Heading back home to the Xfinity Center Pavillion, Maryland volleyball looked to sweep the field in the Maryland Tournament and come out victorious over North Texas Sunday.
After a grueling five-set victory on Saturday, the Terps came into the match exhausted. But this didn’t stop them from putting together a dominant performance, beating the Mean Green in straight sets.
“I felt before we started the match that we might be a little bit tired or fatigued from the night before,” head coach Adam Hughes said. “The team did a really good job of recovering quickly, identifying that we need to switch this up.”
Setter Sydney Dowler returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the previous two matches. The Terps’ leader in assists saw limited action early in the tournament after a breakout performance from setter Zoe Huang.
While Maryland scored the opening point of the first set, North Texas responded with four of the next five points, including a service ace by outside hitter Coco Gillett. Just like in Saturday’s match, pin hitter Samantha Schnitta recorded a service ace early, knotting the score at five.
Gillett recorded three straight kills, helping open up an 11-6 lead for the Mean Green. North Texas extended the lead to six before libero Lilly Gunter got behind the service line for the Terps. Gunter helped spark a five-point run for Maryland.
After several long rallies, Maryland got a late lead and never looked back. A service error by setter Kamryn Scroggins gave the Terps a 25-19 first-set victory.
Schnitta led the Terps with five kills. Outside hitter Sam Csire followed close behind with four. Dowler led all players with 11 assists and middle blocker Anastasia Russ remained a force at the net, tallying two blocks.
The second set was a different story for Maryland, as they got out to an early 11-3 lead. Three service aces, two by Schnitta and one by defensive specialist Ally Williams, led the way.
Two straight points by the Mean Green cut the lead down to six points, but that was the closest North Texas ever got.
With Csire behind the service line, Maryland extended the lead to 13. A kill by Schnitta gave the Terps set point before a shot by North Texas outside hitter Aryn Johnson sailed long, ending the set, 25-12.
Five service aces by the Terps led the way, as Schnitta recorded two while Csire, Dowler and Williams each had one.
An early three-point lead in the third set by North Texas was quickly negated by the Terps, who scored five of the next six. Both teams traded points until the score was knotted up at 10. With Gillett serving, the Mean Green scored three consecutive points.
Two kills by Schnitta as well as two blocks by the Terps gave them the lead back at 15-14.
The rest of the set was a back-and-forth affair as the teams exchanged points. Tied up at 22, middle blocker Eva Rohrbach gave Maryland the lead with a kill. A service error by Schnitta knotted it up at 23, before two straight Mean Green errors gave the Terps a 25-23 set victory.
Schnitta led all players with 16 kills while Csire had 11 of her own. Maryland had eight total blocks, half of which came from Russ. Outside hitter Sydney Bryant also tallied eight kills and two digs.
“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates being there to support me,” Bryant said. “Make a mistake and come back knowing that they’re gonna have my back.”
Three things to know
1. Home dominance. Maryland remains perfect at home so far this season, with a 2-0 record in College Park. With a sweep in both home games, the Terps will look to continue their winning streak at home Friday against Lehigh.
2. Defense on display. In the first two matches of the tournament, every point was quick. However, Sunday’s match provided several long rallies, showcasing some great defense. Maryland had multiple impressive plays that kept the ball alive. Gunter was responsible for 13 of Maryland’s 50 digs.
“They did a good job of identifying the key attackers and being in good spots,” Hughes said. “We were pretty scrappy and I didn’t think there was any hesitation, people were making plays. When that’s the mentality, it’s hard for attackers to find space and can frustrate people.”
3. Season high in assists for Dowler. In her return to the starting lineup, Dowler looked like she didn’t skip a beat. She recorded 31 assists, improving upon her 28-assist performance on Saturday.
