#23 Michigan
3
1
Maryland
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Sophomore outside hitter Gia Milana led the match with 16 kills in her home state as the Maryland volleyball team (12-4, 1-3 B1G) took No. 23 Michigan (12-4, 2-2) to four sets (19-25, 25-19, 15-25, 21-25) Saturday evening.
“I think we showed glimpses of playing at an elite level tonight against a top-25 team,” head coach Steve Aird said. “We need to get back in the gym and work on being more consistent in a competitive environment.”
Junior libero Kelsey Wicinski had a match-high 25 digs and senior middle blocker Hailey Murray led the Terps with four blocks.
Freshmen Jada Gardner and Samantha Drechsel each posted nine kills, which was a career-high for Gardner.
Sophomore setter Samantha Snyder led the Terrapins with 23 assists while junior Abigail Bentz dished out 20.
Maryland posted 12 kills to Michigan's seven in the first set, but 12 attack errors from the Terps helped the home team take the game. The Wolverines went ahead 7-3, but a strong serving run from Samantha Snyder pulled the Terrapins within three, 13-10. Gardner had a pair of late kills, but Michigan reached set point, 24-16. Maryland notched three straight kills to extend the set, but a service error gave Michigan a 25-19 win.
The Terps had 16 kills and hit .293 in the second set. Michigan took an early lead, but kills from Drechsel and Milana helped Maryland tie, 8-8. The teams traded points before a Gardner kill and a Gardner-Drechsel block gave the Terrapins a 16-14 lead. The Wolverines came back to tie, but a great service run, including two aces, from Snyder put Maryland on a 6-0 run to reach set point. Milana knocked down the set-winning kill, 25-19.
Maryland fell behind early in the third, 8-3, and Michigan worked up to a 12-5 advantage. Milana tried to get the Maryland offense going, and Hailey Murray and Angel Gaskin combined for a block late in the set, but Michigan was able to close it, 25-15.
Milana had five kills and a solo block in the fourth as Maryland tried to extend the match. The teams tied eight times before a 4-0 Michigan run put the Wolverines ahead 16-12. Erika Pritchard had a service ace as Maryland pulled within three, 18-15. The Terps were able to use a 4-0 run to stat within two, 22-20. After Milana's 16th kill, Michigan used a pair of points to win the set, 25-21.
Maryland returns to College Park next weekend. The Terps will host Rutgers on Friday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network before taking on No. 3 Penn State on Saturday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. on the XFINITY Center main court.
-Maryland-
