By: Christian Andriolas
STATE COLLEGE, PA — After two heartbreaking home losses to Northwestern and Iowa last week, Maryland volleyball looked for its first Big Ten win on Thursday.
The Terps traveled to University Park to play No. 3 Penn State, their toughest match thus far this season. Maryland ultimately fell short, dropping the contest, 3-1.
Set one was the best of the night for the Terps. They battled back from an early 11-5 deficit thanks to an 11-2 run, inevitably spurring the Terps to an opening-set victory.
The outside hitter duo of Sam Csire and Sydney Bryant both had double digit kills across Thursday night’s four sets. Pin hitter Samantha Schnitta led the Terps with 19 kills — seven of which came in the inaugural set.. All three played a crucial role in Maryland’s, 25-22, first-set win.
“We’re up against one of the best hitters in the country in Jess Mruzik … to put up the numbers [Schnitta] did I thought she might have been the best player on the floor tonight,” coach Hughes said.
Set two featured much more back and forth than the previous. The Terps battled throughout but the Nittany Lions pulled away for a 25-20 victory.
Despite the loss, Maryland maintained its fighting spirit. The Terps led for most of the third set, fueled by scrappy and creative play.
“We wanted to be — if we could be — very scrappy and we call it dirtying up the match. … I thought we did that,” Hughes said.
Yet, the Terps couldn’t close.
Maryland led by three, but conceded a 7-1 run to Penn State down the stretch. The backbreaking stretch allowed the home side to steal the set, 25 – 23. The Nittany Lions dominated from there on out.
Penn State played up to its No. 3 national ranking in set four, by maintaining a steady lead, and cruising to a 25-16 victory. The match win gave the Nittany Lions their 13th win of the season, as they remained tied atop the conference standing with Nebraska and Oregon.
Hughes was encouraged by his team’s performance, in spite of the loss. Grabbing a win on the road over a top-five opponent was never going to be simple, but the Terps turned in a valiant effort nonetheless. The experience will undoubtedly be useful for Maryland throughout the rest of the conference slate.
“The thing I really loved about the group tonight was that they were very steady, engaged, and not too high, not too low,” Hughes said. “I think it was something that probably [helps] us moving forward.”
The Terps return home on Saturday looking for its first conference win of the season. They face Rutgers at 7:00 p.m.
