Maryland volleyball’s offensive struggles results in 3-0 defeat to No. 1 Wisconsin

Maryland’s chance for an upset victory was slimming after seemingly each point down the stretch of the third set. Nearly everything was falling Wisconsin’s way on an afternoon when the Terps’ offense could not find their rhythm.

Sarah Franklin ended the match with a kill that found a spot between the Terps’ fatigued defense. Franklin’s kill secured the Badgers’ 17th straight win, a new program record.

Maryland volleyball faced its toughest test of the season on Sunday in the form of No. 1 Wisconsin. The Badgers (17-0, 8-0 Big Ten) were too much to handle, as they swept the Terps 3-0. The loss was Maryland’s (13-7, 3-5 Big Ten) third straight.

The Terps struggled offensively and spent the entire match playing catch-up. Their 1-0 lead to open the third set was their only lead of the afternoon, which didn’t last long due to a 4-0 Wisconsin run. None of Maryland’s attackers could find consistent hitting and it ended the afternoon hitting .029 with 20 attack errors.

“There are things we have control over that I didn’t think we did a great job in that area. Attack errors were probably the biggest one,” coach Adam Hughes said. “If you add on attack errors, you’re giving a ton of free points to a team that doesn’t need any free points. That’s probably our big focus right now across the board”

Franklin and Anna Smrek were a deadly offensive duo for the Badgers. Franklin was all over the court with a team-leading 18 kills, adding nine digs with a block. Smrek contributed with efficient hitting — a .500 percentage — and layed down 11 kills.

Wisconsin got it going early with a 4-0 run in the first set, but a kill from Eva Rohrbach halted the run and gave the Terps some momentum. Rohrbach was back in the starting lineup and produced in the first set, recording two kills and a dig. Rohrbach, Sam Csire and Anastasia Russ each finished the set with a pair of kills.

The Badgers’ high-powered offense was on full display, hitting .355 with 16 kills in the first set. A 3-0 run that included a pair of Maryland attack errors stretched the lead to eight. Wisconsin eventually won the set 25-15.

Set two started similarly as a Badgers run to force an early Terp timeout. Wisconsin continued to roll coming out of the timeout. It pushed the lead to 18-11, forcing Maryland to call another timeout. The Badgers ended the set on a 5-0 run to take a two-set lead.

Laila Ivey was a bright spot for the Terps as she came alive in the second set with three kills. Yet he still found herself on and off the bench throughout the set due to her five errors.

Wisconsin continued its offensive onslaught in the third set despite Maryland looking solid at the net, recording five blocks in the set. But the Terps’ continuous offensive struggles ultimately doomed them. They hit .073 with just nine kills in the set, which helped the Badgers to the 25-15 set three win to secure the match sweep.

“I think there are some things we know we need to get better at. I think we’re at that point of the season now, it’s going to be how much contention and hard work can you put into those things,” Hughes said. “That’s where we’re at and you got to see what you can do and try to finish the season strong.”