Preview: Maryland volleyball prepares for matchup against Michigan State

Following a 3-2 defeat against Indiana last time out, Maryland volleyball (9-5) gets set to face Michigan State (9-4) Friday.

Indiana took the first two sets, but Maryland responded with resilience. The Terps took the third and the fourth, but fell short in the fifth. The crushing loss was Maryland’s second in a row in conference play as the Terps are still searching for their first Big Ten win of the season.

Indiana put the first points on the board but the Terps quickly answered back, and from there the set became a back-and-forth affair. After taking a 21-20 lead, Indiana won four of the next five points, clinching the first set win, 25-21.

The Hoosiers led in kills and aces after set one.

The start of the second set was the opposite of the first, as the Terps striked first and made the Hoosiers play catch up. Indiana did that and the Hoosiers found themselves with an 8-6 lead, and they didn’t give it up the rest of the way.

Holding the Terps to a .214 hitting percentage, compared to their .536, the Hoosiers celebrated a second set win, 25-16. 

Midway through the third set, Indiana led 17-15. Despite the Hoosiers’ lead, the Terps closed in, took the lead, and held on the rest of the way. Maryland won the set 26-24, avoiding an Indiana sweep. 

With a strong offensive performance, Maryland won set four 25-19 to force a final fifth set.The Terps recorded a .308 hitting percentage.

The fifth and final set was a nail-biter. Indiana found itselves with the lead, 11-10, but only a few points later, Maryland tied the score at 15. An Indiana kill and a Maryland attack error gave the Hoosiers a 17-15 lead, winning the match.

The Terps ended the match with 50 kills, 46 assists,  eight aces, and outscored Indiana in blocks by 13. The Terps were held to a .208 hitting percentage.

“I think the big thing is, if we can close a few of the inconsistencies up, we can lower our errors,” coach Adam Hughes said. “I think this team has a lot of potential still that we haven’t tapped yet. That’s what I’m after. Results will come if we take care of what we need to take care of.”

Maryland has been the best blocking team in the nation, ranking first among all Division One programs in blocks-per-set (3.27). Rainelle Jones leads all players with 1.75.

Michigan State enters off a 3-2 loss against Rutgers.

The Spartans won the first two sets to go up 2-0 in the match, looking to be on their way to their first conference win of the season. However, Michigan State collapsed in a big way. The Spartans lost the next two sets handily, sending the match to a decisive fifth set.

Rutgers cruised past Michigan State in the final set, 15-7. The Spartans blew a two-set lead for the first time this season.

The loss dropped Michigan State to 0-2 in Big Ten action.

Rutgers held Michigan State to a .044 hitting percentage and out-killed the Spartans by two. Despite the loss, Maradith O’Gorman and Evie Doezema recorded double-digit kills for the sixth time this season. Aliyah Moore crossed the 10-kill mark for the seventh time.

Michigan State ranks in the bottom-half of the conference in hitting percentage, kills, assists and blocks as its offense has struggled. On the other hand, the Spartans’ defense has shined. They rank in the top-half in the conference in opponent hitting percentage, opponent kills and opponent assists.

“It’s going to be a dog fight because both defenses are really good,” Sam Csire said. “But I think if we do the correct scouting and work on certain things in practice that we should, hopefully [we’ll] know what’s going to work and what’s not.”

The match on Friday is set to start at 6:30 p.m. and will take place at the Xfinity Center Pavilion in College Park.