By Justin Fitzgerald
In a matchup of two teams at the bottom of the Big Ten standings, Maryland (12-13, 2-9) bested Iowa (10-14, 0-11) 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-23) in Iowa City Friday night. This was the Terps second straight win, and their first back-to-back wins since starting the season 9-0. Maryland’s front line was outstanding, with Adreené Elliott leading the way with 16 kills, and Ashlyn McGregor and Liz Twilley had 14 each.
It was a rough start for Maryland, who trailed 7-2 in the first set after four straight errors, eventually committing eight in the first set. They would come within four points of the Hawkeyes three times during the set, but Iowa eventually pulled away to take the first set 25-19.
Iowa scored the first point of the second set after a long rally, but after that the Terps took control. They scored the next points to take a 3-1 lead off of an Elliott kill and two Iowa errors, and built momentum from there. An Elliott kill deflected off of Annika Olson’s hand to give the Terps an 8-5 lead, and after a long bout of back and forth play an Ashlyn McGregor kill extended the lead to 18-12. Iowa called timeout and Ashley Mariani responded with three straight kills to cut the Maryland lead to 18-15. The Hawkeyes would later cut it to 19-17 but would get no closer, with the Terps taking the set 25-20.
Maryland fell behind 5-1 to start the third set, but came back to take an 8-7 lead on another Elliott kill. After Iowa scored the next point they committed three straight errors and the Terps had an 11-8 lead. Maryland built an 18-14 lead, but Iowa fought back to cut the Terps lead to 18-17. Maryland won the next three points to take a 21-17 lead, and Iowa cut it to 22-21 before Maryland won the set 25-22.
Both teams went back and forth to start the fourth set, and the Hawkeyes seemed to be gaining momentum after building a 10-7 lead. After calling timeout, the Terps scored the next five points and didn’t trail for the rest of the match. Iowa cut it to 22-21 after a kill by Mikaela Gunderson. An Elliott kill won the set 25-23 and the match 3-1.
The Terps look to extend their winning streak to 3 Saturday night at #9 Nebraska. The game will be at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on BTN Plus.
