By: Zachary Sturgill

Maryland volleyball pushed a highly-talented Michigan State squad to five sets on Sunday, nearly pulling off an improbable road victory. Just two points separated the sides in the decisive set, which would have given the Terps consecutive Big Ten wins for the first time.

On Thursday night, Maryland reverted back to its mid-season form. The Terps looked completely outmatched against No. 22 USC, falling behind in the opening two sets and never really putting up much of a fight.

Failing to capitalize on its previous momentum, Maryland was swept for the fourth time this season. The Terps fell to USC, 3-0, in Los Angeles, California and dropped to 1-8 in conference play.

In a matchup between the Big Ten’s top two blocking teams, USC dominated the net, holding the Terps to just three blocks. The Trojans stifled Maryland’s attack, producing 12 blocks, including 7.5 in the second set.

While the Terps showed some late life in the final set, they did not start the match on the front foot. USC dominated the opening set right out of the gates, jumping out to an early 9-3 lead. 

The Terps struggled to establish a rhythm from there. Ajack Malual, Eva Rohrbach and Duru Gökçen all picked up a pair of kills, but it was not enough to close the gap. USC cruised to a 25-12 first-set victory.

The Trojans’ stranglehold only increased in the second set, bolting out to a 10-2 lead. Maryland’s offense failed to show up early on: a common theme throughout the match. The Terps were held without a kill in the first 15 points of the second set.

From there, the Trojans committed a slew of errors, halting their ability to open up a larger gap. But Maryland didn’t take advantage of the slight door opening, allowing USC to keep it at arms length. The Trojans eventually took the second set, 25-14. 

Despite coming into the game with the most blocks in the Big Ten, Maryland failed to record a single block in the first two sets. 

The third set started off much more competitive than the previous two. The Terps got their first lead of the match, 4-3, thanks to a kill from Olivia Ruy and a service ace from Jonna Spohn.

Ruy, in her first game since Oct. 10, did everything she could to keep the Terps in it during the third set, recording five kills. Her individual effort was not enough though as the Trojans went on an 8-1 run late in the game to take control of the set, and ultimately win it 25-18.

Maryland entered the match as one of the worst offensive teams in the Big Ten, ranking dead last in kills per set (11.4) and 240th in the country with a 0.19 hitting percentage. Thursday was likely the Terps worst performance of the season, totaling 21 kills and hitting in the negatives. 

Outside of Ruy’s five-kill third-set and a relatively strong performance from Malual, Maryland struggled to sustain any consistent attacking pressure. The Terps often found themselves scrambling to stay in the rally. But not even 32 digs could fuel Maryland’s offense to find its groove.

Maryland’s tough schedule continues on Saturday, as they will stay out west to take on the No. 25 UCLA Bruins.