Maryland Challenge
Sept. 17-18, 2021
XFINITY Pavilion (College Park, MD)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -Â The Terrapins volleyball team returns home for the first time since the season-opening weekend with the Maryland Challenge against Akron, Stony Brook, and Columbia.
Maryland comes into the weekend undefeated at 9-0 with seven sweeps on the season. The Terps have won 14 consecutive sets dating back to Friday, September 3 against Temple.
All matches will be streamed live on
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Game Schedule
| DATE |
TIME (ET) |
MATCHUP |
| Sept. 17 |
4 PM |
Columbia vs Stony Brook |
| Sept. 17 |
7 PM |
Maryland vs Akron |
| Sept. 18 |
10:30 AM |
Columbia vs Akron |
| Sept. 18 |
1 PM |
Maryland vs Stony Brook |
| Sept. 18 |
4:30 PM |
Stony Brook vs Akron |
| Sept. 18 |
7 PM |
Maryland vs Columbia |
WEEKEND STORYLINES
Chasing History
- Several Terps have passed career milestones in recent weeks or are closing in new benchmarks.Â
- Among those who have passed marks in recent weeks include middle block Rainelle Jones who recorded her 400th career block this past weekend. She now sits with 532 career kills and 406 career blocks. Starting that same journey, Laila Ricks also passed 100 career kills and 100 career blocks this weekend.
- Setter Sydney Dowler also passed a large mark as she notched her 500th career assist during the Charm City Challenge.Â
- Elsewhere, others such as Sam Csire and Paula Neciporuka are chasing milestones. Csire sits at 213 career kills while Neciporuka has 94 career blocks.
Tournament Teams
- With invite weekends behind them, the Terps have also earned ample representation on the three All-Tournament teams. Maryland has earned nine total selections on the season with Sydney Dowler leading the way with three.Â
- Neciporuka has two herself while Gomillion, Jones, Csire and Ricks have all also made appearances.Â
- Csire was named MVP of the opening Maryland Invite while Dowler has earned the honor the past two weekends.
Blocking Blitz
- A year after the Terps were the best blocking team in the Big Ten, they have continued that trend. Coming off of top-five finishes as the conference's third and fifth best blockers respectively, Cara Lewis (1.49 blocks per set) and Rainelle Jones (1.44) are right back at it.
- Lewis has averaged 1.47 blocks per set this season while Jones currently leads the team with 1.85.Â
- Ricks and Thompson have emerged as prominent blockers as they average 1.33 and one block per set respectively.
- Jones, Lewis, and Ricks are all top-ten in the Big Ten in blocks per set. Maryland is the only school to have a trio among the ten best blockers.
- The Terps have a strong history against Akron with five victories in six total meetings against the Zips. Mayland left the last meeting on August 31, 2019, victorious in three sets.
- Maryland is undefeated in three meetings throughout history against Stony Brook. The last Terps-Seawolves meeting came on September 1, 2018, with Maryland winning in four sets.Â
- Having only met once in over 20 years ago, the Terps and Lions meet once again this weekend. Maryland won the program's lone meeting on September 8, 2000, in three sets.
FANS ARE BACK!
- Fans are welcomed back to XFINITY Pavilion this season for the first time since the 2019 season.
- All fans must adhere to Maryland's COVID-19 protocols and wear a mask in all indoor spaces. For a full review of protocols check HERE.
- TERPS -
