From the opening serve to match point, Maryland volleyball had complete control over the game Sunday.
The decisive straight-set victory in the intrastate battle extended the Terps’ win streak to two as they look to welcome George Mason to College Park Monday.
The Terps found themselves in an early deficit characterized by offensive errors that allowed UMES to take an early 4-2 lead. The momentum at the Pavilion quickly shifted as UMES recorded errors of its own, and the Terps relentlessly attacked
the Hawks, resulting in an early seven-point run.
The Hawks briefly sparked a run but couldn’t fully stop Maryland’s momentum. Sara Toth’s distribution was key to the Terps’ success in the opening set. Maryland capitalized on free balls, with Toth able to find attackers who unleashed on the feeds from the setter. Consistent with the theme of the first set, an error from the Hawks gave the Terps the deciding point. The Terps opened the match, 25-15.
Dominance was the story of the second set. Maryland opened the set with eight unanswered points, with veteran Terps setting the tempo. Haley Melby, riding high off her 18-kill performance against Arkansas, persistently attacked, and the Hawks had no answer for her. Sydney Bryant racked up crucial kills that furthered the momentum the Terps built.
The Hawks scored their first three points of the set through errors from the Terps. These errors provided short-lived hope for the Hawks, as Maryland would continue to pick on its opponents’ back row and pile up points.
Maryland’s esteemed freshman class performed well late in the set, with Ava Brown continuing to establish herself as a key offensive asset and Brooklynn Brass displaying heavy hitting power. At one point, all six of the first-year players from Maryland graced the Pavilion’s floor together.
The Hawks managed to pull closer to the Terps, dimming the lead to as little as five, but that wasn’t enough to erase the deficit the Terps began the set with. Maryland secured their largest lead of the game, 22-10, before closing out the set,25-16, as the Hawks attempted to rally a late comeback.
In stark contrast to the beginning of the second set, the third set opened with brief back-and-forth gameplay. UMES took its first lead since the opening points of the match, but that 3-2 advantage was their last glimpse of victory for the rest of the afternoon. A kill from Melby, followed by a kill from Raina Chwialkowski and an error from the Hawks, gave Maryland a cushion that it would rely on for the remainder of the set.
While the beginning of the second and third sets differed, the backends of both were similar. UMES briefly exhibited positive signs, even momentarily cutting the lead to two. However, Toth’s setting continued to offer a stable backbone for Maryland’s offense that allowed the Terps to break away late in the set. The Hawks’ Jayda Hutchins put up a valiant effort to keep her team in the game, with an assist to Malaysia Shaw that cut the Terps’ lead to four, making the score 20-16 as the Hawks ventured to steal the third set.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, Maryland went on a 5-0 run to close out the third set and the game in 25-16 fashion.
Three things to know
- Offense, offense, offense. Maryland’s offense was firing on all cylinders Sunday. The Terps had three players outperform Eastern Shore’s leader in kills. Toth continued to quarterback the offense for the Terps with 36 total assists. The Terps were nearly unstoppable with their serves. They consistently targeted members of the back row and opened a rally with intense pressure. Maryland recorded seven service aces to just one from UMES.
- Veteran impact. Returners from Maryland played a huge role in today’s win. Melby and Duru Gökçen led the Terps with nine kills each, and Eva Rohrbach led the Terps in blocks. Bryant added a block of her own and contributed six kills.
- Home crowd. The Pavilion was packed for Maryland’s home opener. Loud chants and excitement from the stands added to the dominant energy the Terps had on the hardwood.
