By Christian Andriolas
Match 1: Maryland vs Alabama A&M
After struggling during last weekend’s LSU Tournament in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the Terps bounced back in a clutch manner.
Maryland capped a dominant victory over Alabama A&M (25-12, 25-12, 25-9) through three straight sets in their first home match of the 2024 season. The first set started close — with the Terps holding on to a narrow 9-7 lead — before Maryland proceeded to score 16 of its last 21 points to take an emphatic first set win.
The second set proved to be more of the same — with the Bulldogs maintaining a narrow 8-7 lead early. But the Terps went on multiple runs just minutes later — the longest being seven straight — to complete a second-set comeback win and take a 2-0 overall lead.
The Terps final set served as their most dominant. After jumping out to an early lead, the home squad never let up, winning the set by 16 in what head coach Adam Hughes called an “incredibly clean” victory.
Graduate pin hitter Samthana Schnitta led Maryland with 11 kills, while senior setter Zoe Huang poured in 18 assists.
Match 2: Maryland vs American
The Terps traveled to Washington, D.C. on Saturday to face off against American. In an extra-set thriller, Maryland carried momentum into another win – taking the match, 3-2, in five sets.
After a dominant performance the night before, the Terps pivoted to face a tough road opponent in the previously undefeated Eagles.
Despite a back-and-forth first set, the Eagles managed to edge out the Terps, 27-25. However, Maryland’s resilience shone through in the second set, which they dominated, winning 25–14.
Trailing by five late in the third set, the Terps showed their adaptability. Maryland battled back, scoring seven consecutive points to win the set 25-23. This strategic play was sparked by a challenge call from Hughes that managed to slow the game down, without needing to burn a timeout.
The fourth set went back-and-forth, with the score knotted at 19 apiece until the Eagles scored five of the last six to take the set victory, 25-20.
In the decisive set five, the Terps broke away at the end. Another match-ending kill by Sydney Bryant took the set, 15-13, giving Maryland its second win in two days.
Maryland finished the match with 16 aces, led by fifth-year Sam Csire’s career-high seven aces.
“The past few games, I’ve been a little bit stiff when I serve … but today I just told myself to be free,” Csire said.
Match 3: Maryland vs North Texas
Maryland faced North Texas on Sunday afternoon in the weekend’s final match, completing a sweep of the Mean Green in three straight sets (25-19, 25-12, 25-23).
Hughes knew beforehand how challenging it would be to play a third game in three days, saying: “I thought the team did a really good job recovering really fast, identifying that … we need to switch this up a little bit.”
After falling down 11-6, the Terps’ leaned on their front line to storm back and win the set. Graduate middle blocker Anastasia Russ provided the individual spark by contributing five kills.
After a dominant second set in which the Terps won by double digits, the third set proved to be the biggest challenge.
“In [set] three, they had nothing to lose. At that point, they hit full send … they took some really nice swings,” said Hughes.
Both teams went back and forth throughout. Late in the set, back-to-back service errors by both teams gave the Terps a crucial 24-23 lead — in prime position to win the following point and complete their second single-game sweep of the weekend.
Samantha Schnitta was crucial in the win — leading the team in kills (16) and aces (3) as Maryland capped off its third consecutive weekend victory (25-23).
