Late in the first set, a booming swing from No. 9 Purdue outside hitter Akasha Anderson went through the hands of Maryland volleyball’s Lilly Wagner and sent Ally Williams sprinting.
In front of the infamous
Boiler block party student section, Williams laid out, keeping the ball alive with one arm for Addie Canady to barely complete the return.
Williams sprinted back into play enough to catch Purdue’s middle for her second amazing dig of the rally, just for Maryland to lose the joust at the net. Suddenly, Purdue had set point.
Maryland outperformed recent offensive performances but failed to close plays, losing its eighth straight match Friday night against the Boilermakers despite their star Kenna Wollard having an off night.
Maryland’s Haley Melby and Purdue’s Bianka Lulić traded kills to open up the scoring. Then, AVCA National Player of the Year finalist Wollard recorded two straight kills to give Purdue an early lead.
Hughes opted to challenge a messy rally early in the opening set; Maryland trailed 5-3. Purdue’s right side player came inches from crashing into the net, saving a play ending with a Grace Heaney kill for the Boilermakers.
Heaney finished with a match-high 13 kills, hitting .435.
Purdue used a quick four-point run midway through the set to take a two-point advantage over Maryland. Maryland went back and forth after a media timeout until a 4-1 Boilermaker run, including kills from Wollard, Heaney and Dior Charles, forced Hughes to call a timeout.
Out of the timeout, Malual delivered a bullet from the back row. Sydney Bryant added to the onslaught, the Terps only trailed by two. Hughes called his final timeout after a Bryant error and two Anderson swings, which pushed Purdue’s lead to four.
At this point, Purdue was hitting .632 with four blocks. Despite outperforming season averages in hitting, Maryland was still struggling.
Defensively, Maryland struggled to finish plays for the point. A highlight-reel Malual pancake kept the play alive, but Anderson converted for the kill of the blocker’s fingers. Soon after, a Heaney serve fell in front of Gökçen for the ace, and Purdue led, 23-18.
Malual executed on a sharp cross-court swing, the Terps’ final point of the set. But back-to-back Maryland errors sealed its demise in the first set.
Maryland came out frantic to start the second set. Gökçen was stuffed on the opening play. Immediately after, Melby was caught in the net. Sensing her frustration, Purdue targeted the Kentucky transfer in the back row, getting an ace and an early 3-0 lead.
Maryland’s first block of the night stopped the bleeding. They stuffed Wollard on the pin and forced her swing wide on the next play.
Purdue setter Taylor Anderson’s back-to-back kills extended the Boilermaker lead. After Wollard’s second error of the set, Purdue picked up their star, opening a 3-0 run and forcing Maryland to call a timeout.
After a Melby swing ricocheted off the blocker’s hands and down, Maryland trailed 8-4. Another quick Purdue run forced Hughes to burn his final timeout. Maryland was hitting -0.400 in the second set.
Floundering, the run grew to five out of the timeout before being broken up by Malual.
Maryland matched Purdue the rest of the set, but ultimately the early lead was too much to overcome.
Failed defensive execution carried into the final set. No one covered Gökçen’s block, and the ball fell on Maryland’s side of the net to open the scoring for Purdue.
Purdue seized control of the third set early after three aces, and the duo of Wollard and Heaney pushed the lead to six.
Eva Rohrbach stopped the run briefly with a slide kill, but once again, the Boilermakers pin duo responded. After a timeout, it was Maryland’s block’s turn.
Rohrbach stuffed Charles out of the middle, and Bryant swallowed the ball on the right pin for only Heaney’s second error of the night. Purdue adjusted with three straight kills from three different players.
Rohrbach once again responded with a slide attack, sending it off Purdue arms into the stands to put herself on the service line. Anderson attempted to catch the back line but ultimately swung wide. Maryland trailed 12-6.
A subsequent service error prevented any serious momentum shift but Maryland continued to chip away. Gökçen took advantage of a late boilermaker’s block for the kill.
Purdue’s setter’s fourth kill kept Purdue in control in a back-and-forth set the rest of the way.
Another Maryland block was left uncovered by Maryland defenders to put Purdue in the red zone, closing in on match point.
A non-competitive serve by Rohrbach into the middle of the net surrendered Maryland possession late in the game. Malual looked to pull momentum back, but swung into the net for her fourth error, giving the Boilermakers set point.
Wagner sparked a late 4-0 run from the service line, including an ace by the redshirt freshman, and kills from Bryant and Malual on opposite pins. It was not enough, though, and Heaney’s arm gave Purdue the final set win, 25-18.
Three things to know
1. Blocking deficits. Maryland was once again outblocked against a ranked opponent. Despite showing up in the final set, Maryland’s defense needs to establish itself earlier in games to have a chance against the ranked competition.
2. Service errors. Purdue struggled to receive the ball, and piled up errors in key moments. But Maryland failed to capitalize, recording eight errors themselves.
3. Malual needs help. After an uncharacteristic slow start, Ajack Malual picked it up in the second set to lead her team in kills with 11 while hitting .333. Melby and Bryant combined for eight.
