Terps Host No. 16 Minnesota, Indiana In Weekend Set

No. 16 Minnesota (6-6, 2-2 B1G)

vs.

Maryland (12-4, 2-2 B1G)

October 6, 2023

XFINITY Center Pavilion

8:00 p.m.

Big Ten Network

Watch Live Stats Buy Tickets

Indiana (12-5, 2-2 B1G)

vs.

Maryland (12-4, 2-2 B1G)

October 7, 2023

XFINITY Center Pavilion

7:00 p.m.

B1G+

Watch Live Stats Buy Tickets

COLLEGE PARK, MD — The University of Maryland volleyball team (12-4, 2-2 B1G) makes its return to College Park this weekend to host No. 16 Minnesota (6-6, 2-2 B1G) Friday and square off against Indiana (12-5, 2-2 B1G). The Terps are off to their best Big Ten start since 2018, when head coach Adam Hughes was in the midst of his first season.

Friday's promotion will be a Block Party, where members of The Pride, the official student section of Maryland Athletics, are invited to Maryland Volleyball's Block Party. The first 100 students will receive a Block Party "Solo Cup." Registered members of The Pride may also pick up their complimentary hat. Additionally, members of the Alumni Association may purchase a discounted ticket to the match.

Saturday will be Mental Health Awareness Night, and fans can stop by the marketing table to write down words of encouragement and grab a green ribbon to wear during the match for Maryland Volleyball's #TerpsTalk Mental Health Awareness match.

Both matches will take place inside the XFINITY Center Pavilion. Friday night's match against the Golden Gophers will be broadcast on Big Ten Network, while Saturday evening's contest against the Hoosiers will stream on B1G+.

Schnitta The Hitta

In her first year with Maryland, senior pin hitter Samantha Schnitta has put together a career year as one of the foremost attackers in head coach Adam Hughes' lineup.
Schnitta played a valuable role in the Terps' four-set win over Rutgers, leading Maryland with 16 kills while adding six digs, four blocks and two service aces.
The Overland Park, KS product has reached the 16 kill milestone three times this season, as she reached that mark in just over two sets against No. 19 Purdue last week.
As the midway point of the season nears, Schnitta is on pace for career highs in kills per set (2.74), hitting percentage (.261) and points per set (3.40).

Samantha Schnitta is on pace for career highs in kills per set (2.74), hitting percentage (.261) and points per set (3.40) in her first season with Maryland.

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 as the halfway point of the schedule nears.
Russ' blocking prowess was on display two weekends ago against Michigan, as she racked up a season-high nine total blocks. She currently ranks sixth in the Big Ten and 74th in the country with 1.20 blocks per set.
On offense, Russ possesses the second-best hitting percentage in the Big Ten and 15th-best in the NCAA with a .428 clip, recording 97 kills against just 17 errors on 187 attacks.
In a season and a half at Maryland, the Pittsburgh, PA product currently owns a .355 career hitting percentage, the highest in program history.

One of the most efficient hitters in program history, Anastasia Russ (88) has the second-best hitting percentage in the Big Ten and a top-15 clip in the country.

Dishing With Dowler

With her outstanding play through the first month of the season, it was only a matter of time before senior setter Sydney Dowler put forth her first double-double effort of the 2023 campaign.
Last Wednesday at Rutgers, Dowler dished out 40 assists (10 assists/set) and picked up 11 digs.
In her senior season, the Oconomowoc, WI native sits at fourth in the Big Ten with 9.72 assists per set and second in the conference with 525 total assists this season.
On the block, Dowler is one of the top blocking setters in the Big Ten, leading the conference with 47 total blocks (0.87 blocks per set).
The Sept. 5 Big Ten Setter of the Week is also on pace to become the sixth Terp in program history to record 3,000 career assists, as her total through three-plus years in College Park sits at 2,854 entering the weekend.

Sydney Dowler had a strong first half of 2023, dishing out 9.72 assists per set (fourth in the Big Ten) and recording 47 total blocks (most among Big Ten setters).

Offense In Full Swing

Maryland has been one of the most efficient offenses in the country to start the season, thanks to a hitting clip that is among the best in the nation.
The Terps are hitting .259 through their first 16 matches, good for the third-best clip in the Big Ten and the 38th-best rate in the NCAA.
In Maryland's contest against Le Moyne on Sept. 15, the Terps posted a .443 hitting percentage, the highest clip in Adam Hughes' tenure. Paired with the prior week's contest against Howard where the Terps hit .438, the Terps hit over .400 in back-to-back matches for the first time since September 2017.
Additionally, Maryland put forth one of its most efficient hitting performances in Big Ten play on Wednesday, hitting .333 across four sets at Rutgers for the team's best hitting percentage in a conference match since October 2021.

With a strong performance in the first half of 2023, the Terps rank third in the Big Ten with a .259 hitting percentage 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 in just 15 contests, led by senior outside hitter Sam Csire, who has seven 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 seven 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.

Laila Ricks (left) and Eva Rohrbach (right) are two of the seven Terps who have led Maryland in kills in at least one match this season.

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 Golden Gophers

First-year head coach Keegan Cook took the helm in 2023 after a successful eight-year stint at Washington and has led Minnesota through a grueling opening stretch.
In eight non-conference matches, the Golden Gophers faced six ranked opponents with a 2-4 record in such contests. Minnesota swept No. 15 Baylor and then knocked off No. 6 Oregon in a five-set thriller in its two ranked wins. The top-25 squad also faced No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Florida and No. 14 Creighton.
Minnesota is 2-2 in conference matchups, taking a five-set win over Iowa and a sweep against Michigan while losing in three sets against No. 2 Nebraska and falling in four to No. 15 Penn State.
The Golden Gophers boast a loaded roster featuring 2022 Big Ten Player of the Year Taylor Landfair along with Ohio State transfer and 2022 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Kylie Murr. Landfair sits at fourth in the conference in service aces per set, while Murr ranks fourth in digs per set.
Senior middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye has been a force to be reckoned with on defense, ranking seventh in the nation with 1.52 blocks per set.

Scouting The Hoosiers

Entering the weekend with a 12-5 overall record and a 2-2 conference mark, Indiana has had a promising start to the 2023 season.
Led by former Maryland head coach Steve Aird, the Hoosiers started off the season with a 10-3 performance in non-conference play which featured nine straight-set victories and the 10th win coming in five sets against 2022 NCAA Tournament qualifier Miami.
Since transitioning into Big Ten play, Indiana has split its four matches, winning its conference opener against Illinois in four sets and sweeping Iowa. The Hoosiers have also played the nation's top two teams, eating a sweep against top-ranked Wisconsin and taking the opening set against No. 2 Nebraska before falling in four.
Junior setter Camryn Haworth returns as a 2022 First Team All-Big Ten selection and ranks first in the country with 0.72 service aces per set as the Hoosiers as a team are slotted 11th in service aces per frame. Furthermore, Haworth leads the conference with 561 total assists.
Indiana's defense has been one of the stingiest in the conference, ranking third in the Big Ten with a .166 opponent hitting percentage thanks freshman libero Ramsey Gary's prominence on the back line with 4.21 digs per set, which ties for the conference lead.

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.

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