Maryland volleyball stunned Minnesota in College Park last season for its only victory against a ranked team. It sought another signature victory over the Golden Gophers, this time on the road.
But things went very differently in a hostile environment on Saturday evening.
Maryland fell to No. 14 Minnesota in straight sets in Minneapolis. It came just one night after the Terps (10-7, 1-5 Big Ten) were swept for the first of the year against No. 9 Wisconsin.
Minnesota junior Mckenna Wucherer ended a long opening point with a dink into the middle of the court that multiple diving Terps couldn’t reach. A few points later, Phoebe Awoleye emphatically blocked Maryland outside hitter Sydney Bryant to fire up the crowd.
But the Terps eventually responded.
Pin hitter Samantha Schnitta and outside hitter Sam Csire recorded back-to-back kills to even the score at eight. The duo looked to rebound after struggling mightily in Friday’s loss to Wisconsin, hitting just .115 and .043, respectively.
Maryland’s victory over Minnesota last season was its first ever, snapping an 18-game losing streak. The Terps had five more kills than the Golden Gophers in that tight contest.
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After multiple Terps dove to keep the ball in-play, setter Melani Shaffmaster skied high and crushed a spike deep into the court to give Minnesota a two-point edge. Julia Hanson crushed a spike that Maryland returned out-of-play, sealing the first set, 25-21.
“We were serving pretty well in getting knockouts, so keeping them off the net but we did not have an answer for Julia Hanson,” coach Adam Hughes said. “She was really good out-of-system, and every time we felt like we had a scenario where we wanted to be defensive, she found a solution.”
The Golden Gophers had four more blocks than the Terps in the opening set, and that disparity increased even more in the next two sets. Minnesota had 19 blocks to Maryland’s two.
Back-to-back blocks contributed to an early 6-0 Minnesota run in the second set — it had four blocks in the first nine points of the set, sparking a Terps timeout.
But Maryland never closed the gap in the second set. The Terps lead the Big Ten in aces but struggled serving for the second straight night, recording two aces and seven service errors.
Shaffmaster extended a point with a remarkable pass as she nearly fell into chairs behind the baseline. The Golden Gophers ultimately took that point on a Maryland error, emblematic of the entire match.
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Wucherer sealed the set 25-15 with a lightning-quick spike, ending a point that Csire extended with a kick-pass. The Terps had a hitting percentage of just .093 through two sets.
Maryland jumped out to a two-point lead early in the third after back-to-back Syndey Dowler kills, including a well-angled shot down the left sideline that eluded multiple Minnesota defenders.
The Golden Gophers tied the set before kills from Csire and Schnitta gave the Terps a 10-8 lead. They found offensive success early in the third as they were able to hit around defenders.
“We were learning things on the fly, moving and just kind of changing where we were giving them looks, and it was frustrating them a little bit,” Hughes said.
But Minnesota picked up its play as well.
Hanson jumped and drilled a spike into the back right corner, giving Minnesota a 17-15 lead. Maryland called timeout a few points later after an Awoleye block extended the lead to five.
The Terps couldn’t make a late comeback, falling 25-18 in the third set to drop consecutive matches without winning a set.
“We’ve got to find ways to chisel and tool a lot more than we did tonight,” Hughes said. “If we do, I think we have windows to be pretty good.”
