After splitting its first two matches of the 2024 campaign, Maryland volleyball looked to bounce back and get in the win column again against New Hampshire.
In the final match of the LSU tournament, Maryland staged a comeback after going down 2-0 and forced a fifth set, but ultimately lost.
Maryland fell behind right away in the first set, trailing 6-2 out of the gate. Opposite hitter Meredith Hohnbaum contributed to three of the Wildcats first six points, with two kills and a block assist.
New Hampshire extended its lead to 12-4 after another kill by Hohnbaum, two kills by middle blocker Rachel Grier, a kill by outside hitter Hannah Serbousek and two Terps’ attack errors.
After winning 12 of the next 17 points, which included six errors by the Wildcats, Maryland cut the lead down to one. However, New Hampshire weathered the storm and got its lead back up to four.
Both teams traded points at the end of the set before Hohnbaum finished it off with her sixth kill of the set, taking a 25-22 victory. Outside hitter Sam Csire led the Terps with six kills in the first set.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair. Csire gathered four kills in the Terps’ first five points, and the two teams found themselves knotted up at nine. With the set tied at 10, New Hampshire scored three times in a row before middle blocker Anastasia Russ ended the run.
A kill by the left-handed pin hitter Samantha Schnitta, two kills by outside hitter Sydney Bryant and two attack errors by the Wildcats helped Maryland open up a 17-14 lead. But New Hampshire responded right back, winning three of the next four points to knot it up at 18.
After exchanging points, New Hampshire recorded back-to-back kills, courtesy of Serbousek and outside hitter Ezgi Karabulut. A kill by setter Sydney Dowler cut the lead back to one, but that was not enough to help the Terps rally back. Libero Avery LePore closed out the set, 25-21, with a service ace, her second of the match.
Down 3-1 to start the third set, Maryland rallied off eight consecutive points to take a 9-3 lead. The Terps’ front row got going early with Russ and Csire each recording two kills, helping catapult Maryland in front.
Two consecutive kills by Grier helped kickstart a New Hampshire run as it cut the lead down to four. With Serbousek serving, the Wildcats notched six consecutive points, including two service aces to take a 16-14 lead. Maryland, however, responded right back with four points of its own.
The teams traded service aces between LePore and Terps’ setter Zoe Huang to keep the Maryland lead at two. Two consecutive points by New Hampshire tied the game up at 21 before Eva Rohrbach and Csire recorded back-to-back kills to close out the third set, 25-23.
Like the previous three sets, Maryland fell behind early, trailing 5-1 right away. Any time the Terps’ hoped to gain some momentum New Hampshire scored right back. After the Wildcats extended the lead to 20-16, the Terps rallied back and scored four consecutive points, knotting the set at 20. While Maryland took a 22-21 lead after a joint block by Russ and Dowler, Serbousek responded right away with a kill.
The ending of the fourth set remained tight, but a kill by Hohnbaum set up match point for New Hampshire. A kill by Russ helped the Terps stave off match point and start a run capped off by Bryant’s set-clinching kill, winning 26-24.
In the fifth and final set of the match, Maryland dug itself in an early hole, trailing 5-1 again. While the Terps scored first in the set, Serbousek got behind the service line and started another early rally.
A three-point run by the Terps — two kills by Rohrbach and one by Csire — brought the lead down to one. Maryland stayed in striking distance until the end, but a Hohnbaum kill ended the Terps valiant comeback, losing 15-12 in the final set.
Three things to know
1. Fighting until the end. The Terps were down two sets but staged a massive comeback to force a fifth set. However, they came up short in the end. The Terps will need to maintain this grit if they hope to rebound in their next match.
2. Slow starts. In both last night’s match and against New Hampshire today, the Terps lost the first set, and fell behind early in the process. If Maryland hopes to go on a run, it will need to start out strong and avoid putting itself at a 1-0 set disadvantage.
3. Csire is as good as advertised. The fifth-year recorded the most kills in the match with 20, leading all Terps by nine. After leading Maryland with 272 kills last season, she has remained the top option out wide for Dowler.
