Maryland (14-8, 4-6 B1G)
at
No. 1 Nebraska (19-0, 10-0 B1G)
October 27, 2023
Bob Devaney Sports Center
8:00 p.m. ET
B1G+
Watch Live Stats
Maryland (14-8, 4-6 B1G)
at
Iowa (8-14, 0-10 B1G)
October 28, 2023
Xtream Arena
9:00 p.m. ET
Big Ten Network
Watch Live Stats
COLLEGE PARK, MD — The University of Maryland volleyball team (14-8, 4-6 B1G) will hit the road for the first of two consecutive weeks away from College Park, as the Terps travel to No. 1 Nebraska (19-0, 10-0 B1G) Friday night and Iowa (8-14, 0-10 B1G) for a Saturday-night contest.
First serve from Lincoln is slated for 8 p.m. ET on Friday, while Saturday's outing against Iowa will begin at 9 p.m. ET. Maryland's matchup against Nebraska will be streamed on B1G+, while the Terps' showdown against Iowa will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
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Last Time Out
- Maryland split its two-game set in the XFINITY Center Pavilion last weekend, falling in five sets to Illinois Friday then winning in four sets against Iowa on Saturday.
- The Terps and Fighting Illini traded set victories, with Illinois winning the first, third and fifth sets and Maryland claiming the second and fourth frames. Senior outside hitter Sam Csire and senior setter Sydney Dowler both recorded double-doubles in the close loss.
- The weekend ended on a positive note for the Terrapins, as the team led the entirety of each of the first two sets while hitting .244 and tying a season-high 11 service aces in a four-set victory. Senior pin hitter Samantha Schnitta led the way on offense with 13 kills on a .667 hitting percentage.
Samantha Schnitta led Maryland in kills for both matches this weekend, totaling 14 against Illinois and 13 in a win over Iowa.
Dowler Reaches 3K
- Senior setter Sydney Dowler made history in both of last weekend's matches, becoming the sixth player in Maryland volleyball history to eclipse 3,000 career assists and moving into the top five on the program's all-time assist leaderboard.
- Entering Friday's contest against Illinois, Dowler sat just 26 assists away from reaching the 3,000-assist milestone. In the third set, she picked up the history-making assist on a feed to Samantha Schnitta.
- The Oconomowoc, WI native entered the following night's showdown against Iowa 20 assists away from surpassing Remy McBain (2009-12) for the fifth-most helpers in program history. She handily exceeded the mark, handing out 34 assists in the victory.Â
Sydney Dowler accomplished two career milestones this weekend, dishing out her 3,000th career assist and surging into the top five on Maryland's career assist leaderboard.
Gunter Gunning For 1,500
- Senior libero Lilly Gunter is looking to join elite company this weekend as she closes in on her 1,500th career dig.
- The Oviedo, FL native has picked up 304 digs this season to put her career total at 1,494 heading into the sixth weekend of Big Ten play.
- Gunter serves as one of the most experienced liberos in the country, as she currently has the second-most career digs of any player in the Big Ten and the 44th most career digs in the country.
- Gunter has reached this point with Maryland through a strong first half of conference play, recording 4.08 digs per set while recording at least 15 digs in six contests. In three of those outings, Gunter has collected 20 or more digs.
Lilly Gunter totaled a season-high 26 digs Friday at Illinois, as she now sits just six digs away from reaching 1,500 for her career.
Aces Wild
- Maryland's success from the service line played a key role in the Terps winning their weekend finale against Iowa, as Maryland tied a season-best 11 service aces in four sets.
- Four of Maryland's service aces came in the first seven points of the match, as freshman defensive specialist Jonna Spohn opened the contest with a service ace and senior libero Lilly Gunter dropped in three service aces in four points as part of a 6-1 Maryland run.
- In total, Maryland recorded five service aces in the opening frame, three in the second, one in the third and a pair in the clinching fourth set. Gunter led the squad with four service aces while Spohn tied a career-best with three. Junior setter Erin Engel notched a pair of aces while Sam Csire and Sydney Dowler each added one.
Erin Engel contributed two of Maryland's 11 service aces on Saturday against Iowa, tying a season high.
Double-Double Trouble
- Sam Csire and Sydney Dowler became Maryland's first duo this season to record two double-doubles in the same match Friday night against Illinois.
- Dowler accomplished the feat with 40 assists and 11 digs, while Csire reached double-double status through 12 kills and a career-best 17 digs on her ledger.
- It is the first time a pair of Terps have notched double-doubles in the same outing since Dowler and Rainelle Jones did it in the final contest of the 2022 season against Indiana, where Dowler totaled 40 assists and 15 digs alongside Jones' 10 kills and 10 blocks.
- The pair have recorded all eight of Maryland's double-doubles this season, as Dowler leads the team with five and Csire follows close behind with three.
Sam Csire notched her third double-double of 2023, finishing 12 kills while tallying a career-best 17 digs.
A-Russ Does It All
- Redshirt senior middle blocker Anastasia Russ has shone as one the most efficient hitters in the country and one of the most potent blockers in the conference past the halfway point of the season.
- The redshirt senior leads Maryland and ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 33rd in the country with a hitting percentage of .387.
- In addition to her hitting prowess, Russ ranks ninth in the conference with 1.14 blocks per set.
- Last weekend, Russ was busy on the offensive end, recording nine kills in both of the weekend's outings.
- In her second season with Maryland, the Pittsburgh, PA product currently owns a .349 hitting percentage with the team, the highest in program history.
Anastasia Russ ranks 33rd in the country in hitting percentage (.387) and ninth in the Big Ten in blocks per set (1.18).
New Kid On The Rohr-Block
- Eva Rohrbach has starred as one of the top freshmen in the country this season, as her offensive and defensive numbers stack up with the best among first-year players.
- The middle blocker has been one of the most efficient hitters in the nation, as her .341 hitting clip ranks fourth among all freshmen. Additionally, she has recorded double-digit kills in four matches this season.
- On the defensive side, Rohrbach leads the Terps and ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 1.18 blocks per set, the seventh-highest freshman rate in the country. The San Diego, CA star has recorded five or more blocks in nine matches this season.
Eva Rohrbach ranks among the top 10Â freshmen in the country in hitting percentage (fourth) and blocks per set (seventh), as the first-year Terp has started every match so far this season.
A Balanced Bunch
- Maryland's offensive efficiency has not been powered by one dominant force, but rather the contributions of a balanced offensive unit.
- Six different Terps have multiple matches with double-digit kills, led by senior outside hitter Sam Csire, who has 10 such matches on the campaign.
- Any offensive player on the Maryland roster can step up and lead the offense, as shown by the seven different players who have led the team in kills in a match this year.
- The Terps have had at least two players reach double-digit kills in 11 matches and at least three double-digit killers in five.
- Additionally, for the first time in Adam Hughes' stint as head coach, Maryland had a match with four different Terps with double-digit kills against Utah Valley on Sept. 2 and a match with five different players who reached 10 kills against Coastal Carolina on Sept. 8.Â
With the facilitation of
Sydney Dowler (right), the Maryland offense has been humming with
Eva Rohrbach (left) and
Laila Ricks (center) among the six Terps who have recorded a double-digit kill outing in 2023.
Live Ammo
- Former NCAA Men's Volleyball National Champion and NCAA Most Outstanding Player Ryan Ammerman joined the Maryland volleyball coaching staff in May 2023.
- Ammerman joins the Terps' coaching staff after spending the 2022-23 season as an assistant coach for his alma mater, UC Irvine, coaching the men's team to the Big West Tournament title game.
- As a setter for the Anteaters from 2004-09, Ammerman led UCI to its first two NCAA National Championships in 2007 and 2009. In his final season, Ammerman was named AVCA First Team All-American honors while winning the NCAA Most Outstanding Player award.
- Ammerman and Maryland head coach Adam Hughes had overlap during their times at UC Irvine, as Ammerman won his second national title for the Anteaters while Hughes served as a volunteer assistant with the women's team between 2008-09.
Ryan Ammerman is in the midst of his first season as an assistant coach at Maryland following a stellar playing career in the collegiate, European and international circuits and seven years of coaching at the club and college levels.
Scouting The Cornhuskers
- Nebraska enters the weekend as the No. 1 team in the country after usurping the previous No. 1 squad Wisconsin in a thrilling five-set victory Saturday night in Lincoln.
- The Cornhuskers are one of two remaining undefeated teams in the country, as the team is off to its best start since joining the Big Ten in 2011.
- In John Cook's 24th season with Nebraska, the squad is led by a trio of top freshmen, as setter Bergen Reilly leads the Big Ten with 10.45 assists per set feeding fellow newcomers Andi Jackson, who ranks third in the conference with a .393 hitting clip, and Harper Murray, whose 3.36 kills per set are good for 10th in the Big Ten.
- Florida transfer Merritt Beason leads the offense and ranks eighth in the Big Ten in kills per set on the right side, averaging 3.64 kills on a .283 hitting percentage.
- With a stingy block that ranks top 50 in the nation in blocks per set and two-time AVCA All-American libero Lexi Rodriguez in the backcourt, Nebraska allows the second-lowest opponent hitting percentage in the country, with teams hitting just .130 against the Huskers.
Scouting The Hawkeyes
- Maryland will face the Hawkeyes for the second time in as many weekends after downing Iowa in four sets last Saturday.
- In Jim Barnes' second season in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes have amassed an 8-14 overall record and have yet to pick up their first Big Ten win of 2023.
- The Hawkeyes excel as a digging team with a Big Ten-leading 15.03 digs per set, spearheaded by redshirt sophomore libero Sydney Dennis, who ranks sixth in the conference with 4.05 digs per frame.
- Additionally, the team ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 1.62 service aces per set as junior outside hitter Michelle Urquhart ranks second in the conference and 31st in the country with 0.48 aces per set.
2022 In Review
- Maryland finished the 2022 season with a 16-16 record, along with a 7-13 mark against the Big Ten.
- For the first time in head coach Adam Hughes' tenure, the Terps won seven games in the Big Ten in back-to-back seasons.
- One of the key turning points came when Maryland secured sweeps in three consecutive Big Ten road matches for the first time since joining the conference.
- Maryland's sweep streak was capped off with a dominant win at No. 9 Purdue on Oct. 16, marking the Terps first-ever top-10 road victory.
- The Terps scored their second upset win of 2022 at the XFINITY Center Pavilion on Nov. 18, with a 3-1 victory over No. 5 Ohio State, ending the Buckeyes' 14-match win streak.
