Following an attack error by Ohio State’s Emily Londot, the No. 5 Buckeyes looked to chip away at a bevy of match points stacked against them in the fourth set of their Big Ten bout against a resilient Maryland squad.
They didn’t even make a dent.
After corralling Erin Morrissey’s serve on the ensuing point, the Buckeyes were whistled for a bad set — an error that sent their 14-match winning streak up in smoke – as the Terps swarmed onto the court while an enthralled Xfinity Center Pavilion crowd roared in celebration.
Behind Sam Csire’s 21 kills and a dominant defensive display by Anastasia Russ, Maryland volleyball shook off a first-set loss to stun the fifth-ranked Buckeyes, 3-1, for one of the team’s biggest home wins in program history.
“I’m really proud of just how the team was resilient,” coach Adam Hughes said. “I thought they did a great job of just kind of re-emphasizing what they had to focus on execution-wise … all of a sudden, you get a little bit more confident because you know you’re achieving what you’re trying to accomplish.”
Coming off a wire-to-wire 25-18 win in the third frame, the Terps kept their foot on the gas behind a 7-1 run to open the fourth set that Laila Ricks capped with a punishing putaway that careened off an Ohio State defender and landed behind a bench of silent Buckeyes.
Ohio State regathered itself after Jenaisya Moore’s tenth kill of the evening sparked a Buckeye counterpunch that whittled the Terps’ lead to one as the Ohio State bench came to life.
But as the nervous energy among a standing-room only crowd swelled, Csire calmly belted her 19th kill of the night and re-energized the Maryland faithful as the Terps cranked out the next four points to balloon their lead to six.
“I know I’ve had issues in the past with big games and performing,” Csire said. “But that’s all in the past … You have everyone there behind your back, so I kind of just let it go and it worked out.”
[Maryland volleyball hopes to improve home record against No. 5 Ohio State]
The Buckeyes summoned another rally to pull within 20-17 following Gabby Gonzales’ 14th kill of the evening, but Friday’s match belonged to the Terps.
Back-to-back kills by Laila Ivey on the next two points sprouted Maryland’s lead to five, and a slew of Buckeye blunders down the stretch put a bow on the Terps’ second triumph this season over a top-10 team.
“It was really important that we got up at the beginning of the fourth [set],” Hughes said. “We never let up after that.”
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Maryland early, though.
The Buckeyes kept Maryland on a string in the first set, using a cluster of sizzling spikes and off-speed taps that left the Terps scrambling to slow a rampant attack.
Reigning national player of the week Emily Londot was quiet in the opening stages following her 23-kill outing against Nebraska, but Gonzales made plenty of noise from the outside with a bevy of putaways as the Buckeyes seized a sizable lead deep into the set.
The Terps used a 3-0 run to close within four, but the nation’s No. 5 team flexed its muscles with a cluster of cannoning finishes and rattled off the stanza’s final five points en route to a comfortable 25-16 victory.
But Maryland refused to back down.
Behind an array of Csire spikes and bundle of Russ rejections, the Terps quickly parried Ohio State’s commanding set one with a breezy victory of their own.
After Londot trimmed Maryland’s lead to 15-14, Russ’ second kill of the second set ignited an 8-0 run that further swelled the energy of a riled-up Pavilion crowd with each pivotal point.
In the middle of her team’s fervent flurry, Csire deposited a keenly-placed attack to stretch Maryland’s lead to five, which only grew when Russ rejected a pair of Buckeye attacks on the subsequent points.
“Some of the blocks that ‘Stasia had were pretty nasty,” Hughes said. “And those are energizing in a lot of ways.”
[Maryland volleyball’s late-season skid continues with 3-0 loss to No. 3 Wisconsin]
A service error extinguished the Terps’ fiery stretch, but Maryland’s 14 kills and eight blocks were plenty in a 25-15 win that evened the Big Ten battle at a set apiece.
The Terps received an immediate boost in a critical swing set with another of Russ’ team-high ten rejections on the opening point that helped them build a 6-2 lead.
Csire continued to heat up, dispersing six more spikes throughout a stanza that Maryland controlled from the jump as Ohio State’s momentum continued to wane.
“She played out of her mind,” Hughes said of Csire, who finished with a season-high 21 kills. “I’ve been in the press talking about how we just ask of her to keep stepping up … and she just helped us pick up a top-five win.”
Rainelle Jones brought a simmering crowd to its feet when she roofed an Ohio State attack that gave Maryland a five-point lead, which Sydney Dowler replenished four points later with a lightning-quick left-handed kill that grew Maryland’s lead to 18-13.
A sudden 4-0 jolt from the visitors halted Maryland’s momentum temporarily, but the Terps’ block party promptly resumed with two more Russ rejections as Maryland closed the frame on a 6-1 run that put them a set away from snapping the Buckeyes’ 14-match winning streak.
The Terps kept the punches rolling in the fourth frame, blitzing the Buckeyes with Milan Gomillion’s serving spree that featured the fifth of Maryland’s six aces on the night.
And for every jab a weary Ohio State squad threw, the Terps responded with a resounding counterpunch until Mac Podraza’s mishandled set served as the Buckeyes’ final self-inflicted blow.
“I probably don’t tell them enough that I’m proud of them,” Hughes said of his resilient squad. “But obviously after something like this, it’s pretty easy to say that.”
