Maryland volleyball coach Adam Hughes graduated from Penn State in 2006. Hughes was a practice player for the Nittany Lion volleyball team, an experience that he accredits his love for volleyball and the start of his coaching career to.

On Sunday, Hughes’ alma mater thrashed the Terps. Penn State gave Maryland its 11th straight loss and fifth straight sweep, dropping the team to 1-17 in conference play.

Similarly to their matchup against Minnesota, the Terps started the first set with a momentary sense of hope. They traded points with the Nittany Lions and kept the deficit to a minimum.

Maryland’s Haley Melby and Ajack Malual continued their season-long dominance, scoring the first three points for Maryland. Melby ended the set with five kills, while Malual and Eva Rohrbach each recorded three.

After challenging an out-of-bounds hit in the first set, Penn State only led 13-11.

But in a recurring theme for Maryland, it failed to prolong that initial success. When Hughes made his own challenge, declaring a four-touch play by the Nittany Lions, Penn State led 24-16. Despite consecutive kills from Melby, Malual and Rohrbach, Penn State took the set shortly after, 25-19.

[Maryland volleyball’s losing streak hits 10 after straight-set loss to No. 19 Minnesota]

Penn State’s Maggie Mendelson, coming off of a 12-kill performance against Michigan State, recorded three in the first set. The Nittany Lions’ most lethal weapon, junior Kennedy Martin, added four first-set kills despite not starting.

With the combination of Mendelson and Martin, Penn State ended the first set hitting .343. Maryland posted a .158 hitting percentage despite five players recording kills.

After a relatively evenly-matched showing in the first set, the Nittany Lions quickly asserted their dominance. They took eight of the first nine points of the second set.

Even with continuous offensive efforts from Melby and Malual, the Nittany Lions’ Caroline Jurevicius accounted for seven kills while Martin added another four, boosting Penn State to a 25-15 second set victory.

Maryland, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten in blocks per set, had zero at the end of the second set. Penn State had seven. The Nittany Lions’ defensive dominance culminated in the Terps hitting .207 in the second set while Penn State hit .577.

[Maryland volleyball drops ninth straight, swept by No. 18 Indiana]

Martin started the third set strong, notching four kills as Penn State went up 6-4. After the Nittany Lions’ fifth service ace, which put them up 11-6, Hughes called a timeout.

Only three points later, Hughes called for a second third-set timeout after two Penn State kills and one Maryland error.

The Nittany Lions dominated the rest of the third set. Maryland’s first block of the game came late in the third set with Penn State leading, 20-12.

While Melby led the Terps with nine kills, Penn State had three players with kill counts in the double-digits. Martin ended with 15, while Mendelson and Jurevicius each finished with 11.

After hitting .200 in the third set, Maryland ended with a hitting percentage of .186, unable to contend with Penn State’s .449 rate.

Following Maryland’s straight-set loss to Minnesota, Hughes was asked what his team was playing for to close the season.

“We’re playing for pride and our culture,” Hughes said.

After another bitter loss, the Terps only have two games left to do so.