With four wins under its belt, Maryland women’s volleyball returned to the Pavilion for the first match of the Maryland Volleyball tournament.
The Terps opened their home tournament with a straight-set sweep against Seton Hall.
Entering the game with energy from a hard-fought win against Western Carolina, the Pirates began the first set with strong momentum, taking a 7-3 lead. With Seton Hall ahead early, Maryland had to find its groove to stay in the set.
But freshman Ava Brown stepped up to the service
line and sparked a quick two-point spurt to help close the gap in score. Shortly after, graduate student Haley Melby delivered a serve that led into a subtle Maryland tap at the net, which Seton Hall failed to recover due to a miscommunication.
A serving ace from Melby tied the score at 8 all, bringing Maryland’s momentum to a high — a high they would maintain for the remainder of the night.
Following its swift comeback, Maryland surged ahead on a 6-0 scoring run that forced Seton Hall to call a timeout . Coming out of the break, Pirate freshman outside hitter Samantha Shelton challenged Maryland’s streak with a powerful angled kill.
A subsequent service error from Maryland scattered its rhythm, but a key kill from Duru Gökçen following a clever misdirection play pushed the Terps ahead, 14-11.
Seton Hall responded, and Maryland head coach Adam Hughes challenged a called ace from the Pirates. Maryland lost the challenge, cutting the lead to 14-13. Maryland then powered ahead to set point at 24-19. A long serve from the Terps gave the Pirates a point and sparked a brief run, but a final Seton Hall service error handed Maryland the 25-21 first-set victory.
With their dominating energy and strategic execution from the opening set, Maryland found itself at an early lead in the second set, 2-1. Fueled by a commanding presence at the net and even stronger defense, Brown delivered a huge block to keep the Terps in control.
As both teams struggled with service errors — totaling 12 combined up to that point — Maryland found its rhythm once again. Sophomore setter Sara Toth landed a key service ace to ignite a 3-0 scoring run and extend the Terps’ lead to 11-5.
Coming out of the break, back-to-back kills from Melby and Eva Rohrbach pushed the lead back to six. Seton Hall refused to fold easily, responding with a kill off Brown’s serve to stay alive. However, Melby quickly shut down the Pirates’ momentum with a hammer kill to bring up set point at 24-18. Melby sealed the set victory with her ninth kill of the match, putting an exclamation point on a stellar performance and proving her worthiness of the “Terp of the Week” title she held.
The third set opened in a tight battle, with Seton Hall finding a better rhythm and building early momentum, splitting the opening six points. Despite a Maryland service error, the Terps refused to let Seton Hall dictate the pace, quickly pushing the lead to 8-5.
Maryland expanded its control to 10-5 after a long attack from Seton Hall’s Shelton. After a spike from Kennedy Horn brought the score to 10-6, Shelton attempted another attack, only to be turned away at the net by a solid block from Brown. She then teamed up with Gökçen for another dominant block, showcasing their chemistry at the net and extending the score to 12-6.
Capitalizing on Seton Hall’s diminishing drive, a Maryland service ace sparked an explosive 7-0 run for the Terps. Match point came and went with a final, resounding kill from freshman Terp Marlee Sivak. That strike sealed the 25-10 set victory, completing the dominant straight-set sweep for the Terps.
Maryland kicked off the tournament on a high note, proving that their net defense and relentless offensive runs will be a formidable challenge this season. The Terps will look to keep their hot streak alive tomorrow as they return to face the Princeton Tigers.
Three things to know
1. Massive net presence. Freshman Ava Brown was a game-changer at the net, delivering critical blocker and pairing up with Gökçen to completely shut down Seton Hall’s outside hitters in sets two and three.
2. Early momentum shift. Seton Hall grabbed an early 7-3 lead in the opening set, but a clutch service run from Brown and an ace from Melby erased the deficit and set the tone for the rest of the night.
3. Melby’s dominance. Graduate student Melby set the tone throughout the match, sparking Maryland’s first-set comeback with a service ace and capping off the ensuing set with her ninth kill to anchor the Terps’ attack.
