After falling in consecutive games to close out the LSU tournament, it was imperative for Maryland volleyball to return to the win column. The Terps opened up the Maryland tournament with a dominant win over Alabama A&M, taking the match in straight sets.
Setter Zoe Huang earned the start, coming off of her career-high 29 assists in Maryland’s last contest against New Hampshire. An early 4-1 run helped the Terps get off to a much-needed quick start. The Bulldogs responded right back, cutting the lead down to 9-7 with back-to-back kills by outside hitter Bailey Duckett.
With both Huang and libero Lilly Gunter taking turns behind the service line, Maryland extended its lead to 22-9. Two kills for middle blocker Eva Rohrbach inched the Terps closer to the end of the set before a service ace by defensive specialist Ally Williams wrapped up a 25-12 set victory.
Huang tallied eight assists in the set, helping spread the ball around to the five players who recorded a kill.
“Zoe is someone that has that has been with the program for four years and done a tremendous job. I feel like she has probably earned an opportunity here because of how well she’s hitting in her senior season,” Hughes said.
Middle blocker Anastasia Russ recorded three total blocks and four kills to lead the way for the attack.
Knotted up at eight, the Terps scored three consecutive points, including a kill by pin hitter Samantha Schnitta, and a joint-block by outside hitter Sam Csire and middle blocker Ellie Watson. This mini-spurt helped catapult Maryland, which scored 15 of the next 18 points. Recording her eighth kill of the match, Schnitta closed out the second set 25-12.
Through two sets, Schnitta and Rohrbach led the way with 10.5 and 8.5 points, respectively. Both Huang and setter Sydney Dowler each recorded six assists in the set.
With both teams recording a service error to start off the third set, the Bulldogs were up 4-3 early. However, much like the opening two sets, the Terps went on the first run, scoring eight consecutive points. During this period, freshman middle blocker Duru Gökçen recorded her first two kills of her Maryland career.
“It is really hard coming from Turkey. It’s a completely different language … To see her grow from that at the beginning of preseason to now that fast. We’re all proud of her,” Schnitta said on Gökçen’s performance.
A kill by Dowler helped catapult the Terps to another spurt, opening the score up to 23-8, courtesy of eight consecutive points. To close out the match, Watson recorded a kill and service ace as Maryland took the final set, 25-9.
“It was a good crowd, good opener for us. Nonconference sometimes you never really know what the crowd is going to be like … The team loved that Ellie finished it with an ace,” Hughes said.
Three things to know
1. Balanced attack. Dowler and Huang did a good job spreading the ball around as eight Terps recorded a kill, including three players with at least seven. Look for Maryland to continue using its depth throughout the tournament and the rest of the season.
2. Presence at the net. The Terps limited Alabama A&M to just two blocks, with Maryland recording nine of its own. Schnitta led the way with four total blocks. Russ trailed closely behind with three of her own.
3. Quiet match from Sam Csire. After a heavy load over the first three games, including 20 kills off 71 total attempts against New Hampshire, Csire saw limited action. She only recorded two kills on eight attempts. Instead, head coach Adam Hughes opted to go deeper into his bench, giving 14 of 18 rostered players game time.
