Maryland volleyball struggles offensively, swept by No. 22 Ohio State, 3-0

Down double digits in the third set facing a loud Ohio State crowd, it was clear Maryland volleyball was dead in the water. After Emily Londot’s fifth kill of the set, the Terps were staring at a 13-point deficit with no gas left in the tank.

Maryland (12-4, 2-2 Big Ten) suffered a disappointing loss at the hands of No. 22 Ohio State (5-8, 2-2), being swept 3-0.

Maryland seemed to have some rust offensively after four days between games. The team started off sloppy and could not do anything to snap out of it. Overall, the Terps hit -.098 percent with seven service errors and 30 attack errors.

“We just laid a big egg … I don’t know that Ohio State played great, we did some things and could’ve gotten ourselves a chance to get a win,” coach Adam Hughes said, “That’s probably the worst performance I’ve seen us have as a head coach.”

The Terps struggled on offense in the first set, hitting -.032 with nine attack errors and five service errors. However, the Buckeyes were not much better as their hitting percentage was zero with eight attack errors.

Ohio State jumped out to an early lead after going on a 5-0 run that included a pair of kills and Maryland attack errors. A service ace pushed the lead to 11-6 and forced Hughes to use his first timeout.

Down 23-16, Maryland put together a run of its own. Kills from freshman middle blocker Eva Rohrbach and redshirt senior middle blocker Anastasia Russ followed by back-to-back Ohio State errors cut the lead to three. Coming out of a timeout, the Terps continued their run with another kill from Russ. Ultimately, the run was not enough as Ohio State won the first set after another Maryland attack error.

“We were looking for someone to turn the script and make a play or two and every time we felt like we were getting some momentum back, something happened,” Hughes said. “I felt like [Ohio State] got a couple breaks their way but that’s what happens.”

Russ was one of the few bright spots early on for the Terps. Despite her .077 hitting percentage, she collected five kills and five blocks. Russ has been an efficient hitter all season, ranking top five in the nation.

The Buckeyes took another closely contested set in the second, winning 25-22. Senior outside hitter Emily Londot came alive in the second set, recording five kills including the final two that won the set.

The sloppy offense continued into the second set. With the game tied at 11, both sides had hitting percentages in the negatives. From here, Ohio State found its offense and started to pull away. Four straight kills, including two from senior middle blocker Rylee Rader ignited the home crowd.

Maryland followed suit and started collecting kills. Back-to-back kills from outside hitter Sam Csire cut the lead to one. This offensive success did not last long, however, as three more Maryland attack errors gave Ohio State another four-point lead.

With all the momentum on their side, Londot opened the third set with a powerful kill. With the home crowd behind them, the Buckeyes quickly pulled away. The set felt over early on, with Maryland hitting in the negatives once again. Ohio State ended the set with back-to-back kills from freshman outside hitter Lauren Murphy.

Maryland will look to bounce back in its return home on Friday against Minnesota.