Maryland volleyball was up 24-12 in the first set, looking to take the life out of a winless UMBC team. Outside hitter Sam Csire delivered the key blow.
Csire spiked one down the center that UMBC could barely get a hand on. It sailed way out-of-play, giving the Terps the first set on Sunday. They never looked back, defeating the Retrievers in straight sets for their third consecutive sweep.
After an error on the opening point by the Retrievers, Csire empathically blocked a spike attempt. Zoe Huang followed that up with an ace to set the tone early at XFINITY Center.
Huang made her second consecutive start for the Terps (6-2) after a strong performance Friday. The senior had another big impact with a game-high 24 assists.
Huang set one up high for outside hitter Sydney Bryant to crush down the right sideline with the Terps up 8-4 in the first set. UMBC (0-8) failed to catch up with the ball as it ricocheted well outside the court. Bryant finished her day with 10 kills.
“This year, she’s in a bigger role for us playing full time. I just think she’s learning what that feels like, what it’s going to mean,” coach Adam Hughes said. “And I think she’s gaining confidence.”
[Maryland volleyball sweeps Lehigh for fourth straight win]
Retrievers’ kill leader Mia Bilusic committed an error that improved the Terps’ lead to 18-8. UMBC swiftly called timeout, but things were getting out-of-hand quickly.
Maryland kept its tenacity, winning the first set 25-12 on an electric spike by Csire.
Csire opened the second set with another lethal spike – this one a rocket across the court. Maryland looked to be full in command in front of its home crowd.
But a spike by freshman Hannah Dobbs cut the Maryland lead to 7-6. The Retrievers bench shouted in ecstasy.
With the Terps later up 9-7, it was Csire who came up huge again. The outside hitter demolished one across the court which went completely untouched. But the Retrievers answered back again.
A service ace by Aysia Miller – just her second of the season – cut the Maryland lead to 13-11. A few points later, an ace by Samantha Schnitta put Maryland back up by three and caused a UMBC timeout.
UMBC called timeout after yet another Csire kill put the Terps up 20-15. It was desperately looking to avoid the dreaded 2-0 set deficit.
[Strong second half pushes Maryland football past Virginia, 27-13]
But Schnitta had other ideas. The graduate student destroyed a spike straight out of the timeout.
“Schnitta has really been a good anchor for us,” Hughes said. “I think she’s just in a really good mind space right now, just being competitive, letting the game play.”
A lightning-quick spike by Bilusic down the right sideline went untouched – cutting the Maryland lead to 23-21 and prompting a timeout.
UMBC later knotted the score at 24. Bryant then crushed one across the court – off an assist by Schnitta – to give Maryland a one-point edge. Dobbs then rocketed one well out-of-play, giving the Terps the second set, 26-24.
A kill by sophomore Helen Frankovich cut the Maryland lead to 12-10 in a tight third set. The Retrievers, despite the 2-0 set deficit, were hanging with a Maryland team searching for its fifth consecutive win.
But a Csire kill, followed by a Huang ace, quickly resulted in a UMBC timeout. An ace by Aysia followed by a Schnitta service error cut the Terps lead to just one.
Schnitta later clobbered one down the left sideline to give the Terps a commanding 20-16 lead. She followed that up with back-to-back aces. In large part thanks to its star graduate student, the end was in sight for Maryland.
“The team’s supporting her and there’s no reaction when she misses a serve because they know it’s a big benefit if she can get on the run she does,” Hughes said. “Going into this she was top three or four in the conference in aces, and it’s made a huge difference for us.”
With the crowd on its feet and the Terps up 24-16, Eva Rohrbach crushed one right at a Retriever, sealing the victory for the Terps. Maryland recorded a hitting percentage of .476 compared to .158 for UMBC.
