Iowa sought to win an ultra-tight fifth match against Maryland volleyball. Sophomore Michelle Urquhart delivered the big shot it needed.
The outside hitter drilled a lightning-fast spike deep down the left sideline that Maryland could barely touch before it sailed well out, giving the Hawkeyes the set and the match.
The Hawkeyes won in five sets at Xfinity Center on Saturday to drop the Terps to 0-2 in conference play.
Sophomore Sydney Bryant clobbered one down the right sideline to tie the score early. Pin hitter Samantha Schnitta added her Big Ten-leading 38th ace of the season on the next point to give the Terps a 3-2 edge.
A kill by Hawkeyes outside hitter Malu Garcia, the only freshman in the Big Ten to lead her team in kills, tied things up at 10.
Bryant stepped up in her own right with seven kills in the opening set – a strong bounce back after she hit just .143 in a loss to Northwestern on Thursday. The outside hitter recorded a career-high 24 kills.
“She came back today and I think what she’s learning is that to solidify this role that she has as a consistent starter, she’s going to have ups and downs,” coach Adam Hughes said. “She’s got to learn how that’s going to feel and manage it.”
But a 3-0 run by Iowa (8-6, 2-0 Big Ten) put the Terps in a 17-14 deficit – prompting a timeout by Hughes. The Hawkeyes were tenacious in putting pressure on the Terps – eventually taking a 22-20 lead on a kill by Garcia.
But an ace by Schnitta tied things at 22 and forced an Iowa timeout. An emphatic team-block a few points later by sophomore Hannah Whittingstall and freshman Jenna Meitzler gave the Hawkeyes a 25-24 lead.
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Then the service ace by Urquhart sealed the first set for Iowa, 27-25.
The Terps responded by winning six consecutive points in the second set to give them a solid lead. Back-to-back aces by outside hitter Alyssa Worden cut the Maryland (9-4, 0-2 Big Ten) lead to two. Then Garcia drilled a spike right down the center at middle blocker Ellie Watson – tying things up at 12.
A jumping slam by sophomore Eva Rohrbach hit an Iowa player in the face and gave the Terps a five-point lead. But a kill by Iowa native Gabby Deery trimmed the lead to 23-21 – causing a Maryland timeout.
Sophomore Jonna Spohn sealed the set with her fifth ace of the season. Iowa’s offense hit a measly -0.033 in the second set as the Terps defense stiffened up.
Deery’s eighth kill tied the third set up at eight. Meitzler clobbered a kill on the next point, the Hawkeyes’ fifth point in a row, giving them a slight edge and prompting a Maryland timeout.
Iowa’s offense drastically improved in the third with a hitting percentage of .371. Maryland lagged behind, hitting just .188.
Back-to-back blocks by Iowa gave it two set points, causing a Maryland timeout. The Terps could only save one before Deery sealed things with a spike that Maryland could only just touch before it ricocheted beyond the baseline.
“Once we find ourselves late in games, we seem to lose a little bit of our execution,” Hughes said.
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Iowa kept its momentum early in the fourth set, taking a 5-1 lead on a kill by sophomore Anna Davis. But back-to-back kills by Csire and Schnitta cut the deficit to two as the Terps looked to change the momentum.
Bryant demolished a ball across the court for her 20th kill of the match to cut the Iowa lead to one. Then a block by Rohrbach and setter Sydney Dowler tied things at 14.
Deery drilled her career-high 17th kill of the match to give Iowa a two-point edge. Rohrbach answered with a kill a few points later to tie the set at 20 – the 31st tie of the match.
An ace by Schnitta put Maryland up 24-20. Three kills in a row by the Hawkeyes cut the Terps lead to one before Rohrbach crushed one down the right sideline to give the Terps the fourth set, 25-23.
Schnitta rocketed a serve that a diving Hawkeye could only barely hit, giving the Terps a quick 4-2 lead in the fifth set. Schnitta and Deery traded kills as the score eventually became all tied at 10.
Back-to-back kills by Urquhart gave Iowa a 13-12 lead. Then she drilled a spike, ending the fifth set, 15-13, and sealing the victory for Iowa.
“The conference is a gnarly monster, and no easy matches are coming down the road so we have to find some solutions pretty fast,” Hughes said. “The pressure is building, and they’re feeling that a little bit.”
