Looking for back-to-back victories for the first time this season, Maryland headed to Washington, D.C., Saturday to take on undefeated American. In a hostile environment, the Terps held onto a tight 3-2 victory.
Setter Sydney Dowler helped lead the Terps to victory with 28 assists off the bench.
After an early 2-0 lead for the Eagles in the first set, a kill by pin hitter Samantha Schnitta helped catapult a quick Maryland response. With outside hitter Sam Csire behind the service line, the Terps scored five consecutive points, including two aces by Csire. American responded right back with four points of its own, two of which were Maryland attack errors.
The first set remained a back-and-forth affair with the score knotted up at 12. However, four straight points, all from Schnitta, helped the Terps take a two-point lead. Maryland later opened up a 21-15 lead, but the Eagles scored seven out of the next eight points.
Both teams traded scores to close out the set before American scored two consecutive points, including a kill by middle blocker Elise Sterling to wrap up the first set, 27-25.
Schnitta led the Terps with eight kills and two total blocks while Huang tallied seven assists. Csire also had four kills, doubling her total from Friday’s match against Alabama A&M.
Outside hitter Adelina Berisha led the Eagles with five kills and setter Esma Sipahi posted five assists.
Just like the first set, Maryland got out to an early lead in the second set. This time, American had no response. While the score remained tight, the Terps maintained a two-point lead. Kills by Csire and outside hitter Sydney Bryant helped Maryland open up a 15-9 advantage.
Three-consecutive points by the Eagles cut the lead in half, but Maryland responded right back. Eight of the next nine points went the Terps’ way, including three service aces by Schnitta, setting them up with a 23-13 lead. American had an attack error of its own before a joint-block by Dowler and middle blocker Eva Rohrbach closed out a 25-14 set victory.
After tying up the second set at one, Maryland never looked back, leading for the rest of the way. The Terps recorded zero errors and 12 kills. Maryland also tallied six service aces, including four by Schnitta and one by Csire and Huang.
Despite taking an early 4-2 lead with two service aces by Csire in the third set, American responded right back, knotting it up at four. Four consecutive points by the Terps, including a kill by Bryant and Rohrbach, helped open up a 9-5 lead. Eight straight points, six of which were attack errors by Maryland, gave American the lead back.
After the Eagles opened up a six-point gap, four points by the Terps cut the lead to two. Now trailing 23-18, the Terps scored seven consecutive points, including two kills by Bryant, to win the set, 25-23.
An early 9-5 Maryland lead in the fourth set was quickly negated by five points by American, giving it a 10-9 lead heading into a Terps’ timeout. The set remained tight, knotted up late at 19 apiece. Scoring six out the last seven points, the Eagles took a 25-20 set victory. Dowler tallied nine assists in the set, giving her 24 total through the first four sets.
The decisive fifth set was a back-and-forth affair. After a couple lengthy reviews, Maryland opened up a 14-12 lead. Bryant closed out the match with a kill, giving the Terps back-to-back victories for the first time this season.
Huang had 17 assists and Schnitta led all players with 21 kills, followed by 13 from Bryant. The Terps had a 21.7% hitting percentage throughout the match and gathered six total blocks.
“It was a good job being in a road environment. This is probably what it’s going to feel like in terms of atmospheres,” head coach Adam Hughes said. “It was a goal of ours to go into a tough arena, a tough matchup and see if we can get a win.”
Three things to know
1. Impressive serving performance. After posting only seven service aces in Friday’s match, Maryland recorded 16 of them against American. Csire led the way for the Terps with seven and Schnitta trailed close behind with five.
“Past few games, I’ve been a little stiff when I go to serve. Today, I just told myself to be free and let yourself just roll,” Csire said. “You’re not going to get them out of system if you’re giving them lollipops. I just kept telling myself to hit the seam and drive the ball.”
2. American’s first loss. Heading into the match, American had an undefeated 7-0 record. With Maryland’s fifth-set victory, the Eagles suffered their first loss of the season. The Terps remain perfect against American all-time, with a 17-0 record.
3. First five-set victory. Maryland came back from two sets down earlier in the season, but eventually lost in the fifth set to New Hampshire. In Saturday’s match against American, the Terps seized a gritty fifth set to close out the win.
