Maryland volleyball dominates final set in 3-1 win over Delaware State

Photo courtesy of Dylan Davies/Maryland Athletics

Maryland volleyball approached their match against Delaware State looking to control the pace and limit Delaware State’s high-octane offense. The Terps did just that.

Maryland (7-2) took down Delaware State (2-8) in four sets thanks to efficient hitting and points from the service line.

Maryland kept the pressure throughout the first set, forcing the Hornets to constantly play out of system. The Terps limited Delaware State to only six kills and a .048 hitting percentage.

Coach Adam Hughes’ squad shined offensively, with 16 kills and nearly a .500 hitting percentage en route to a 25-15 victory.

Hughes spoke about tinkering with lineups as non-conference play wraps up and Big Ten play rapidly approaches. Ellie Watson, who had previously logged only six sets played and three kills on the season, got her first start against the Hornets.

Watson wasted no time making the most of the opportunity, picking up a quick kill and a block early on in the first set.

“Wanted to try to keep everyone in the mix, want to use our depth to our advantage,” Hughes said. “It’s a long season, so I wanted to give [Watson] a shot, I thought she did a pretty good job.” 

Hughes mixed up the lineups in the second set as well, incorporating freshmen Duru Gökçen and Katherine Scherer for only the second time this season. Gökçen and Scherer logged four kills apiece.

Scherer especially saw a lot of opportunity in her second set of the season, with 16 total attempts. 

No matter the personnel changes, Hughes’ squad seemed to click in the first two sets. The Terps claimed a commanding 25-11 victory to secure their 12th set in a row, going back to their win over American on Sept. 7.

Maryland’s offense once again hit above .300 and recorded 11 kills, but they particularly excelled on the service line. 

The Terps tallied six service aces to zero service errors with Samantha Schnitta’s serves proving to be unstoppable.

A couple of kills from Gökçen and a service ace from Zoe Huang capped off a convincing 25-11 victory for Maryland in the second set.

A sluggish start to the third set saw Maryland quickly trailing 4-0, though the streak was interrupted by a service error from Gerren Tomlin.

Still, for the first time in the match Delaware State was able to play at its own quick pace, making it the most competitive set by far. The Terps trailed for most of the set and their largest lead was only three points.

The Hornets’ offense controlled the third set, leading Maryland in kills and hitting percentage. 

Though the Terps held a 23-22 lead late, Delaware State rattled off three points to win the set and snap Maryland’s streak.

“I didn’t think we did a great job handling the pressure,” Hughes said. “We got error-prone, got a little bit quiet, a little bit meek, I didn’t love the response.”

In the fourth set, Maryland returned to the court with a vengeance. They raced out to a 9-1 lead, determined to put the Hornets away. Anastasia Russ led the way early on with a pair of kills and a block.

“Just [Russ’s] physicality makes a huge difference,” Hughes said. “I thought she did a really good job steadying us out.”

Delaware State did themselves no favors during the set, committing 12 attack errors and holding a negative hitting percentage. 

Consecutive attack errors by Tomlin late in the set gave Maryland a 23-9, priming the Terps to close out the match.

Sam Csire, who recorded six kills in the first set and was largely quiet throughout the rest of the match, secured the win for Maryland with her eighth kill. The Terps won the set 25-12.

To round out their non-conference schedule, Maryland travels to Orlando for the UCF Tournament. The Terps take on Nevada on Friday at noon and UCF on Saturday at 6 p.m.