After a straight-set defeat against No. 24 Indiana on Halloween, Maryland volleyball traveled to Illinois to take on Northwestern. The Terps hoped to end their away game flaws and snap a four-game losing
streak — including three matchups ending in straight-set defeat — against a lower-echelon Big Ten team.
In a strong third set, the Terps embarked on their biggest run of the game, propelling them to a fourth set. Maryland remained in the game, with a comeback able to force a tiebreaker.
However, Maryland couldn’t sustain its momentum, ultimately falling to the Wildcats in four sets Sunday.
The first set kicked off with a back-and-forth battle between the two teams early. Maryland heavily relied on Northwestern errors, to counter the Wildcats’ kills as the teams split the first 10 points. The Wildcats then built a four-point run, finding early breaks through the teeth of the Terps’ defense to collect a 9-6 lead.
Maryland suddenly found its own momentum. A kill by Duru Gökçen into the soft spot in the Wildcats’ defense — and a service ace by Ally Williams gave the Terps some life. Maryland’s defense also stepped up, with Ajack Malual forcing three consecutive errors.
The Terps continued to press the advantage with Malual unstoppable. She sent a double kill to the back corner and then fired a bullet at the Wildcats defense that was unreturnable. Williams’ service ace capped an eight-point run, and the Terps gained a 16-12 lead.
Maryland maintained the distance for some time. However, Northwestern was starting to figure out Maryland’s defense. It didn’t take long for the Wildcats to tie the game at 20; then, Northwestern would take the lead, sending an ace into a gap in the Terps’ defense.
Malual returned the favor to tie the game before showcasing her two-way play with two blocking assists with Gökçen. The Terps took the lead, 24-22.
Northwestern snuck in a soft serve and then blocked a Malual shot to force a 24-24 match. The Wildcats took advantage of their momentum to force a set point, but a costly mistake tied it once again at 25-25.
But Maryland couldn’t take advantage of the mistake, dropping consecutive points with a kill and a service return error. Northwestern clinched the first set despite having more errors.
Northwestern ran out to a 3-0 lead in the second start with a strong serve and back-to-back kills, but the Terps clawed back two points.
From there, Maryland tried to simmer down the Wildcats, but the big run that the Terps pulled off in the first set never materialized in the second. Instead, Northwestern started firing on all cylinders.
Even after taking a timeout to pause the Wildcats’ offense, Maryland couldn’t get stops, with the Northwestern advantage expanding to seven points midway through the set.
Despite Maryland’s best efforts to build on a couple of two-point runs, Northwestern’s momentum was too much to handle late into the set. The Wildcats capitalized on a five-point run to clinch the second set, 25-17.
The potentially decisive third set saw Maryland get off to another poor start. Northwestern took six of the first seven points. The Terps needed to call another early timeout as they stared down another loss, but this time, they took advantage. Maryland embarked on a five-point run to tie the set at 6-6.
Pin hitter Katie Scherer got the Terps rolling with a strong shot down the center of the court. Sydney Bryant landed another kill, then Malual and Eva Rohrbach came together with a block. Malual continued her strong offensive day with another unreturnable kill, and an error by Northwestern leveled the game.
The teams continued to battle through the set. The Wildcats eked out a five-point advantage midway through before the Terps responded with a 7-1 run to take the lead, 18-17. Two important blocks and three consecutive kills from the hands of Rohrbach, Bryant and Malual helped Maryland claw its way back.
Malual came in with three kills in four points to establish a lead. Bryant’s double-kill opportunity was unreturnable, and a soft touch that got past Northwestern’s blockers clinched a 25-23 set victory for Maryland that extended the match.
The fourth set was similar to the first — both teams fought strongly for a breakthrough, countering every point and run that was made.
The set had 11 ties and 11 lead changes. The Terps were able to break through late, thanks to another serve error by the Wildcats. Malual and Gökçen came together for the block, taking a 15-13 lead.
However, Northwestern was able to build on two-point runs, and Maryland couldn’t respond back. The Wildcats ultimately clinched the fourth set, 25-21, with a kill that the Terps couldn’t return.
Three things to know
1. Errors. Maryland had 40 errors in Sunday’s matchup against the Wildcats, which shunted its opportunities to build runs that could’ve altered momentum.
2. First and second set offensive flaws. Maryland’s attacking was not on target in those sets, with both ending below .200% attacking.
3. Total attacks. Some of Maryland’s shots were not strong enough, allowing Northwestern to take advantage and gain more attacking opportunities throughout the game.
