Maryland volleyball was inconsistent throughout the first set of each match of yesterday’s doubleheader against Florida International and Miami.
Errant serves and off-target attacks fueled the Terps’ first-frame struggles, which forced them into a 1-0 hole in each contest.
Saturday’s first set against Lamar, however, featured no such trouble.
Five kills from Laila Ivey and three aces from Lilly Gunter catalyzed a sizzling start for Maryland, which scored the first 11 points of the first set and immediately set the tone for a 3-0 romp over Lamar in Coral Gables.
The Terps finished the Canes Classic Tournament 2-1 after splitting Friday’s doubleheader with a win over the Panthers and a loss to the Hurricanes.
“Everyone was super supportive, especially through the ups and downs of the weekend,” Gunter said. “I think that we did a great job of bouncing back today and not letting last night’s loss determine how we’re going to do today.”
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Saturday’s match was Maryland’s cleanest throughout the weekend from behind the endline. The Terps misfired nine times from the service line after committing 15 and 14 in yesterday’s respective matches. Maryland’s nine aces on Saturday came after they posted seven against the Panthers and six against the Hurricanes.
“Yesterday the challenge was if we served the ball easy, Miami was scoring at will,” Hughes said. “We had to take some risk.”
Gunter led the Terps with four aces, Sam Csire added a pair and Sydney Dowler’s only one of the day set Maryland up with a match point opportunity.
“Today, I think we had a little bit of a better focus trying to just rely on our defense instead of trying to score points on the endline,” Gunter, who posted 14 digs, said.
Dowler distributed the ball to all parts of the court to the tune of 28 assists and added a handful of crucial points late in the third set to expunge the Cardinals’ attempt to fend off a sweep.
Ivey was flawless in her first start this season, finishing her only set with six kills on six attacks. Laila Ricks led Maryland with 12 kills in her first action this season after starting 27 matches for the Terps last year. The senior pin hitter earned the start in place of Samantha Schnitta, who didn’t check into Saturday’s match until the third set.
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Freshman Sydney Bryant logged seven kills in her collegiate debut and helped the Terps wrap up their dominant opening frame with her first two spikes in a Maryland uniform. Her third putaway sparked a 5-0 jolt that gave the Terps some separation in the second set after Lamar had kept it to within 14-11, and her sixth of the afternoon sealed Maryland’s 25-17 set two triumph.
The Cardinals crept to within 14-10 in the first set on a pair of blocks and a spike by Wiktoria Warpechowska, but kills from Csire and Ricks nurtured a five-point run that put the Terps in command for the rest of the frame.
Maryland’s fast start allowed coach Adam Hughes to empty his bench – all 16 players on the roster checked in. Freshman libero Alex McGillivray contributed four digs in her first action as a Terp, while Ally Williams and Zoe Huang each took the court in the third set.
“It might be a small dose, but we want to see who can step up,” Hughes said. “We’ve still got some roles we’re still trying to solidify.”
Middle blocker Ellie Watson had three kills in her season debut, including a key spike that broke a 15-15 tie in the third stanza and gave the Terps the lead for good until their sweep was secured.
