Maryland volleyball held a convincing lead over Delaware State in the second set. Freshman Duru Gökçen delivered the game-sealing blow in just her second match of the season.
The middle blocker hammered one short down the center of the court. Multiple diving Hornets fell with no success of hitting the ball, giving the Terps the set.
Maryland went on to defeat Delaware State, 3-1, at XFINITY Center on Wednesday night, its sixth straight win.
Senior Ellie Watson drilled an ace on the third point of the match to give the Terps (7-2) a 2-1 edge. The middle blocker got the start in place of Maryland’s leading blocker, sophomore Eva Rohrbach.
Later in the first set, Maryland setter Zoe Huang set one high for Sydney Bryant to spike, but it was sent right back by senior Martyna Kmuk and sophomore Hannah Sanders. That inspired an emphatic scream by the Hornets bench as the Maryland lead was trimmed to 10-7.
But shortly after, Samantha Schnitta struck.
[Maryland volleyball relies on Samantha Schnitta’s veteran presence]
The pin hitter clobbered back-to-back aces to extend the Terps’ lead to 14-7. Schnitta entered Wednesday 10th in the Big Ten in kills and tied for third in aces.
“Schnitta is our rock, and there’s a lot of pressure for her, because she knows she has to perform for us to be good,” coach Adam Hughes said. “It’s not just the offense, she’s blocking pretty well and she’s serving really well.”
Then the graduate student demolished a spike across the court, sending the crowd and Maryland bench into a frenzy. The Terps rallied off five points in a row to take a double-digit lead, culminating in a Hornets (2-8) timeout.
A spike by outside hitter Aaliyah Mitchell that the Terps could only barely touch halted their momentum.
But they rapidly responded, taking the first set 25-15 as Kmuk spiked one well-wide down the right sideline. Maryland had a hitting percentage of .483 compared to just .048 for Delaware State in the opening set.
The Terps raced out to a 4-1 lead in the second set off a kill by Gökçen, just the third of her young career. She finished with four kills in just her second-ever match played for Maryland.
Schnitta’s second time hitting back-to-back aces gave the Terps a 13-4 lead. Freshman Katherine Scherer recorded her first kill of the season to extend the lead to 15-6, prompting a Delaware State timeout.
[Maryland field hockey’s side attacks misdirected Lock Haven’s goalie]
That timeout didn’t stop Maryland from dominating the second set. A slam by Gökçen gave the Terps the second set, 25-11. Maryland had 27 kills to Delaware State’s 14 after two sets.
“Duru can be very offensive, I think she’s trying to figure out the system a little bit,” Hughes said. “But she’s finding out how the centers are setting, and she’s made huge strides.”
But the Hornets responded in the third set, taking a 4-0 lead on an ace by the team’s leading killer, Gerren Tomlin.
With a lineup featuring mostly bench players, it was starters Bryant and Schnitta who helped the Terps get back into it. The two each recorded a kill to trim the Hornet lead to 7-6.
But a kill by Gerren sparked a min-run for Delaware State, leading to a three-point lead. Schnitta responded by clocking one right at a Hornet in response – they could only uncontrollably hit it well out-of-play.
But back-to-back kills by Kmuk cut the Delaware State deficit to 19-18. Then a Schnitta error followed by a Gerren kill suddenly had the Hornets out in front by one.
Schnitta drilled a huge kill, then followed that with her game-high fifth ace of the match. Gerren delivered for Delaware State with a kill of her own, evening the score at 21.
A kill by Ana Cambraia — just her third of the match — gave the Hornets a one-point lead. Maryland called timeout as it prepared to face its first set point of the match.
An error by Scherer doomed Maryland’s hopes for its fourth consecutive straight set victory, giving Delaware State the third set 25-23.
“Katie is someone that I think just needs to believe in herself more than she does right now, but that’s probably true of many freshmen,” Hughes said.
The Terps responded in a big way, taking an 8-1 lead on a kill by middle blocker Anastasia Russ. A joint block by Schnitta and Russ extended the lead to 9-1, causing a Delaware State timeout as things became lopsided.
The Terps kept that momentum throughout the fourth set, winning it 25-12 on a kill by Sam Csire. Maryland continued its strong serving, out-acing the Hornets by six.
