that’d be pretty energized,” Hughes said.
When preparing for these big conference matchups in large arenas, Hughes said the team focuses on taking each team one at a time. Looking forward, the team plays UCLA on Friday on the main court again.
“I thought we did an excellent job. Honestly, it was a great work rate. And next week, just the new teams and new challenges, but we’re hoping to keep the same messaging,” Hughes said.
