Purdue’s Raven Colvin stepped to the service line, looking to seal the Boilermakers victory. The middle blocker crushed a serve that barely glimpsed the net, falling away from Maryland volleyball’s defenders.
The No. 11 Boilermakers won in straight sets at Xfinity Center on Friday. It marked the Terps’ seventh consecutive loss — six of which were sweeps — and kept them winless against ranked opponents.
Maryland’s (10-12, 1-10 Big Ten) first four kills all came from different players. Multiple players were asked to step up offensively with sophomore Sydney Bryant sidelined for the first time this season. The Terps’ third leading killer was seen in crutches.
Both teams struggled serving in the opening set, combining for six service errors. The Terps found little advantage with their serving throughout — despite entering first in the Big Ten in aces. They recorded just three on Friday.
Freshman Katherine Scherer substituted in and immediately crushed two kills for Maryland, cutting the first-set deficit to just one. The pin hitter recorded a season-high seven kills in her sixth match, helping fill Bryant’s void.
“I thought the team rallied a little bit after she got a kill or two,” Hughes said. “I think you could see the energy go up. It was a good performance from her. Hopefully we can be steady around her.”
[Maryland volleyball’s back row struggled in winless West Coast weekend]
Middle blocker Eva Rohrbach also came through with 9 kills on a .471 hitting percentage. But the Boilermakers’ Eva Hudson, second in the conference in kills, put major pressure on the Terps’ defense.
Hudson hit shots all around the court, notching a game-high 15 kills. Fellow outside hitter Chloe Chicoine crushed a shot down the left sideline that ricocheted out-of-play off a Terp, giving Purdue the first set, 25-23.
Maryland had two more kills and digs, respectively, than the Boilermakers in the opening set. That changed in the second as Purdue tallied four more kills. It found ways to win long rallies, oftentimes through Hudson’s attacks. She notched a kill to extend a lead to five.
But Maryland responded out of a timeout.
Fifth-year Sam Csire crushed a kill across the court to end a seemingly endless point. A few points later, Samantha Schnitta followed with an ace to tie the score at 11, sending the crowd into an uproar.
[Maryland volleyball relinquishes early lead, falls to Washington, 3-1]
But the Terps struggled ending points in the second set, hitting just .098. Purdue’s back row found ways to extend rallies, causing hitters to frequently hit shots wide of the court. The Boilermakers recorded just two blocks but found other ways to effectively defend.
“They’ve always been a very good, defensive-oriented team so you have to be good in long, long rallies,” Hughes said. “That’s probably the biggest difference, a little higher error in those long runs.”
Myers stepped up offensively, sealing the 25-20 with her quick spike. She continued her momentum with a kill to start the third.
Csire dumped a shot into the middle of the court, falling in between multiple defenders to tie the score. Csire and Schnitta played even larger roles than usual with Bryant inactive, combining for 19 kills. But both were inefficient, hitting below .160.
Scherer and Hudson traded kills to tie the score at 13. Despite being down two sets, the Terps were tenacious in extending points and putting pressure on Purdue’s back row. Both offenses found success in the final set, hitting above .265.
The Boilermakers recorded back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 23-19. A few points later, Colvin sealed it with a serve that hit the net and fell to the floor untouched.
“We don’t think we’re a top 10 team,” Hughes said. “I think we take some confidence knowing we can hang with those kind of level of teams.”