Maryland volleyball preview vs. Rutgers

Maryland volleyball (11-3, 1-1 Big Ten) heads north for a Wednesday matchup with Rutgers (8-4, 0-2 Big Ten). The Terps are coming off a weekend split after a loss to No. 17 Purdue on Friday and a 3-0 sweep over Michigan on Sunday.

The former was a major test for coach Adam Hughes’ squad in their first ranked matchup of the season. 

They quickly found themselves in a 2-0 hole after losing the first two sets 25-20 and 25-23, but found their offense in the third set, hitting .371 with 19 kills en route to a 25-17 set win. Senior Samantha Schnitta was a major spark in the third. She recorded eight kills and finished the match with a team-leading 16. Purdue stormed into the fourth set, going on an 8-0 run that took all of the Maryland momentum away. The Terps fell to the Boilermakers, 3-1.

Maryland turned it around on Sunday, winning handily against Michigan with a score differential of 22. The Wolverines’ offense was sloppy all afternoon, committing 19 errors and hitting just .146. Sam Csire had another high-kill contest, leading the team with 14 including the match-ender in the third set.

Maryland dominated at the net and tied its season-high block total of 14. The front was led by redshirt senior middle blocker Anastasia Russ and freshman middle blocker Eva Rohrbach. Russ sent a season-high nine total blocks with Rohrbach adding five more.

As a team, the offense has been hitting .277, the 18th-best rate in the NCAA Division I. Russ has been a major factor in this success as her .500 hitting percentage is second in the country. 

It’s not just Russ, however. Three other Terps are hitting greater than .350, including Rohrbach (.422), senior libero Lilly Gunter (.400), and senior setter Sydney Dowler (.358).

“I’m really proud because it’s the first time we’ve beaten Michigan at home,” Hughes said. “A lot of these guys, including myself, came here to do things that have never been done. I’m happy we crossed another one off the list.”

Rutgers started the season 8-1 but has since been on a three-game losing streak. Its schedule to begin conference play was challenging, having faced a pair of ranked teams in No. 15 Penn State and No. 19 Purdue.

Despite the losing streak, the Scarlet Knights are a strong offensive team. They are top 100 in Division I in both blocks per set (2.28) and hitting percentage (.235).

Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Alissa Kinkela leads Rutgers in kills (142) and hitting percentage (.354). She put together a great performance in their loss to Purdue, finishing with 18 kills, two blocks, and eight digs. Fifth year setter Alyssa Nayar has dished out a total of 330 assists this season. She has also got it done on the defensive end with 103 digs.

Maryland is 14-3 against Rutgers since 1999, with the most recent win being a 3-0 sweep. This Rutgers program has seen a handful of rough seasons recently. A win on Wednesday would set the team’s best win total under head coach Caitlin Schweihofer since taking the helm in 2020.