Maryland volleyball defeats Iowa, 3-1

Up 2-1 in the third set, Maryland volleyball looked for a comeback win in set four to clinch the match win.

After being down 15-10, the Terps tied the set at 20, but the Hawkeyes answered back with two points to put them within three of set win. Answering right back — with a 3-0 run of their own — the Terps picked up their first lead since the beginning of the set, 24-22.

Keeping momentum high, a service error from the Hawkeyes gave the Terps the one point they needed to win the set 25-23, and take the match in a beautiful final set comeback over Iowa, 3-1.

The Terps led early in the first set due to multiple kills, 5-3. Despite Maryland’s lead, a 3-0 run from the Hawkeyes trimmed their deficit down to one, 10-9. A kill from redshirt junior Anastasia Russ followed by a block assist from Russ and junior Sam Csire opened Maryland’s lead back up. 

Maryland continued to extend its lead by going on a 3-0 run of its own, forcing an Iowa timeout. Following the timeout, an attack error from the Terps helped the Hawkeyes get within three but several kills from the Terps gave them a six point lead, 17-11. On the next point, a solo block by graduate student Rainelle Jones forced another Hawkeyes timeout. 

The Hawkeyes went on a 4-1 run after the timeout, but a kill from Terps freshman Laila Ivey put Maryland four points away from a first set win, 21-15. The Terps continued to extend their lead despite Iowa’s efforts to score, and a service ace from senior Lexy Finnerty gave the Terps the first set win, 25-18. 

Maryland held Iowa to a .184 hitting percentage, compared to its .312 percentage. 

The Terps took an early 3-1 lead to start the second set, but kills from junior Delaney McSweeney and senior Amiya Jones helped Iowa tie the score, 3-3. Keeping the set close, a 3-0 run by the Hawkeyes gave them their first lead of the night, 8-6. 

The Hawkeyes extended their lead to 10-7 following a kill from sophomore Addie VanderWeide. A service ace from Csire followed by a kill from Jones quickly tied the score at 10. Well into the middle of the set, Iowa regained its lead, as the Hawkeyes went on a 3-0 run, forcing a Maryland timeout.

After the timeout, Iowa extended its lead on a 5-0 run to force another Maryland timeout. Maryland, unable to close in on Iowa’s lead, put the Hawkeyes within three points of a second set win, 22-15. A few points later, another kill from McSweeny put the second set away for the Hawkeyes, 25-16. 

Maryland picked up an early lead to start the third, 3-1, thanks to a kill from Russ. An attack error followed by another kill — this time from Jones — opened the Maryland lead to 5-3. Closing in on the Terps lead, a kill from VanderWeide and Jones put the Hawkeyes within one, 7-6.

On a 3-0 run, the Terps opened their lead back up. The Terps extended their lead to 13-8 after two kills from Russ and a service ace by junior Sydney Dowler, forcing an Iowa timeout. After the timeout, a kill from Jones put the Hawkeyes within four, but a kill from Ivey followed by another service ace from Finnerty put Maryland back up by six, 16-10. 

Nearing the end of the set, a kill from Csire forced another Iowa timeout. Following the timeout, a 3-1 run cut Maryland’s lead, but the Terps still led the Hawkeyes by seven, 24-17. A solo block from Russ gave the Terps the third set win, 25-18.

Starting the fourth set in a close battle, a kill from junior Laila Ricks gave the Terps a one point lead, but a block assist from Iowa quickly tied the score at three. Picking up their momentum, the Hawkeyes picked up a lead after another block assist followed by a Maryland attack error. Iowa extended its lead, going on a 3-0 run after two kills from McSweeney, ultimately forcing a Maryland timeout. 

After the timeout, the Hawkeyes extended its run to 5-0, quickly forcing another Maryland timeout.  Following the timeout, the Hawkeyes continued their run, but Ivey finally put an end to it with Maryland down by five. With the Terps picking up momentum, a kill from Ricks and a service ace from Finnerty cut Iowa’s lead down to just three, 15-12.

The Terps, now on a 3-0 scoring run after a block assist from Russ and Csire, forced a timeout, this time on Iowa. Following the timeout, the Terps extended their run to 4-0, before a kill from Jones opened Iowa’s lead back up to three. Not letting up, a kill from Csire quickly made it a one point set again, 17-16. 

With the Terps and Hawkeyes on a back-and-forth exchange of points, Iowa still held the lead after another kill by VanderWeide, 19-17. 

Maryland found life late in the set, doing enough to take the fourth set, and the match.

Maryland held Iowa to a .213 hitting percentage in the match, compared to its .239 percentage. The Terps also outscored Iowa in blocks (13).