Preview: Maryland volleyball prepares for regular season finale against Indiana

Maryland volleyball (15-16, 6-13 B1G) gets set to take on Indiana (16-15, 9-10 B1G) in its regular season finale. The Terps and Hoosiers already met once this season, when Indiana won 3-2 in College Park on Sep. 25.

The Terps suffered a 3-1 defeat to No. 19 Purdue their last time out.

Maryland won a close first set, 25-22, but then things collapsed for the Terps. 

Purdue won the second set easily, 25-15, but Maryland put up a fight in the third. The Terps just couldn’t overmatch the Boilermakers, as they fell by three, 25-22.

The fourth set was an exciting one, a back-and-forth battle. 25 points wasn’t enough to determine a winner, as Purdue won the fourth set, 30-28, to clinch the match win.

Purdue outscored Maryland in kills, aces and assists. However, Maryland continued its strong blocking season as the Terps out-blocked the Boilermakers.

Junior Sam Csire (18) and graduate student Rainelle Jones (11) both notched double-digit kills. Redshirt junior Anastasia Russ scored eight of the 18 blocks the Terps recorded.

Csire ranks tenth in the Big Ten in average kills per set (3.44).

Junior Sydney Dowler recorded 40 assists for the sixth time this season, and she sits fifth in total assists (979) in the Big Ten. Milan Gomillion continued to dominate with 26 digs, the second-most in a game this season for the sophomore. Gomillion ranks second in the Big Ten in total digs (468).

As a team, Maryland holds the No.1 spot in both blocks and opponent blocks in the Big Ten. Russ and Jones are big reasons why, as they rank first (175) and second (161) in total blocks, respectively.  

Indiana defeated Illinois 3-1 its last time out.

Indiana won each of the first two sets closely, 25-21 and 25-23, to go up 2-0. An 8-1 run from Illinois in the third set gave the Illini the 25-21 set win to extend the match. Indiana closed out the match with a 25-20 win in the fourth set.

Indiana outscored Illinois in kills and assists, and the Hoosiers recorded a .306 hitting percentage.

In their win, the Hoosiers were led by freshman Candela Alonso-Corcelles and junior Morgan Geddes, who both recorded at least 16 kills. Senior Kaley Rammelsberg led the Hoosiers in blocks (five), while sophomore Camryn Haworth led with 45 assists. 

Haworth ranks third in the Big Ten in total assists (1069) and first in service aces (46). Sophomore Mady Saris has been a key piece of the Hoosiers’ offense all season, as she ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 475.5 points and 415 kills.

The Hoosiers rank third in the Big Ten in points (1890) and first in service aces (211), as they boast one of the best offenses in the conference. Their defense has fared well in spots as well, as they allow the second-fewest opponent assists (10.09) and opponent kills (11.18) per set.

The match on Friday will start at 5 p.m. and will take place at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington.