Maryland volleyball drops back-and-forth match against Michigan State, 3-2

Up 8-5 in the fifth and final set, Maryland seemed on its way for the come-from-behind win.

However, Michigan State responded with extreme force — going on a 10-0 run to close out the set, clinching the match win, 3-2.

“We got some people who are playing big roles,” coach Adam Hughes said. “We had the opportunity there in the fifth to take care of business. Lot of free ball[s] [fell], a little bit of lack of discipline. It can go like that real quick.”

Maryland volleyball faced off against Michigan State Friday, searching for its first conference win of the season.

The Terps took an early 2-0 lead in the first set due to attack errors from Michigan State. A bad serve from junior Sydney Dowler, followed by a Michigan service ace made it a one point game, 3-2. A 4-0 run let the Spartans capture the lead, 6-4. 

Still trailing, a service error followed by an attack error helped Maryland cut the Spartans’ lead down to two. In a back-and-forth affair, the Spartans gained a 15-12 lead towards the middle of the set. A destructive kill from junior Sam Csire followed by an Michigan State attack error trimmed Maryland’s deficit to one.

Quick mistakes started to bombard the Terps and gave Michigan State a five point lead, 20-15, forcing Maryland to call a timeout. 

After the timeout, Michigan State extended its lead to 23-16 despite Maryland’s efforts to mount a comeback. Two Maryland service errors gave Michigan State the first set win, 25-18. 

Michigan State held Maryland to just a -.095 hitting percentage in the first.

Starting the second set hungry for a comeback, the Terps took the lead early thanks to a kill from Csire. More clutch offensive moments for the Terps helped grow their lead to 6-2. An electrifying play where an almost kill from Michigan bounced off of the shoulder of Rainelle Jones into the hands of Dowler gave Csire room for the kill, extending the Terps’ lead to five. Michigan State called a timeout.

After the timeout, the Terps extended their run to seven. A few points later, a kill from Michigan State sophomore Aliyah Moore cut Maryland’s lead to eight, 13-5. 

Nearing the end of the second set, the Terps maintained a 20-12 lead. On the journey of sealing up their win, a kill from Csire followed by a service ace from Milan Gomillion gave Maryland the set win, 25-15.

Redeeming themselves from the first set, the Terps recorded a .400 hitting percentage in the second and outscored Michigan State in total kills (11), service aces (six), and blocks (four).

Michigan State striked first in the third set but the Terps answered back quickly and took a 4-1 lead due back-to-back blocks from juniors Laila Ricks and Anantasia Russ, followed by a Csire kill. 

The set soon became a tight battle with Michigan State closing in on the Terps’ one point lead. A play later, Jones found a hole in Michigan State’s tough front line, allowing her to register a kill to put Maryland back up 8-6. Michigan State quickly tied up the set 8-8, but the Terps regained the lead at 11-10. 

In a back-and-forth third set, Michigan State held a slim 15-13 lead. Gaining momentum, two back-to-back kills from Russ made it a one point game with Michigan State ahead, 16-15. The Terps tied the set at eighteen on a 3-0 run, causing the Spartans to call for a timeout. 

Michigan State took a slim lead nearing the end of the set, and two attack errors from Maryland gave the Spartans a third set win, 25-19.

Maryland registered 14 total kills and a .209 hitting percentage in the set.

The Terps started the fourth set with a strong 5-0 lead against the Spartans. Maryland continued to extend its lead, 11-3. A kill from Russ made it a ten point set, 14-4. Putting themselves within six, a 4-0 run by the Spartans made it 15-9, forcing a Maryland timeout. 

Nearing the end of the set, the Spartans began to catch up against the Terps, 18-14, but a dominating kill from Dowler put the Terps back up five, 19-14. Keeping the momentum alive, the Terps grew their lead to six and put themselves three points away from taking the set, 22-16. One point away from the win, a Maryland service ace won the set, 25-16, forcing a fifth.

The fifth set started in a tight battle between the Spartans and Terps, tied 2-2, but aided by high energy from the players and the crowd, the Terps went on a 3-0 run due to three different sets of kills, 5-2. 

The Terps grew their lead to 8-5 after an electrifying kill from Csire. The Spartans quickly picked up momentum, and back to back kills from Moore and Evie Doezema gave Michigan State the lead, 9-8. 

With the score 11-8, the Spartans began their hunt to look for four more points for the match win. Another Spartan kill extended their lead to 12-8 and forced a Maryland timeout. 

Maryland’s comeback efforts fell short as the Terps dropped the fifth set, 15-8.

“It’s definitely frustrating, we’re honestly still trying to figure that out,” Russ said. “We have a lot of new pieces working together this year. Still trying to figure out how to finish games, honestly. We were able to take the lead in the fifth set with our momentum coming out in the fourth, but unfortunately still yet to finish. I’m sure we’ll get it.”