Maryland volleyball drops fifth in a row in 3-1 loss to Illinois

Photo by Austin DeSisto/Maryland Terrapins. Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

After a close contest against reigning champions No. 19 Penn State on Sunday, hopes were high for Maryland volleyball to claim its first conference win against Illinois. 

But, Illinois redshirt sophomore opposite hitter Auburn Tomkinson overshadowed a return to form for Maryland’s defense, notching a season-high 17 kills at a nearly 40% clip.

Maryland dropped its fifth consecutive match in Friday’s 3-1 loss to Illinois at the Pavilion in College Park despite a much-improved defensive performance. Maryland has yet to beat Illinois in its program’s history.

The Fighting Illini (9-5, 4-1 Big Ten) entered play in a similar offensive form to the Terps, surrendering more kills than they had recorded. Four players have recorded over 100 kills on the season, with redshirt sophomore outside hitter Taylor de Boer leading the team with 173. 

While De Boer spearheaded the offense heading into the match, Tomkinson was Illinois’ best offensive player against the Terps. Tomkinson entered the contest with 111 kills, third-best on the team, but on Friday, she led the team with 17 kills — setting a new season high. 

The contest started close, with the Fighting Illini taking an early 7-5 lead amidst service problems for the Terps (7-8, 0-5 Big Ten). Tomkinson dominated in the opening set, notching five early kills for the Fighting Illini and finishing the set with eight.

Eight kills for Tomkinson were more than halfway to her season-high of 14, and her offensive prowess seemed to be the only way through a strong Terps’ presence at the net. Despite Illinois’ .156 hitting percentage in the set, Tomkinson kept her swings clean.

Despite Tomkinson’s offensive success, Maryland’s blocking unit took over, tallying nine opening set blocks. Junior middle blocker Eva Rohrbach accounted for seven block assists, while redshirt freshman setter Lilly Wagner had five. The Terps’ dominant defense allowed them to secure the first set 26-24 despite their offense hitting .065 and finishing with nearly as many kills as errors — their first set one win since facing Seton Hall on Sept. 19. 

“We set the tone pretty fast,” head coach Adam Hughes said. “I thought we were really good with our assignments today and at the service line.”

The Fighting Illini opened the second set strong with a 5-2 run, but a Terps 4-0 run of their own made it 6-5 early. Continuing to trade scoring runs, both teams’ blocking efforts took a backseat, as offense defined the early stages of the set. Multiple lengthy rallies were defined by clean sets and minimal attacking errors, as both offenses found ways to avoid blockers at the net.

The Terps’ defense struggled towards the end of the set, as the Fighting Illini mounted an 8-1 scoring run to erase a 22-17 Terps advantage. Missed dig attempts plagued the Terps’ defense late, and the Fighting Illini stormed ahead to a 25-23 set victory, despite just two kills from Tomkinson.

In set three, the Terps’ defensive prowess returned, paving the way for an early 5-1 scoring run. But Fighting Illini sophomore middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot recorded two kills that sparked a 4-0 run of their own, knotting the score at 9-9.

“I saw a really good response from a younger group,” Hughes said. “In some ways, that was immense progress.”

After the media timeout, Tomkinson resumed her offensive prowess. She recorded five kills in the set, continuously penetrating the Terps’ blocking at the net. The Fighting Illini hit at a .324 rate, compared to the Terps’ .160, dominating the last points and riding a 4-0 scoring run to a 25-18 victory.

While the first three sets were dominated by the Terps’ defense, the fourth set was plagued by their errors. Five attack errors and pivotal miscommunication on the front row prevented the Terps from claiming the final set, falling 25-23.

“We had a really good defensive day,” Hughes said. “Just have been very inconsistent offensively, trying to find ways to score a few more points.”

One of the few bright spots for Maryland’s offense was outside hitter Ajack Malual’s performance. The senior notched 20 kills in Maryland’s previous matchup against Penn State and followed with a 19-kill outing.

Maryland is still in search of its first Big Ten win this season, but its schedule does not get lighter as it hosts No. 7 Wisconsin on Sunday.