After falling in the first two sets, the idea of a reverse sweep for Maryland volleyball was alive more than ever after a dominant all-around outing to take the third
A fired-up Ava Brown leaped at the net for a block. A rejection from freshmen Marlee Sivak and Ioanna Dimitriou brought the team to set point in the fourth frame.
For eight points, every fan at the Stephen M. Schanwald Pavilion was on their feet.
In the end, cold Michigan winds blew the Terps away in College Park, ending their aspirations
for a comeback. Maryland’s 3-1 loss made it increasingly difficult for it to remain Big Ten Tournament-eligible. The Terps had six more errors than the Wolverines offensively, and recorded a measly six blocks compared to Michigan’s 13 on senior night.
“I was gutted; it stings a little bit for the seniors, a great crowd. Just a great embodiment of those guys, got no quit,” Maryland head coach Adam Hughes said. “And I didn’t think we quit; I thought they made a couple plays late. Unfortunately, we were on the opposite end of what I wanted.”
Following a career-high night against USC Thursday, Sivak began the contest with an indomitable presence at the net. Stalemates characterized the early portion of the opening frame; the game remained within three points at all times. Sivak pulled off two service aces to tie the first game at 8-8.,
Despite Michigan’s .667 hitting percentage at the media timeout, the Terps trailed by just two. Resuming from the breather, Eva Rohrbach hammered a ball directly to the hardwood to help quickly level the game, but Maryland couldn’t take a lead. At 21-19 in Michigan’s favor, Raina Chwialkowski kept an optimistic rally alive for the Terps, but Brown drove a ball inches beyond the baseline.
Hughes called a timeout, pushing his squad for a late-set steal. The Terps went on a two-point run following the break, but Michigan eventually took the first set, 25-22.
Sara Toth returned from a tip to set Sivak for a kill that shot to the ground to open set two. At the media timeout, Maryland had logged nine kills to Michigan’s 10, but the Terps shot themselves in the foot with four offensive errors compared to the Wolverines’ one.
Sydney Bryant evaded a block to cut the lead to 22-19. Bryant’s next kill attempt was rejected, though, and Michigan claimed the second frame, 25-19. Maryland didn’t hold a lead, let alone tie the game, for the entirety of the set.
“I thought we were doing a lot of good things offensively in games one and two. We had more kills than them in each of those sets, but we were not playing great,” Hughes said. ”We missed some assignments and were kind of hesitating a little bit.”
Sivak continued her dominant night with two early kills to put the Terps up 4-3 in the third set. Maryland quickly fell into an 11-8 deficit, but with the help of Michigan errors and a reignited offense, the Terps tied the game at 12.
With both teams at 29 attacks and 11 kills, Maryland had double the Wolverines’ total errors at the break. Bryant took the lead for the Terps with an inch-perfect kill. Michigan needed a timeout to stop the rising momentum in the Pavilion. The Wolverines committed two errors, one being a Maryland block, and burned their second timeout.
Maryland’s late-set passion was enough to blow the Pavilion’s roof off, and its hot hand couldn’t be cooled. The Terps snatched the third frame, 25-19.
The third set was a set of firsts for the Terps. Maryland outhit the Wolverines in the set, 351 to .205, for the first time in the match while also committing fewer errors for the first time.
“I thought set three might’ve been the best ball we’ve played all season,” Hughes said.
Brown’s fire held over to the fourth frame as she notched the first kill of the set. Hughes exhausted his first timeout at 8-4 following four straight Michigan points. Maryland shot back, using the intermission as fuel to storm back to 15-14 by the break.
Maryland led the set for the first time behind a three-point run, putting them up 18-16. The idea of a turnaround seemed tangible. With the score even, Toth took the service line. Michigan received, and Brown subbed in, doubling up with Dimitriou for a block. Maryland took the lead, 22-21. Another block put the Terps at set point.
Michigan rejected Maryland at the net and hit a ball deep into Maryland’s territory to tie the set at 24. The game was back and forth from here; the bleachers felt the standing feet of every fan. Michigan eventually took the fourth set, 28-26, in a heart-racing ending.
Three things to know
1. Attack error affliction. Although Maryland outkilled Michigan in the first half of the game, errors kept them from effectively capitalizing. In the first two sets, Maryland recorded 10 attack errors to Michigan’s one.
“In two sets, they hit one ball out of bounds. So they were making us have to earn everything, and they were playing really clean,” Hughes said.
2. Second-half surge. After dropping the first two sets, a switch flipped for Maryland. The Terps outhit Michigan percentage-wise for the first time in the game and continued to outkill the Wolverines in the third set. Early signs of a possible reverse sweep were shown in the near-perfect volleyball Maryland played.
3. Last Pavilion game of the year. Tonight was the last game in the Pavilion for Maryland’s seniors. The atmosphere was electric, and the Terps will need the same energy going into next week’s contest against No. 10 Penn State on the Xfinity Center main court.
