Maryland volleyball entered Thursday’s matchup against No. 10 Purdue looking to extend its winning streak to Big Ten play. 

Instead, the Terps faced a reality check, falling to the Boilermakers in straight sets.

“A great team like this at their place is going to test you, and we weren’t judging ourselves on how good today was going to be,” Maryland head coach Adam Hughes said. “We just want to make sure that we competed from start to finish, and have a young program continue to get better.” 

The loss ended the Terps’ 24-set winning streak in their first Big Ten match of the season. 

Maryland only showed fight in set two, going down easily in set three, with scores of 16-25, 22-25, and 9-25. 

“I thought in game two was some of the best ball we had played all season. I saw a level of [competition] and intensity,” Hughes said. 

The Boilermakers 47 total kills made life difficult all game long for the Terps’ defense. 

Big swings, combined with Boilermaker tips into the open holes in the Terps’ defense, made the difference. Purdue setter Taylor Anderson was lethal with her soft touch, picking up six strategic points. 

The back row put up a good fight, with freshman Raina Chwialkowski logging 13 digs.

While the Terps struggled to receive attacks, they also struggled to get their own, with 27 kills and 15 attack errors. The team kept its aggressive spirit with 104 attacks but couldn’t clean it up enough to reap the benefits.

The Terps also struggled in serve-receive, with six total ball-handling errors and only one ace from freshman defensive specialist Elayna Davidson.

The second set proved to be an anomaly, with the Boilermakers up by only three points. Both sides made errors, and the Terps gained momentum in the final points with serves from freshman Addie Canady and kills from senior middle blocker Eva Rohrbach. 

After an energizing second set, the Terps couldn’t keep up with the Boilermakers and failed to score in the double figures. 

With veteran leaders Sydney Bryant and Haley Melby sitting out this game due to injuries, the Terps side of the net was full of freshmen.

Freshman outside hitter Ava Brown led the team with eight kills, followed by freshman outside hitters Brooklynne Brass and Rohrbach with seven each. Brown posted a .240 hitting percentage, and Rohrbach hit .333 to help the Terrapins.

“Another bright spot for us was Ava. As someone who’s had a great preseason for us, you know, I thought really took some big, big swings and some big moments,” Hughes said.

While the freshman stepped up in this game, Rohrbach proved a strong leader for the team in Maryland’s first Big Ten game this season. 

“Her presence today with some senior leaders off with injuries,” Hughes said. “I thought she was really good offensively, and was commanding the ball and was getting a lot of attention by Purdue, and still finding ways to score.”

Maryland continues Big Ten play at No. 18 Indiana on Saturday at 7 p.m.