After a third consecutive straight-set defeat, Maryland volleyball returned to Xfinity Center Pavilion to take on another ranked opponent, No. 19 Minnesota, in hopes of writing a positive story for the first
time since Oct. 15th.
But it was a rough night for the Terps — they fell behind in each set and their offense was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Minnesota took hold of all of the firepower and momentum throughout the evening.
That energy propelled the Gophers to a straight-set victory. Meanwhile, Maryland’s conference woes and losing streak only persist.
The first set was not an ideal start, as the Terps trailed 3-0 after two service errors that landed out of play and an Ajack Malual attacking error.
But the Terps brought a response quickly, A Minnesota serve error, a Malual serve that landed in the opening gap and Melby’s double kill were all too much for the Gophers to handle, and the score was knotted at 5-5.
Maryland seized its first lead of the night, 11-10, after Malual turned a lob that fell into her hands into a soft attempt that snuck past the Gophers’ defense.
But Minnesota’s momentum was too much to contain —- it went on a three-point run to give itself a 13-11 lead before following it up with a six-point run to take a 19-12 advantage.
Despite scoring off a few Minnesota errors, the Gophers clinched the first set, 25-16, after a kill that proved too much to dispel. In the first set, Maryland hit just .154%, to go along with eight kills.
At the start of the second set, the Terps were once again down by three points. But instead of inching closer, they fell behind more quickly, going down, 8-2, in the set.
Maryland desperately needed to kick-start a run in response. But despite Melby’s block and kill — the latter flew right at a Gopher — Minnesota answered with a couple of small runs, and the Terps still found themselves down, 12-4.
Maryland emptied its arsenal against Minnesota, but the Gophers always managed to save the point and maintain the rallies. Minnesota only furthered their momentum in the second set, and the Terps eventually fell into a double-digit deficit, 17-6.
Malual and Duru Gökçen tried to slim the lead down in hopes of sparking a late comeback — their kill shot attempts snuck past the Gophers’ tight defense — but the Gophers returned with their own firepower, leading to a set point.
Minnesota was simply dominant in that set. It embarked on a four-point run to clinch, 25-11.
Maryland’s offense was once again silent despite earning more kills than the first set; the Terps’ attacking percentage fell to .097, and they couldn’t spark any chance of a large run to combat Minnesota’s momentum.
The third set left the Terps wishing they were only in the standard three-point hole — they were down by seven early.
After a long search for their first point, they were able to gain it thanks to Bryant’s kill that sneaked in near the sidelines of the court. After a service error, Minnesota responded with points of its own to build an eight-point lead.
After a diving dig by Malual saved the Terps’ opportunity to score, they took advantage with Rohrbach’s kill sneaking past the Gophers’ block to cut the deficit down to 11-3. But the Gophers scored the next three points.
Maryland started inching back in their best response of the night after being down 14-3. Maryland embarked on a three-point run with Minnesota’s mistake, Olivia Ruy’s serve being too much for the Gophers’ defense, and Lilly Wagner and Rohrbach coming together for a block, making it 14-6.
Minnesota slowly climbed its way to another set-point. Still, Maryland wasn’t going to easily allow it, as Malual erupted for another kill. Then, Rohrbach’s kill found the soft spot in the Gophers’ defense, and after Wagner and Rohrbach blocks, Maryland was in a 23-13 deficit.
But Minnesota, as it had done all evening long, ultimately stifled the Terps with a 25-13 third-set victory. After the contest, head coach Adam Hughes maintained confidence in his squad.
“We’re playing for pride and our culture. I’m very proud of my time here… I don’t want to lose sight of all the progress we made,” said Hughes. “We’ve got a really bad season, and I don’t want to think this is okay, this is acceptable. I’m very proud of what we’ve done here.”
Three things to know
1. Offense was silent all night. Maryland had its worst attacking percentage of the season Friday: .034. It couldn’t sustain any attacking momentum no matter who tried to provide it.
2. No answer to Minnesota’s long runs. Maryland didn’t respond with any long runs of its own throughout the evening. It also didn’t score 20 or more points in any set for the second time this season.
3. Maryland still looking to snap conference woes. Maryland will have three chances to end its season on a positive note. It will travel to Penn State on Sunday before closing the season hosting Washington and Oregon.
