Maryland volleyball drops back-and-forth battle to Illinois, 3-2

Tied at two sets apiece with Illinois, Maryland volleyball found itself in a hole immediately in the final set, opening with a service error. It stayed calm and outside hitter Erin Morrissey brought the team back into it after back-to-back kills.

The Maryland offense was on and off all night but played well when it mattered. In the fifth set, the Terps put down six kills and an ace. This was still not enough after a 4-0 Illini run that included two kills and an ace put the set out of reach.

Maryland limited Big Ten kills leader Raina Terry to eight kills. However, Illinois was still successful offensively and it was Terry who was victorious.

Maryland (13-8, 3-6 Big Ten) suffered its fourth straight loss against Illinois (9-10, 4-5 Big Ten) in five sets.

Illinois jumped out to an early lead after senior outside hitter Sam Csire did not attempt to return a ball that she thought was heading out of bounds. Pin hitter Samantha Schnitta kept Maryland close, recording five first-set kills on an efficient .667 hitting percentage.

The Illini placed the ball perfectly on kills in the first set, constantly finding the perfect spot between Maryland defenders. The Terps limited Terry to a .083 hitting percentage in the first set. Instead, Illinois got its offense from outside hitter Jessica Nunge who recorded five kills and a service ace.

“I thought we did a pretty good job [against Terry],” coach Adam Hughes said. “One of the keys was taking care of some of the rolls and the tips. She took some decent swings there in the fifth. A heck of a battle and I’m proud of us for being resilient.”

Maryland’s late 6-0 scoring run cut the lead to two. However, it was not enough as Illinois went on to win the set 25-21 after a block from Terry and Kennedy Collins.

The headline of the second set was long volleys that included impressive digs. A diving dig from Lilly Gunter led to a Csire kill and cut the Illinois lead to one. Later on, another Csire kill pushed the Terps to a 16-15 lead. A late 4-0 run led to a Maryland set-two victory.

Maryland’s offense thrived in the second set hitting .294 with 16 kills compared to nine from Illinois. Csire led the way with five kills as Schnitta, Anastasia Russ, and Laila Ivey each recorded three.

“Continue to make them make the play because sooner or later someone will get tired and make an error,” Schnitta said. “So we just have to understand that we’re not gonna do it. We are gonna compete for each touch to continue to put the ball in play. I think that was our mindset during those longer rallies.”

The offense faltered to start the third, committing four early attack errors. Back-to-back errors led to a 7-2 Illinois lead, forcing Maryland to call timeout. Coming out of the break, it was more of the same.

Two straight service aces from Collins helped Illinois to an 8-0 scoring run, squashing any hopes for Maryland. Nunge continued her dominant night and collected three kills in the set, helping Illinois to a dominant 25-15 win.

During the third set, setter Sydney Dowler reached her 3,000th career assist. The senior became the sixth player in program history to reach this milestone. Dowler ended the match with 40 assists.

“I thought [Dowler] did a good job competing today,” Hughes said. “She works her butt off, even when we are in that down stretch she’s still battling and trying to keep everyone in an even keel. Proud of her for getting to 3,000, that’s awesome. She deserves any of the credit she gets.”

The script flipped in the fourth set as Maryland found its offense again while Illinois struggled. The Terps opened the set with a 6-0 scoring run, capped off by a Dowler kill. The Illini committed five attack errors and had a negative hitting percentage early on.

Coming out of a timeout, Illinois put together a run of its own. Kills from Nunge and Collin knotted up the score at 12. A long volley capped off by a Russ kill ignited the Maryland crowd. Morrissey layed down the set-clinching kill, forcing a fifth set.

Maryland will look to snap the losing streak on Saturday against Iowa.