Maryland volleyball drops match to South Florida in a five-set thriller, 3-2

Up two sets to one, Maryland entered set four looking to close out the match.

Instead, South Florida won the fourth set 25-15, and the Bulls dominated the fifth set, securing the five-set win, 3-2.

Maryland Volleyball faced off against South Florida in its third and final match of the Stony Brook Tournament on Saturday. The Terps fell to the Bulls 3-2, dropping to 4-2 on the season.

The starters set for the Terps were Rainelle Jones, Lexy Finnerty, Laila Ricks, Sydney Dowler, Milan Gomillion, Sam Csire, and Anatasia Russ.

The starters for the Bulls were CC Clausen, Tatiana Johnson, Amamnda Dewit, Tizi Puljiz, Marta Cvitkovic, Maria Clara Andrade, and Amiree Hendricks-Walker.

Maryland got off to a slow start, losing four of the first five points. Shortly after, the Terps tied the score at four apiece with kills by Ricks and Csire. 

South Florida gained momentum and stretched its lead to 11-6, causing Maryland to call a timeout. After the timeout, the Terps won five of the next eight points, putting them on the brink of taking the lead.

A kill by Ricks Terps’ deficit down to one, 23-22, but a kill by Ally Barhart and a service ace by Alexis Williams clinched the first set win for the Bulls, 25-22.

The Terps took a 2-1 lead to start the second set, looking to gain momentum early and avoid a two-set deficit.

Kills by Ivey and Csire and a service ace by Dowler brought Maryland’s lead up to 10-7, forcing South Florida to call timeout shortly after.

Maryland, seeming to have gained momentum, stretched the score to 15-9. A kill by Csire and a service ace from Ricks extended the Terps lead to 17-12, causing another Bulls timeout.

With a block assist by Jones and Dowler, the Terps’ lead extended to 20-12.

An ace by Ricks put Maryland up 22-12, and three straight kills won the second set for the Terps, 25-12.

After ending the second set on a 10-0 run, the Terps took a four point lead in the beginning of the third set, 5-1.

A few points later, the Bulls cut their deficit down to one, 7-6.

Maryland bounced back in a big way, going up 13-7 in the middle stages of set three.

South Florida was forced to call timeout after going down 18-10, and after the timeout, Maryland extended its lead to 22-13.

The Bulls followed with a 5-0 run to trim their deficit down to four, forcing Maryland to call a timeout. 

After the timeout, South Florida and Maryland went back-and-forth putting points on the board.

Up 23-20, a service error by the Bulls gave the Terps set point. An attack error from South Florida clinched the set win for Maryland, 25-20, to go up 2-1 for the match.

The fourth set started out as a neck-and-neck affair. South Florida took an early 3-2 lead, but a kill from Jones and a block assist from Jones and Ivey tied the game at four apiece.

A block assist by Dowler and Jones, followed by an attack error from South Florida led the Terps to cut South Florida’s lead down to two. With the score 14-12, South Florida called a timeout.

After the time out, South Florida went on a 4-0 run, extending its lead back to five, 17-12. The Bulls run forced a Terps time out.

South Florida closed out the set, sending the match to a fifth and final set.

South Florida started the fifth set on a 7-0 run before the Terps put a score on the board. With the set only going to 15, the Bulls picked up momentum and went on a 6-1 scoring run to close out this nail-biter match. South Florida won 15-4 in the fifth and final set.

With a strong second and third set from the Terps, Sam Csire let the team in kills (9), attacks (34), and assists (28).

Maryland finished 2-1 in New York.

The Terps have almost a week to prepare until they travel to California to play in the San Diego State Tournament.