Tied at one early in the opening set, it was imperative for pin hitter Samantha Schnitta to get a reeling Maryland volleyball team off to a quick start. As she stepped behind the service line, the home faithful silenced, allowing her to focus on the task in front.
Schnitta, the nation’s leader in service aces, didn’t disappoint, putting two service aces in the deep corner where no Rutgers player could get to. This catapulted the Terps out to an early 4-1 lead that they never relinquished.
After the first-set win and three consecutive losses, including two five-setters at home, Maryland looked to get its first conference win against Rutgers, another team without a Big Ten win. The Terps handled the Scarlet Knights with relative ease Saturday night in College Park, winning in straight sets.
“When Schnitta first started this process, she was so worried about making errors,” head coach Adam Hughes said. “Even today, she had a good serving run, and she’s still working on a couple different adjustments that she feels like can make her even better.”
Outside hitter Sydney Bryant started off the scoring for Maryland (10-5) with one of her four opening set kills. Rutgers cut the Terps’ lead to two, but a kill from middle blocker Anastasia Russ sparked a four-point run. Setter Sydney Dowler capped off the spurt with a service ace, moving the score to 10-4.
“The team did a really good job staying patient and [Dowler’s] a competitor,” Hughes said. “[Dowler] is a good server, blocker, defender and just a really good all around player.”
Scarlet Knights’ middle blocker Zora Hardison dwindled the Maryland lead back down to two with her fourth kill of the set. But a service ace and kill from middle blocker Eva Rohrbach pushed the lead up to five.
Bryant and outside hitter Sam Csire gave the Terps’ set point with two kills a piece, before the Scarlet Knights put the serve into the net, one of their five service errors. Maryland came out with a much-needed first-set victory, 25-22.
Just like in the first set, Schnitta opened the second with a service ace as well as a kill, putting the Terps ahead 3-0. Then, Rutgers’ outside hitter Alissa Kinkela recorded a needed kill, helping knot the score at three.
Consecutive blocks from Rohrbach looked to spark a Maryland run, but the Scarlet Knights responded right back. Up 11-10, three kills from Bryant and two from Schnitta extended the Terps’ lead to six.
Back-to-back service aces from Schnitta moved the score to 19-15, forcing a Rutgers timeout. Another Scarlet Knights’ service error put Maryland three points away from closing the set out. Two late kills from Csire did just that, as the Terps won, 25-20.
The third set was much-tighter than the first two. Early on, a service ace from defensive specialist Ally Williams leveled the score at three apiece. Two kills from Csire gave Maryland an opportunity to gather a big lead, but Rutgers didn’t let that happen.
Tied at 12, Rohrbach gave the Terps a momentum spark with a kill and block. Williams followed with a service ace — her 12th of the season — moving Maryland ahead, 15-12. Kinkela gave the Scarlet Knights a chance to tie it up with a kill, but another Rutgers’ service error ended the opportunity.
Three late kills from Bryant pushed the Terps just one point away from a straight-set victory, but Schnitta put the serve in the net. An attack error from Rohrbach gave Rutgers a shot to roar back in the set. But Rohrbach responded, teaming up with Bryant for a set-winning block. The Terps beat Rutgers 25-19 in the set.
Bryant had a match-high 13 kills, while Schnitta added five more service aces, increasing her season total to 52.
“It really helps a lot when my teammates are just like, ‘Swing, we got you,’” Bryant said. “My teammates really helped give me the confidence to swing away and in some of those big moments.”
Three things to know
1. Three-game losing streak ends. After going 9-2 in nonconference play, the Terps’ Big Ten schedule proved tougher. Back-to-back home five-set losses to Northwestern and Iowa were followed by a road loss to No. 3 Penn State. However, Saturday’s match against Rutgers earned Maryland its first conference win.
2. Clean serving. The Terps had just four service errors compared to the Scarlet Knights’ 10. Maryland has struggled recently in that field, racking up 40 service errors over its past three matches. A key factor in determining the Terps’ success will be the team’s service ace to errors ratio.
“Sometimes when you’re on, everyone feels less pressure,” Hughes said. “We’re always trying to find this balance of some people are aggressive, some people are more like spot location, changing speeds. We found a good balance of that tonight.”
3. Defensive lockdown. Maryland had a strong display defensively with 51 digs in the match. Libero Lilly Gunter led the charge with 12, while seven other players recorded at least two digs. The Terps seemed to track almost every ball down, holding Rutgers to an 18.5% hitting percentage.
