Maryland volleyball defeated Ohio State in straight sets last season. It looked to pull off a similarly dominant win on Friday.
The Terps, in a much closer match than in 2023, defeated the Buckeyes, 3-1, at the Covelli Center. The win marked their third consecutive conference victory and first on the road.
Coach Adam Hughes talked about the importance of the serve-and-pass game before the match. The Terps shined in that facet.
The Buckeyes’ offense struggled to hit shots inside the court consistently, an issue that has plagued them the entire season. They hit just .169 and had 10 more errors than Maryland.
Samantha Schnitta carried the Terps (13-13, 4-11 Big Ten) with 18 kills and seven aces. She put massive pressure on the Buckeyes’ defense, hitting shots all over the court. It was especially crucial as freshman Katie Scherer — coming off a career-best effort — struggled with nine kills on a .077 hitting percentage.
“One thing that she does for us is give us stability, so that people can just go about doing their jobs, not feeling they have to do too much,” Hughes said.
Ohio State (11-14, 4-11 Big Ten) outside hitter Emily Londot crushed a few kills early to trim an early deficit. She entered second in the Big Ten with 411 kills, but struggled with just 10 in Ohio State’s last match. Hughes recognized the challenges of preparing for a physical hitter like Londot, who he said has skills that are hard to replicate. The graduate student bounced back with 15 kills
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Samantha Schnitta’s huge serving helped counter Londot’s offensive dominance.
The Big Ten leader in aces crushed three in the opening set, helping the Terps hold a slim edge. Despite only notching two more aces than the Buckeyes, their serving consistently disrupted Ohio State’s offensive rhythm.
An Emmi Sellman shot that went well beyond the baseline gave Maryland the opening set, 25-22. It was the third straight match the Terps secured the first set.
Midway through the second, defensive specialist Jonna Spohn dove and somehow found a way to extend a point that appeared to be well over.
“One of the things we noticed is when we played UCLA we were pretty scrappy,” Hughes said. “I thought we matched that today, other than a few strings or a few runs of points … I thought we did a good job overall.”
Outside hitter Sam Csire took advantage, crushing a shot deep down the right sideline beyond the reach of a Buckeye.
Maryland led the entire second set in an excellent showing. Schnitta ended the set in emphatic fashion with a spike that ricocheted off a defender and fell out-of-play. She consistently came through in the major points, including defensively with a season-high 15 digs.
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Ohio State eventually served well at the start of the third set, using a few early aces to build a small lead. Londot and Rylee Rader notched back-to-back kills to extend the lead to the Buckeyes’ largest of the match.
Ohio State remained in front as the set continued with an eight-zero run later on. Errors plagued the Terps, leading to a Buckeyes third set win, 25-18.
Both teams continued to serve better as the match progressed. Schnitta was at the forefront of that effort for Maryland — recording all but three of the team’s aces to break Maryland’s single-season ace record. Ohio State got a variety of contributions from behind the service line as three players had at least two aces.
The fourth set featured six lead changes in the tightest set of the match. Sellman crushed a shot just long of the baseline to end the set, 25-21.
”It just speaks volume to the team that they continue to push,” Hughes said. “They could have easily surrendered … they continue to battle, so I’m incredible proud of the fight.”
