Maryland (15-9, 5-7 B1G)
at
Michigan State (14-9, 6-6 B1G)
November 3, 2023
Breslin Center
7:00 p.m. ET
B1G+
Watch Live Stats
Maryland (15-9, 5-7 B1G)
at
Michigan (4-17, 2-10 B1G)
November 5, 2023
Cliff Keen Arena
2:00 p.m. ET
B1G+
Watch Live Stats
COLLEGE PARK, MD — The University of Maryland volleyball team (15-9, 5-7 B1G) will embark on its second road trip as many weeks, as the Terps travel to Michigan State (14-9, 6-6 B1G) Friday night in East Lansing then head south for a clash against Michigan (4-17, 2-10 B1G) in a Sunday-afternoon showdown.
Friday night's match against the Spartans is slated for 7 p.m. ET on Friday, while Sunday's contest in Ann Arbor outing will begin at 2 p.m. ET. Both contests will be streamed on B1G+.
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Last Time Out
- The Terps closed out the month of October with a split on the road, falling to No. 1 Nebraska in straight sets on Friday before ending the month on a positive, sweeping Iowa in their second victory over the Hawkeyes in a week.
- In Maryland's eighth sweep of the season, the team hit .337 against the Hawkeyes — its best hitting clip against a conference opponent in two years.
- From the service line, Maryland produced 12 aces to control the pace of the match while limiting Iowa's offense to a .107 hitting percentage.
Maryland clinched its first Big Ten road sweep of the season, taking down Iowa in three sets on Big Ten Network.
Gunter Reaches 1,500 career digs
- Senior libero Lilly Gunter joined elite company last weekend against Nebraska, picking up her 1,500th dig.
- After entering her first season with the Terrapins with 1,190 career digs after three seasons at Mississippi State, the Oviedo, FL native now has 317 digs this season to lead Maryland in that category.
- 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 46th most career digs in the country.
- Gunter has recorded 3.84 digs per set in conference play while recording at least 15 digs in six contests. In three of those outings, Gunter has collected 20 or more digs.
Lilly Gunter became the 45th active player to reach 1,500 career digs Friday night against Nebraska.
Schnitta The Hitta
- Senior pin hitter Samantha Schnitta had a successful weekend in the Midwest, finding success against the stout Nebraska defense and taking over the offense the next night against Iowa.
- Despite dropping the contest, Schnitta found openings in the Husker defense in the first set, notching four kills and a .333 hitting percentage as Maryland hung in against the top-ranked team in the country in the first frame.
- On Saturday against Iowa, Schnitta caught fire by recording kills on her first six swings. She finished the contest with 10 kills and no errors on 13 attempts, good for a .769 hitting percentage.
- Her performance marked the first time a Terp hit over .700 with at least five kills in conference play and the first time a Maryland player hit that well since Eva Rohrbach hit .800 with eight kills on Sept. 10 against Howard.
Samantha Schnitta notched a .769 hitting percentage with 10 kills in a sweep over Iowa.
Serving Up A Dozen Fresh Aces
- For a second consecutive matchup against Iowa, Maryland found tremendous success from the service line, recording a season-best 12 service aces en route to a straight-set victory.
- In the first set alone, the Terps dropped in six service aces. Freshman defensive specialist Jonna Spohn opened the contest with an ace and senior setter Sydney Dowler closed out a 25-19 set victory with three consecutive aces.
- Dowler and junior setter Erin Engel each thrived in service, as both notched four service aces in the match, setting a season-best for Dowler and tying a season-high for Engel.
- Saturday's outing was the third of the season in which Maryland secured at least 10 service aces in addition to recording 11 against Utah Valley on Sept. 2 and 11 against Iowa two weekends ago.
Erin Engel tied a season-best four service aces as part of a team season-high 12 service ace performance against Iowa.
Undefeated on BTN
- With the Terps' victory over Iowa on Saturday on Big Ten Network, Maryland closes out its national TV schedule with an undefeated 3-0 record in matches on the network.
- Maryland opened up its Big Ten Network slate on Sept. 27 against Rutgers, where the Terps hit .333 with Sam Csire, Laila Ivey and Samantha Schnitta each recorded double-digit kills and Sydney Dowler produced a double-double in a four-set victory.
- In the Terps' lone home BTN outing, they upset No. 16 Minnesota in a five-set thriller for the program's first-ever win against the Golden Gophers. Csire produced a season-high 20 kills while the Terps defense was led by Anastasia Russ swatting a season-best nine blocks to hold Minnesota to a .124 hitting percentage.
Maryland's upset of No. 16 Minnesota on Oct. 6 came as one of Maryland's three wins on Big Ten Network alongside a four-set victory over Rutgers on Sept. 27 and a sweep at Iowa last Saturday.
Second-Set Dominance
- In Maryland's second-set victory against Iowa, the Terps ran away with the contest down the stretch with an impressive scoring run.
- The Terps never trailed in the frame, battling early to fend off the Hawkeyes by taking an early 8-6 lead.
- A 3-0 run opened up the scoring, then after Iowa earned a point, Maryland embarked on a 5-0 run featuring a pair of Erin Engel service aces.
- After a service error from the Terps, Maryland went right back on the offensive to close the frame on a 9-0 run, wrapping up a 25-8 set victory with a .632 hitting clip. In total, the Terps finished the second set on a 17-2 scoring stretch.
- The eight points allowed by Maryland tied for the fewest points scored against the team in a set this season, equaling the third-set power Maryland flexed against Utah Valley on Sept. 2.
Sydney Dowler dished out nine assists and recorded a pair of blocks as a part of a strong second set against Iowa.
Spohn Is On
- Freshman defensive specialist Jonna Spohn had an impressive weekend in Maryland's back row, leading the Terps in digs for both matches.
- The Lewis Center, OH product recorded nine digs in three sets for both matches to be the team leader in digs for the first time in her collegiate career.
- Spohn has been a regular starter for the Terps since non-conference play, making 19 starts in her 23 matches played. As a three-rotation player, Spohn ranks fourth on the Terps with 141 digs in her freshman season.
Jonna Spohn has been a vital part of the Terrapin back row this season and has averaged 10 digs per match the past two weekends.
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 seventh in the Big Ten and 57th in the country with a hitting percentage of .368.
- In addition to her hitting prowess, Russ ranks 10th in the conference with 1.16 blocks per set.
- In her second season with Maryland, the Pittsburgh, PA product currently owns a .343 hitting percentage with the team, the highest in program history.
Anastasia Russ leads the team with a .368 hitting clip, good for seventh in the Big Ten and 57th in the country.
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 .334 hitting clip ranks fifth 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 ninth in the Big Ten with 1.17 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 (fifth) 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.
Scouting The Spartans
- The second year of the Leah Johnson coaching tenure has been a success for Michigan State, as the Spartans enter November sporting a 14-9 overall record and a 6-6 mark against conference foes.
- Michigan State has battled hard through the first 12 matches of Big Ten play, taking a set from Nebraska in both showdowns this season. Additionally, the Spartans picked up their first win over a ranked opponent this season on Saturday, knocking off No. 13 Penn State in a five-set contest.
- Taylah Holdem leads the team on the outside with 289 kills, producing double-digit kills in 16 matches this year and ranking 10th in the conference with 3.32 kills per set.
- Libero Nalani Iosia has proven herself to be one of the best liberos in the conference, picking up double-digit digs in 21 of 23 matches this season.
Scouting The Wolverines
- Michigan enters the weekend with a 4-17 overall record and a 2-10 B1G standing, though the Wolverines are coming off their biggest win of 2023 so far.
- In front of a national audience on FOX, the Wolverines secured a win against Ohio State at home, battling back after dropping the first set to win in four sets against their rival.
- In the first year of Erin Virtue's head coaching stint, Michigan has a balanced roster with four players tallying at least 100 kills, with outside hitter Kendall Murray leading the pack with 208 putaways. Additionally, four other players have over 100 digs with libero Brooke Humphrey pacing the team.
- Maryland took down Michigan in the first encounter between the two teams on Sept. 24, winning in straight sets. In just three sets, Anastasia Russ dominated the contest with nine blocks in just three sets.
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.
