Maryland (16-14, 6-12 B1G)
vs.
No. 14 Penn State (19-8, 13-5 B1G)
November 22, 2023
XFINITY Center Pavilion
7:00 p.m.
B1G+
Watch Live StatsBuy Tickets
Maryland (16-14, 6-12 B1G)
vs.
Rutgers (10-18, 2-16 B1G)
November 24, 2023
XFINITY Center Pavilion
6:00Â p.m.
B1G+
Watch Live StatsBuy Tickets
COLLEGE PARK, MD — The University of Maryland volleyball team (16-14, 6-12 B1G) closes out the 2023 campaign at home, facing off against No. 14 Penn State (19-8, 13-5 B1G) on Wednesday night and Rutgers (10-18, 2-16 B1G) in the season finale.
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For Wednesday against the Nittany Lions, fans are encouraged to wear red to Red Out Penn State. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, fans can stop by the marketing table to write down and display what they are thankful for this season.
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In the last match of the season against the Scarlet Knights, Maryland will celebrate four seniors —
Sam Csire,
Sydney Dowler,
Laila Ricks and
Erin Engel — in a pre-match Senior Day ceremony. The Terps will also be hosting a canned food drive, where fans can receive free admission to the match by bringing three or more canned food items. Additionally, the first 100 fans at the match will receive a tote bag as the holiday shopping season begins.
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First serve for Wednesday is slated for 7 p.m. while Friday's showdown will begin at 6 p.m. Both contests will be hosted inside the XFINITY Center Pavilion and will be streamed on B1G+.
Senior Send Off
- Maryland will celebrate Senior Day Friday night against Rutgers and honor four players — Sam Csire, Sydney Dowler, Laila Ricks and Erin Engel — in a pre-match ceremony.
- Csire collected her 1,000th career kill against FGCU on Sept. 16 and ranks as one of the most prolific attackers in Maryland volleyball history.
- Dowler ranks fifth on the all-time Maryland assists leaderboard with 3,255 career helpers and has played as a three-year starter.
- Ricks has proved to be a tremendous offensive and defensive player in her career, averaging 1.47 kills per set along with 1.12 blocks per set as a right-side hitter.
- Engel is a threat from the service line, tying for the team lead with 31 service aces this season.
- All four players have remaining eligibility to continue their collegiate volleyball careers after the season.
 Reaching The .500 Mark
- Maryland locked up its 16th win of the season against Ohio State on Nov. 12, giving the Terps a .500 record for the season. Adam Hughes' squad has now reached the .500 mark for a third consecutive campaign.
- This is the first time Maryland has compiled three straight .500 seasons since joining the Big Ten in 2014, and it marks the longest such streak for the program since 2002-05.
- The Terps got to this point with a 10-2 non-conference slate, which featured wins over 2022 Ivy League co-champion Princeton and 2023 ASUN champion Florida Gulf Coast.
- In Big Ten play, Maryland has compiled six wins so far, picking up victories over Michigan, Rutgers, Ohio State and No. 16 Minnesota. Additionally, the Terps swept the season series over Iowa.Â
The Terps celebrated their 16th win on Nov. 12 over Ohio State, locking up a .500 record in three consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002-05.
Schnitta The Hitta
- The weather is cooling down, but senior pin hitter Samantha Schnitta had a scorching hot weekend in road matches against Indiana and No. 16 Purdue.
- Schnitta produced her first double-double as a Terrapin in the weekend opener against Indiana, tying her season high with 16 kills to go along with a season-best 10 digs.
- Against No. 16 Purdue on Saturday, Schnitta obliterated her career-best kills mark with 19 putaways with a .275 hitting clip to go along with seven digs.
- The Overland Park, KS native is putting together her finest collegiate season yet, surpassing 200 kills in a season for the first time ever while her 41 total blocks mark the most she's recorded in a season.
- Conference play is where Schnitta has shone the brightest, as she's produced seven outings with 10-plus kills while leading the squad with 2.76 kills per set against Big Ten foes.
Samantha Schnitta produced a career-high 19 kills Saturday against No. 16 Purdue. In six sets against the Boilermakers this season, Schnitta racked up 5.83 kills per set.
Morry Madness
- Redshirt junior Erin Morrissey has come alive for the Maryland offense in November, playing a crucial part as a starter the past two weekends.
- The Tampa, FL product received a pair of starting nods against Indiana and No. 16 Purdue. The outside hitter recorded her second-career double-digit kill performance with 10 putaways against the Hoosiers and finished with six kills and eight digs against the Boilermakers.
- The weekend follows a tremendous contest against Ohio State, where she registered a career-best 12 kills to lead the team hitting .281 with the highest attack volume of her career.
- After injuries plagued her first two seasons in College Park, Morrissey has become a key piece for the Terps down the stretch, putting up the best numbers of her career in her first full healthy season.
Fresh off a career-best 12 kill outing,
Erin Morrissey netted her second consecutive double-digit kill outing Friday against Indiana, scoring 10 putaways.
Double-Double Dowler
- Since Big Ten play started, senior setter Sydney Dowler has been on a double-double tear, accumulating eight double-doubles in 18 conference matches.
- The Oconomowoc, WI native notched her eighth double-double of the campaign Saturday against No. 16 Purdue, where she compiled 27 assists and 10 digs in three sets.
- Dowler recorded back-to-back double-doubles against Illinois and Iowa on Oct. 20 and 21, picking up 40 assists and 11 digs against the Fighting Illini and 34 assists and 11 digs against the Hawkeyes.
- Along with her double-double success, Dowler moved into 10th place in Maryland's career service ace ranks, dropping in her 100th career service ace to pass Maggie Schmelzle (2005-08) on the leaderboard against Michigan on November 5.
Sydney Dowler helped with 27Â assists while notching 10 digs to pick up her eighth double-double of the season against No. 16 Purdue.
Going On With Gunter
- Senior libero Lilly Gunter has been a major asset for Maryland in her first season with the program after transferring from Mississippi State in the offseason.
- After entering her first season with the Terrapins with 1,190 career digs after three seasons at Mississippi State, the Oviedo, FL native collected her 1,500th career dig on Oct. 27 against Nebraska.
- Gunter serves as one of the most experienced liberos in the country, as her 1,580 career digs rank as the second-most career digs among active players in the Big Ten and the 50th-most among active players in the country.
- Gunter has recorded 3.83 digs per set in conference play while recording double-digit digs in 20 matches. In seven of those outings, Gunter has notched 15 or more digs, and in three matches, Gunter has collected 20 or more digs.
Lilly Gunter notched her 20th double-digit dig contest of 2023 with 11 digs Saturday against No. 16 Purdue
A-Russ Does It All
- Redshirt senior middle blocker Anastasia Russ has shone as one of the most efficient hitters in the country and in the conference as the season draws to a close.
- The redshirt senior leads Maryland and ranks 10th in the Big Ten and 90th in the country with a hitting percentage of .351.
- In her second season with Maryland, the Pittsburgh, PA product currently owns a .337 hitting percentage with the team, the second-highest clip in program history.
Anastasia Russ leads Maryland and ranks 10th in the Big Ten and 90th in the country with a hitting percentage of .351.
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 efficient as a freshman with a .309 hitting clip. She has recorded double-digit kills in four matches this season.
- On the defensive side, Rohrbach leads the Terps and ranks eighth in the Big Ten with 1.18 blocks per set, the sixth-highest freshman rate in the country. The San Diego, CA star has recorded five or more blocks in 12 matches this season, including each of the Terps' last three outings.
Eva Rohrbach had one of her best blocking weekends of her young career, combining for 11 total blocks against Indiana and No. 16 Purdue.
Undefeated on BTN
- With the Terps' Oct. 28 victory over Iowa 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 on Oct. 28.
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 12 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 13 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 Nittany Lions
- Penn State's record-setting streak of 42 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances will remain intact for a 43rd season, as the Nittany Lions sit in third place in the Big Ten standings while ranking No. 14 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.
- After winning its first seven conference matches, Penn State hit a rough 2-5 stretch as October transitioned into November, where the Nittany Lions dropped three consecutive five-set matches.
- Following the heartbreaking three-match streak, the Nittany Lions have roared back to claim a four-match winning streak entering Wednesday. The run of success contained the team's biggest win of the season — a four-set triumph over No. 2 Wisconsin on Nov. 11.
- Transfers lead the way, as former Michigan outside hitter Jess Mruzik ranks third in the Big Ten with 4.49 kills per set. 2022 Big Ten Setter of the Year Mac Podraza came in from Ohio State and continued her dominance by sitting second in the conference and top 50 in the country with 10.41 assists per frame.
- As a team, the Nittany Lions are in second place in blocks per set with 2.96, as middle blockers Allie Holland and Taylor Trammell each rank among the top 10 in the conference in blocks per set.
Scouting The Scarlet Knights
- Caitlin Schweihofer has produced the most successful season of Rutgers volleyball since joining the Big Ten, as the Scarlet Knights have won more than 10 matches for the first time since 2012.
- After opening the year with an 8-2 non-conference record, Rutgers secured its first win over an AVCA Top 25 program by defeating No. 16 Minnesota in four sets on Oct. 7. It reached the 10-win benchmark by collecting a five-set victory at Iowa on Oct. 27.
- In addition to the wins, the Scarlet Knights have played tough against Big Ten competition, pushing contests against Illinois and Michigan State to five frames.
- Alissa Kinkela leads the Scarlet Knights with 314 kills off feeds from Alyssa Nayar, who has 867 assists. Defensively, Madyson Chitty leads the team in digs and ranks 10th in the conference with 3.58 digs per set while Tina Grkovic's 104 total blocks pace the squad.
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.
