RECAP: Maryland volleyball upsets No. 5 Ohio State 5-0

Facing adversity after a first set loss, Maryland volleyball looked to close out set four against No. 5 Ohio State, after winning two consecutive sets. 

After a late kill from junior Sam Csire, the Terps began to look for five more points to win the fourth set. Despite a kill from Ohio State, two clutch kills from freshman Laila Ivey helped put Maryland within three points of the match win.

As if they haven’t showed enough aggressiveness thus far, a 3-0 run from the Terps gave the Terps the 25-18 win to secure the upset and clinch the match.

I’m really proud on how the team was resilient,” coach Adam Hughes said. “They’ve been resilient all season … we could [have] folded off that first 25-15. I thought they did a great job re-emphasizing what they had to focus on execution wise.”

The Buckeyes took an early 5-1 lead in the first set after a block assist by junior Rylee Rader and senior Jenaisya Moore, as the Terps seemed to be off to a shaky start. 

Picking up the momentum, a service ace from sophomore Erin Engel sent the Terps on a 3-1 run to close in on Ohio State’s lead, 8-5. Ohio State eventually grew its lead to 10-5, which forced a Maryland timeout. 

After the timeout, a lethal kill from Ivey showed no mercy to the Buckeyes. Later, a 4-1 run from the Buckeyes extended their lead to five. Nearing the end of the set, the Terps began to rally and went on a 3-0 run to stay within four, 20-16.

Despite Maryland’s run, the Buckeyes closed the set strong, winning 25-16.

A kill from redshirt junior Anastasia Russ scored the first point of the second set. Later, the Terps went on a 4-0 run to take a three point lead, 7-4. Maryland extended its lead to 14-10 before a kill by Rader halted Maryland’s momentum.

On another 4-0 Maryland run, an electrifying kill from Csire sent the crowd into a frenzy, and put the Terps within six points of a second set win, 19-14. 

Extending their run to 8-0, the Terps extend their lead to 23-14, thanks to a powerful kill by Russ. Another kill from Csire put the Terps within one point of the win, and a kill by junior Laila Ricks to follow gave Maryland the second set win, 25-15. 

Maryland opened up the third set with a 2-0 lead. An ace from sophomore Milan Gomillion helped the Terps extend their lead to 5-1. Quickly after, the Buckeyes went on a 3-0 run to close in, 7-5. 

Later, a block by graduate student Rainelle Jones gave Maryland a five point lead, and the Buckeyes were forced to call a timeout, 16-11. After the timeout, the Terps continued to extend their lead, after a silent but swift kill from junior Sydney Dowler made it a 18-13 set.

Ohio State went on a 3-0 run to force a Maryland timeout, but a kill by Russ gave the Terps momentum for a moment, now up 20-17.

The Terps extended their lead once more after a block by Russ, 23-18. On a 4-0 run, a a beautiful kill from Ricks with the help of Dowler gave Maryland a 25-18 set win.

The Terps opened the fourth with a 3-1 lead, and extended their lead to 7-2. The Buckeyes quickly answered back with a 3-0 run of their own to close in on Maryland’s lead, 8-6.

Later, the Terps used a 5-0 scoring run to take a 15-9 lead, before a kill by Ohio State cut Maryland’s run short. Nearing the end of the set, an effortless kill from Ricks put the Terps up 18-12. 

Maeyland closed out the set strong to clinch the upset victory, 3-1.  

“We just got to look at our next game, it’s a new game, different team, got to have different strategies,” Csire said. “We just got to keep playing like we are. We know we can play at a really high level. We can beat these really good teams. We just need to keep that consistency up, and I think we are on a really good ride right now especially at home, so we have to just keep that advantage.”