Maryland volleyball sought to save set point and stop a Wisconsin run. Outside hitter Sam Csire soared high and prepared to drill a shot.
But Csire clobbered a spike right into the outstretched arms of the Badgers’ CC Crawford for an easy block that went unreturned. That gave Wisconsin 15 of the final 17 points to end the second set.
No. 9 Wisconsin handed Maryland (10-6, 1-4 Big Ten) its first straight-set loss of the season — the Terps lost each set by a double-digit point margin on the road Friday night.
Senior Anna Smrek opened with back-to-back kills to excite the Badgers crowd. Crawford drilled a spike into the middle of the court that fell untouched, extending the lead to 8-4.
“They’ve got weapons across the board, they have a balanced offense,” coach Adam Hughes said. “It’s hard to get anyone set up in good places, they’re an incredibly physical team.”
After struggling early, leading killer Samantha Schnitta drilled a shot across the court to cut the Maryland deficit to five. Setter and Wisconsin native Sydney Dowler set up the kill. She finished with four digs and a team-high 23 assists in her homecoming.
But the Terps never looked comfortable.
[Maryland volleyball’s ‘red zone’ struggles have exacerbated in Big Ten play]
Outside hitter Sydney Bryant rocketed a ball across the court well out of play, extending the Badgers lead to nine. Maryland hit just .107 in the opening set and didn’t record a block, paving the way for Wisconsin to take the set 25-15 on a Carter Booth rejection.
Wisconsin entered Friday with a 12-1 record against Maryland, including 6-1 against coach Adam Hughes. The Terps’ only win came in five sets in 2021 — a match where then-sophomore Sam Csire led them with 17 kills. She had just five on Friday.
Maryland stayed competitive early in the second set, winning the longest point of the match on a Julia Orzol shot that sailed just beyond the baseline. The Terps’ run continued a few points later as Dowler rocketed a serve that a diving Badger couldn’t return in play — the first ace for the Big Ten leaders.
But back-to-back blocks and a Lola Schumacher ace stretched the Wisconsin lead to 13-9. Maryland called a timeout but lost another four points. That led to Hughes calling another timeout as the second set was slipping away.
[Maryland volleyball’s strong serving helped it thrive against Rutgers]
It was to no avail though, as Wisconsin went on to win the set, 25-11.The third set started disastrously for the Terps as Schnitta and middle blocker Anastasia Russ recorded back-to-back errors to put them in an early 8-2 hole. A Schnitta service error followed by an Orzol ace extended Maryland’s deficit to seven.
Maryland’s serving — its biggest strength — was nonexistent on Friday. It had just three service aces and seven errors, after it had six more aces than errors in Saturday’s dominant victory over Rutgers. Schnitta, the Big Ten aces leader, had none.
“It’s tougher to serve when you’re on the road, not as comfortable,” Hughes said. “Schnitta couldn’t find a good rhythm, and that’s somebody who had been causing a lot of damage for us.”
Russ finally recorded the Terps first block of the match, cutting the deficit to five. But Maryland could not keep its run going, eventually falling 25-15 in the third set on a Csire error.
Maryland’s top three killers — Schnitta, Csire and Bryant — each hit below .150. The normally electric trio had just one service ace and one block to compound their offensive woes.
“You want to play really good teams because it’s a great chance to see if you can improve,” Hughes said. “That’s what we had talked about, the goal is to keep seeing if we can execute… I was proud that they didn’t surrender and kept battling.”
