By Zachary Sturgill
While Maryland volleyball won seven of its last eight games heading into its Big Ten opener, the Terps’ relatively weak nonconference slate left fans unsure of what to expect from this year’s team.
Outside of losses to North Carolina and Wake Forest, Maryland (7-4) never beat a Power Four opponent.
Thursday’s contest against Iowa was Maryland’s first true test of the season, and it didn’t go very smoothly for the Terps. Despite a strong fight in the final two sets, Maryland fell to Iowa (10-3) in straight sets (3-0). The Terps haven’t won a Big Ten opener in four years.
Despite winning eight home games last season and three during conference play, Maryland has struggled to produce results on the road. The Terps went 6-10 away from College Park, with a four-set victory over Ohio State and a sweep of Rutgers serving as their two road Big Ten victories.
Those issues plagued Maryland Thursday night in a loud environment.
Maryland struggled to gain momentum throughout the first set. After starting it off with a 10-4 deficit, the Terps could not dig themselves out of a hole despite numerous scoring runs. The Hawkeyes were able to keep the game just out of reach. A 3-0 scoring run to cap it off gave Iowa a 25-17 first-set victory.
Maryland started the second set hot, opening with an early lead from two kills from redshirt sophomore Olivia Ruy.
Ruy appeared to injure her right hand shortly after, and despite returning in the match, the Hawkeyes quickly regained momentum.
Similar to the first set, the two teams battled back and forth from there, but Iowa managed to stay in front. The Hawkeyes disrupted a three-point Maryland scoring run at the end of the set and closed it out, 25-20.
The third set was much more back and forth throughout. Three kills each for Ruy and junior Haley Melby fueled the Terps’ offense early in the set.
From there, Maryland standout senior Ajack Malual finally found her groove, getting two kills and two service aces to give the Terps the lead.
At the end of the set, Maryland led by two, needing just one more point to win. However, the Hawkeyes were able to get a quick kill and block to even the score at 24.
A back-and-forth battle from there led to a tie at 26, but Iowa was able to close things out, 28-26. While Maryland’s offense came to life in the final set, a service error and a kill from Iowa middle hitter Hannah Whittingstall allowed the Hawkeyes to complete the sweep.
Maryland fought hard in the third set to keep the match and its comeback efforts alive, but fell short to a stronger force.
The Terps will have their hands full if they look to bounce back after a difficult first loss of the season. Maryland will head to Lincoln on Saturday to face No. 1 Nebraska on the road. Head coach Adam Hughes and company will look for an unlikely performance in the second Big Ten match of the season after a difficult loss on Thursday.
