After sweeping two straight matches, Maryland (4-2) volleyball was served the same fate Sunday by Navy (5-1).
The Terps were swept off the floor to close out the Kristen Dickman Invitational in Annapolis, 23-25, 23-25, 21-25.
The matchup went down to the wire in all three sets as the Terps were leading 18-14 in the first stanza, 23-22 in the second and trailing 20-21 in the third, crumbling in the final moments of each stanza.
Navy closed out the final two stanzas with a 4-1 run to seal their first-ever win over Maryland in 12 matchups.
Maryland committed 16 service errors, capped off by Sydney Bryant’s misfire that secured the win for the Midshipmen.
Maryland picked up right where they left off from in their three-game winning streak, opening the game with a 4-1 lead. Navy didn’t claim the first lead of the game until Jordan Llewellyn’s service ace put them ahead 11-10. Maryland led late in the first, 21-20, but a 5-2 run by the Midshipmen fanned the flames.
Navy controlled the lead for most of the second set, starting the stanza with an 8-5 lead marked by a 5-2 run where the Midshipmen doled out five kills.
Maryland however battled through the second stanza and kept the game close down the stretch.
A Terps three-point run midway through the second set brought them within two, 14-16. Eva Rohrbach tied the game at 20 points a piece with a pair of kills. Sydney Bryant’s kill and Sydney Dowler and Eva Rohrbach’s block assists gave Maryland their first lead since they scored the first point of the set. A 4-1 run by the Midshipmen closed out the stanza.
The third set was much of the same as Navy came out with a 4-1 lead. Maryland tied the game 7-7 but a run gave the Midshipmen an 11-8 lead. The Terps responded to every Navy run for much of the third set, tying the score 17-17 and keeping the score within two points until the Midshipmen gained a 21-20 lead. Navy once again closed the game on a 4-1 run to cap the game.
Maryland heads home next week to play Coastal Carolina in the Maryland Tournament at the Xfinity Center Pavilion. Maryland faces Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m. Friday.
