Lilly Wagner’s third consecutive game with over 40 assists helped Maryland volleyball overcome a strong challenge.
Coming off a tough loss to Wake Forest, the Terps were poised and determined for a controlling game. But it turned out to be a shootout, with the Terps surviving a late comeback surge by Coppin State to win, 3-2.
Maryland volleyball not only returned to its home state Tuesday, but it also returned back into the win column.
The Terps needed a victory against Coppin State, but for much of
the game, the Eagles posed a serious problem. Despite the game going to five sets, Maryland finished strong, earning a dramatic victory in the Beltway Battle to improve to 6-3 on the season.
The first set started off blazing-hot for both teams, as they traded blows in the early going with back-and-forth scoring.
There were some small two-run leads that built up throughout the set. Maryland went on the first run of the day, propelled by a Lilly Wagner setup for an Eva Rohrbach kill shot, coupled with an attacking error by Coppin State to give the Terps a 6-4 lead.
The Eagles returned the favor with a run of their own. They soon tied the score, 6-6, with a kill that the Terps couldn’t defend and a service ace that wasn’t returned.
This trend continued throughout the middle of the first set. With both teams looking for a breakthrough, the score ultimately found itself knotted at 16-16.
Coppin State was the first team to break off more than a two-score run after Maryland’s mistake of a service. The defense couldn’t stop the subsequent kill and service ace by Coppin State, and the Eagles led, 20-17.
Maryland was able to fight back despite the breakthrough, with a setup by Wagner to lead the way for kills by Duru Gökçen and Ajack Malual, cutting the Eagles’ lead down to 20-19.
But Coppin State’s momentum was not killed. From that point, the Eagles went on a 5-2 run of their own to clinch the first set, 25-21, ending the run with a kill the Terps couldn’t defend.
The second set was a different story. The Terps started the set with multiple blows to Coppin State, quickly reaching a two-point advantage. A couple of three-point scoring runs then gave Maryland a seven-point lead, the biggest of the game to that point.
Coppin State tried to hinder the Terps’ momentum, but recurring errors on kills, attacks and services hindered the Eagles, with the Terps taking advantage to record a 25-18 set win.
The trend continued again at the start of the third set. The teams battled back and forth, and with the set tied at 20-20, it seemed like the deadlock would not end quickly.
But the roles reversed this time, and the Terps broke out to clinch another set with a 5-1 run, finishing the middle frame off with a Malual kill on a setup by Olivia Ruy putting the Terps one set away.
Maryland would have to wait, though. The fourth set saw Coppin State gain points off of Maryland’s mistakes on both sides of the ball – the Terps found themselves in a big deficit.
Despite the best efforts from Maryland to come back and clinch the win, Coppin State held strong and didn’t look back, extending the match to a fifth set.
Coppin State took the first point of the final set, but Maryland responded instantly, with Ruy’s kill set up by Joanna Spohn.
That play set up a 6-1 run for the Terps. Maryland’s defense stepped up to force Coppin State into attacking errors, later showing discipline in the moments Coppin State fought back with small runs of their own. In the end, the Terps won the final set 15-10 to right the ship.
Three things to know
1. Lilly Wagner on a roll. Wagner had an impressive day on both sides of the ball and led the Terps with 42 assists and 11 digs to give Maryland a much needed boost for the victory. This is the third straight game in which the redshirt freshman has recorded over assists.
2. On target. Gökçen, Scherer and Rohrbach all hit .500 or above, sparking the offense with their attacks.
3. Maryland Challenge. Maryland will head back to the Pavilion to take on Seton Hall on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Seton Hall, Maryland’s final non-conference opponent on the schedule, is coming off a Sunday victory over Harvard.
