Maryland volleyball swept by Minnesota and Penn State as losing streak reaches 12 games
Maryland volleyball faced another challenging road trip over the weekend, dropping matches to No. 19 Minnesota on Friday and No. 24 Penn State on Sunday. The Terps were swept in both contests and struggled to establish offensive rhythm, finishing the weekend with a combined .107 hitting percentage.
Maryland has now lost its past 12 matches, with their last five being sweeps, as it falls to 8-20 and 1-17 in Big Ten Play.
Friday: Maryland Swept by No. 19 Minnesota 3-0
Maryland opened the weekend at home but struggled to keep up with Minnesota’s efficiency.
The Terps showed early promise in the first set. Haley Melby and Eva Rohrbach combined for a block to tie the frame at 10-10. Ajack Malual followed with a kill to take one of Maryland’s few leads..
Minnesota responded with a 15-5 run that flipped control of the set. Julia Hanson scored repeatedly from the left side and added two service aces to help close the frame.
Set two quickly tilted toward the Gophers. They opened with a 7-2 run and continued to force Maryland into uncomfortable swings.
Kelly Kinney and Carly Gilk provided steady offense, while Maryland committed three service errors that stalled any chance at a comeback. Minnesota ended the set, 25-11.
The third set opened with a 7-0 Minnesota run behind strong serving from McKenna Garr. Maryland was forced to use both timeouts before scoring its second point.
Sydney Bryant and Olivia Ruy provided a brief spark with a kill and an ace, but Minnesota regained control. The Gophers quickly ended the set and finished the sweep with a 25-13 win.
Melby led Maryland with six kills. Malual added five, one of her lowest of the season.
Sunday: Maryland Swept by No. 24 Penn State 3-0
Maryland’s second matchup of the weekend came on the road against the defending national champions, Penn State, at Rec Hall.
But again, it ran into a dominant offense.
The Terps opened the first set competitively. Melby scored early to tie the frame. Penn State then responded with an offensive push behind Jordan Hopp and Maggie Mendelson, eventually building a 17-13 advantage.
Maryland cut the deficit to two with kills from Melby and Rohrbach, but Penn State answered by closing the set on a 6-2 stretch to win it 25-19.
Set two was defined by pressure from the service line. Kennedy Martin delivered consecutive aces to give Penn State a 7-1 lead.
Maryland struggled to slow the Nittany Lions in transition, and Caroline Jurevicius added two kills to extend the lead. Ava Falduto dropped in an ace for a 14-7 advantage. Penn State hit .577 in the set and finished it 25-15.
The Nittany Lions opened the third set with a 6-0 run behind Falduto’s serve. Mendelson and Martin combined for early kills as Maryland again fell into a large deficit.
Malual and Melby responded with back-to-back kills to keep the score manageable, but Penn State answered with another scoring run as Addie Lyon served an ace and Martin continued to find open space for kills.
Maryland produced short runs behind Melby and Rohrbach, but Penn State never stopped its momentum. The Nittany Lions completed the sweep with a 25-14 third-set victory.
Melby led Maryland with nine kills. Malual added seven, while Rohrbach contributed six kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Williams recorded eight digs for the Terps.
Maryland returns home next to close out the season with Washington on Wednesday and Oregon on Sunday.
