Maryland volleyball swept by No. 14 Penn State, 3-0

Maryland volleyball (16-15, 6-13 Big Ten) fell to No. 14 Penn State (20-8, 14-5 Big Ten) in three sets as the Terps were unable to find their offense in the back half of the match after a promising start. 

The Terps’ offense dwindled as their penultimate match continued. In the final two sets, Maryland had just 12 kills after delivering 14 in the first.

The momentum built by Penn State to end the second set carried into the third. The Lions began the set on a 5-0 run, forcing Maryland to call a timeout. The onslaught continued with Penn State collecting points at the service line. A pair of aces from senior Camryn Hannah pushed the lead to 14-2. Penn State dominated serving, out-acing the Terps 14-1.

“I didn’t think we had a great level of compete,” coach Adam Hughes said. “I was okay with game one… They had a bit of a run out of the gate [in set two] and I just felt like we never regained confidence in serve/receive. We tried to get some more people in and couldn’t find a solution to the outside [attack].”

Hannah was a force all night, collecting points for Penn State in a variety of ways. The right-side hitter led the team with 15 kills while hitting .682. Hannah also added five aces and a block to her impressive night.

Senior outside hitter and team leader in kills Sam Csire was absent from the starting lineup. Csire checked in during the first set and made an immediate impact, collecting a pair of kills before being subbed out. Csire’s three kills in the first set were her only kills of the night.

“In game two we felt like there were some opportunities to score some more points in matchups and we weren’t really getting that,” Hughes said. “We decided to go with the switch to Sydney [Bryant] … She’s had some good practices of late.”

Penn State was the first to build a lead after a 5-0 run that included two kills, a block, and an ace. The Terps closed the gap after the Nittany Lions had back-to-back attacks soar out of bounds over the back line. Maryland cut the lead to as little as two but Penn State regained momentum and took the set after a kill from outside hitter Zoe Weatherington.

Despite the loss, Maryland’s attack hit well, collecting 14 kills on a .229 hitting percentage. The Terps collected kills from a variety of players throughout the match. Pin hitter Samantha Schnitta and outside hitter Erin Morrissey carried the load offensively combining for 14 of the team’s 26 kills.

Back-to-back kills from senior outside hitter Jess Mruzik helped Penn State to an early 9-4 lead in the second set. The Lions were defending Maryland’s attacks better in the second set, holding the Terps to just nine points and five kills.

In addition to the stifling defense, Penn State hit extremely well offensively. The Lions delivered 13 kills on 20 attack attempts while hitting .600. They dominated across every stat, out-blocking the Terps 3-1 with four service aces to just one.

The third set was similar to the second as Penn State ran away with the set, ending the match.

The Terps are back in action for their final match of the season Friday against Rutgers (10-18, 2-16 Big Ten). Maryland defeated Rutgers on the road in September in four sets.