Preview: Maryland volleyball prepares for tough matchup against No. 9 Minnesota

Maryland volleyball (14-12, 5-9) hits the road to take on No. 9 Minnesota (15-7, 10-4), following its first home conference win of the season against Iowa, a 3-1 victory.

Iowa took control early into the first set before Maryland caught up with the Hawkeyes, but Iowa maintained its lead to win the first set 25-21. 

Iowa finished the set with a much stronger .235 hitting percentage compared to Maryland’s .139.

Maryland started the second set with a big lead, until Iowa made things close in the middle stages of the set. A 3-1 run from the Terps at the end helped Maryland clinch a 25-23 set win.

Like in the second set, the Terps took an early lead in the third. Only this time, the Hawkeyes could not keep up with Maryland’s leads, resulting in a 25-14 set win for the Terps.

In their eleven point win, the Terps held Iowa to a striking .000 hitting percentage.

In a back-and-forth fourth set, Maryland came out on top, beating Iowa by two, 27-25, to win the match, 3-1.

In the match, Maryland outscored Iowa in kills (54), assists (44), blocks (12) and aces (six), and recorded a .238 hitting percentage.

Usual starters Rainelle Jones and Laila Ricks both missed the match due to injuries, and multiple Terps stepped up in their absences. Sophomore Ellie Watson recorded a team-high four blocks, sophomore Milan Gomillion continued her 14-match double-digit digs, and it was the 16th double-digit kill match for freshman Laila Ivey.

Not only was the win the first at home in conference play for Maryland, it was the first since September.

Redshirt junior Anastasia Russ will look to continue her successful offensive season against Minnesota. Russ ranks third in the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.364). 

Russ has also been a key contributor defensively, as she leads the Big Ten with 142 blocks. Jones is second with 140. Both Russ and Jones rank in the top-ten among all Division One players in average blocks per set.

As a team, Maryland ranks first among all Division One teams in average blocks per set (3.34). Minnesota’s 2.79 blocks per set average ranks seventh.

Minnesota enters off a 3-2 win against Illinois.

Each of the first two sets were won handily — Minnesota took the first by ten, and Illinois took the second by nine.

Minnesota took a 13-11 lead in the third set and kept its lead till the end, winning 25-19.

Illinois kept the match alive with a slim 25-23 set win in the fourth, but the Golden Gophers were too much to handle in the fifth, winning the set 15-13 to clinch the match victory.

Redshirt sophomore Taylor Landfair led Minnesota with 19 kills, her 22nd double-digit kill performance this season. Landfair currently leads the Big Ten in both points per set (5.08) and kills per set (4.54). Landfair was just named the Big Ten Player of the Week. 

Graduate student CC McGraw also performed well, as she recorded the 98th double-digit dig match of her career. Junior Melani Shaffmaster led Minnesota with 43 assists and 18 digs in the win.

Minnesota leads the Big Ten in hitting percentages (.262), slightly above Wisconsin. The Golden Gophers have one of the top offenses in the Big Ten, as they rank third in the conference with 17.38 average points per set.

The match will start at 7:30 p.m. and will take place at the Maturi Pavillion in Minneapolis.