Maryland volleyball looking to extend three-game winning streak after sweeping UMBC Tournament

Maryland volleyball will open the Stephen M. Schanwald Pavilion for the first time this season against Delaware State on Wednesday, then travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to face Davidson on Saturday and Wake Forest on Sunday.

This past weekend, the Terps (3-2) swept the UMBC Tournament, defeating Old Dominion (1-5), William & Mary (3-2), and UMBC (1-4) in Baltimore. Strong first-set performances and a career-defining weekend for redshirt freshman setter Lilly Wagner saw the Terps dominate on the court. They dropped only two of the 11 sets they played in the tournament.

Wagner recorded 94 assists over the three-game span, including a career-high 34-assist performance against William & Mary on Saturday. 

To start the week, the Terps will play their home opener against Delaware State (3-3). Similar to Wagner, the Hornets have their own assist machine in senior setter Naz Tuncay. She posted a career-best 48 assists in the team’s loss to Elon on Saturday. 

The Hornets will depend on senior outside hitter Gerren Tomlin’s production on both sides of the ball to continue, after she notched an 18-kill, 14-dig double-double against Elon. Tomlin also leads the team in both categories this year. 

Winning just one of their last 10 sets, the Hornets are hoping for a resurgence after starting the season 3-0. 

After the Hornets, the Terps matchup with Davidson (4-2) on Saturday. The Wildcats have started fast, sweeping their opponents in three of their four wins. 

However, Coastal Carolina shut down the Wildcats’ offense, sweeping Davidson this past Saturday.

The Chanticleers held Davidson to just a .162 hitting percentage, and the Wildcats committed more than half as many errors as they had kills.

Davidson’s strengths lie in the team’s ability to collect kills, including a set against Elon last Friday that saw the Wildcats post 17 of them. Junior outside hitter Elena Garcia-Guerrios is the team’s leading attacker, accruing 75 kills thus far, but five Wildcats have collected more than 30 kills.

Wake Forest (2-3) is Maryland’s final opponent for the weekend, coming off a 3-0 sweep of Navy on Sunday. The Demon Deacons scored more than double Navy’s points, and their defense was stellar, outblocking Navy 9-2 and outdigging them 48-30. 

The Demon Deacons, though, have started the season similarly to the Terps – with inconsistent showings. 

They were swept by Air Force last Saturday, and started the season 0-2 after losing to Cincinnati and Michigan. Still, the team has four players with at least 35 kills, including junior outside hitter Patrycja Lagida, who leads the team in that category with 50. 

The Terps, they currently rank 13th in the Big Ten standings, though this weekend’s slate marks some of the last games before conference play takes up the remainder of the season. Maryland kicks off its Big Ten schedule on Sep. 25 against Iowa.

Outside hitters Ajack Malual and Haley Melby – both transfers from SEC teams – have stepped up offensively, notching 66 and 52 kills, respectively. All eyes, though, will likely be on Wagner to continue her impressive streak of assists that have pushed the Terps in close games. 

The redshirt freshman’s supporting role on the court has become a crucial one, especially in the tighter end-of-set points that seem to always follow this Terps squad.

Maryland has the chance to build on a three-game winning streak, starting in front of its home crowd.