Maryland volleyball gets their fourteenth win of the year, defeating Iowa in four sets.
The Terps returned home after 1-2 on their road trip that featured battles against Iowa, Nebraska, and Penn State. The Terps’ lone win came against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
In the prior matchup, the Terps won in four sets, getting incredible contributions from the trio of Laila Ricks, Laila Ivey, and Anastasia Russ. The Maryland defense held Iowa under a .200 hitting percentage in every set except the second.
The defense couldn’t carry over that success to the start of this contest. Iowa had seven different players register a kill, and as a team, they hit at a .265 clip in the first set. The Terps kept it close, but Iowa emerged victorious 25-21.
Maryland started the second set in a much better rhythm going on two separate 3-0 scoring runs to earn an early four-point lead. The Terps were cruising until Iowa went on a massive 12-2 scoring run that swapped the lead in their favor.
The two kept battling from there, and it was all tied up at 23. After a long volley, Laila Ivey put an emphatic swing on the ball and placed it perfectly to earn her seventh kill of the set and put Maryland up by one. Russ finished the set with her sixth kill of the match, tying the match 1-1 going into intermission.
The momentum only built from there. Maryland started the set on a 4-0 scoring run that featured two Ellie Watson aces. The Terps went on to win the set, 25-14.
Maryland was firing on all cylinders, hitting .370% on offense and holding Iowa to a .031 hitting percentage on the defensive end in the third set.
The Terps kept it going in the fourth set with a 5-0 scoring run that earned them a five-point lead. Iowa returned the favor later in the set with a 6-0 scoring run that brought the score to 17-15 in favor of Iowa.
Maryland fought all the way back, and with the help of back-to-back kills from Ivey and Russ tied the score at 24. The teams traded points from there until Ivey blasted the ball right past two Iowa blockers landing her 18th kill in the back right corner, erupting the pavilion crowd.
“I mean, the band was amazing. I feel like they definitely got us involved when there were like slumps on the court. And so, them playing music and the crowd cheering definitely helped us get out of ruts faster,” said senior Lexy Finnerty.
The Terps secured victory on the next play winning the set 27-25 and claiming a 3-1 match victory over the Hawkeyes.
This was the Terps’ first conference home win of the season.
“It feels good to be able to sing the alma mater and be there all together as a team. This is something we’ve obviously been working on,” said Finnerty.
Laila Ivey had her best game of the season, setting a new career high in kills with 18 and making plays in the biggest moments.
“The bigger thing was, she was doing it in clutch situations. They were putting some more attention toward her, knowing she was getting a lot of offense, and she got blocked there I think the middle of the fourth. I think the younger earlier version of Laila might have diverted and tried to go into more shots, and you see her turn a ball down the line and light it up, and next thing you know, you know, she’s on fire,” said head coach Adam Hughes.
“Ivey did all this battling some tendinitis in her knees, which just makes her performance even more remarkable,” said Hughes.
The other remarkable aspect of this victory is that it was earned without two of their biggest contributors in Laila Ricks and Rainelle Jones. Maryland got huge contributions from Gem Grimshaw and Ellie Watson, who have stepped up due to the injuries.
Grimshaw ended the day with five kills and seven digs, and Watson’s impact was seen all over the box score. She had four kills, three aces, and three blocks, but her biggest impact came at the net says Hughes.
“She’s a very good volleyball player, and I think the one thing that might not show up enough is some of those bang-bang plays to at the net that she’s really good at,” said Hughes.
The Terps will now head into one of its hardest stretches of the schedule facing three top-ten teams in consecutive matches.
Maryland will head back onto the road to Minneapolis to take on No. 9 ranked Minnesota and then to Wisconsin to take on the No. 3 ranked Badgers. Maryland finishes up with a match against No. 6 Ohio State in the Pavilion.
