Box Score CORAL GABLES, FL — To close out the Canes Classic Tournament, the University of Maryland volleyball team hit its stride early and never looked back, prevailing 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-20) over Lamar on Saturday afternoon at the James L. Knight Sports Complex.

In her season debut, senior right side hitter Laila Ricks guided Maryland's offense, picking up 12 kills on the afternoon to lead the team. Another debutant, freshman Sydney Bryant followed suit with seven kills on an efficient .357 hitting percentage to begin her collegiate career.

On the defensive side of the ball, Maryland exhibited stingy defense in all facets of the match. The Cardinals only yielded a .048 hitting percentage as the Terps racked up seven blocks and 42 digs in the abbrieviated contest.

In the first set, the Terps came out firing on all cylinders with a match-opening 11-0 run fueled by four kills by Laila Ivey and a trio of Lilly Gunter service aces. Lamar countered to pull the match within four points, but Maryland pulled away with a 15-3 run to close the set.

While the second set was more closely contested in the opening, the Terps grabbed a 5-4 set lead an never relinquished it, as Sam Csire conducted a 5-0 run in the middle of the frame with a pair of kills and a block assist. Lamar opened up the third set on a 4-0 run, but the Maryland offense responded quickly and embarked on a 9-3 run late in the set to put itself at match point.

With a .257 hitting percentage on the match, Maryland has opened the season with by hitting over .250 in three consecutive matches for the first time since accomplishing the feat in six consecutive contests during the 2021 campaign.

How It Happened

Set 1: Maryland 25 - Lamar 13

• The Terps stormed out to a big advantage early, utilizing an 11-0 run to start the match.
• As a part of the run, Lilly Gunter served up three aces while Laila Ivey recorded four aces.
• Lamar battled back to make it a competitive match, going on a 10-3 run to make it 14-10 midway through the set.
• Through disciplined defense and kills from Sam Csire and Laila Ricks, Maryland cooked up another 5-0 run to create more separation with a 19-10 set.
• With Sydney Bryant's first collegiate kill and a set finishing kill from Ricks, the Terps closed out the set as strong as they started, taking the set 25-13.
• Maryland held Lamar to a negative hitting percentage of -.071, as the Cardinals had more attack errors (five) than errors (three) in the frame. 
• The Terps received help up front with a pair of Anastasia Russ blocks and in the backcourt with seven digs in the set from Gunter.
• On offense, Ivey recorded a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage, recording six kills on as many swings.

Set 2: Maryland 25 - Lamar 17

• After jostling for the lead early in the set, Maryland broke away with a 6-1 run guided by kills from Ellie Watson, Sam Csire and Sydney Bryant to claim a 9-5 advantage.
• Sydney Bryant continued to dazzle in her debut, leading the Terps with four kills in the set.
• The Terps received reinforcements from a multitude of hitters in the set, as seven different players recorded a kill as a part of a .314 hitting effort.

Set 3: Maryland 25 - Lamar 20

• Lamar jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage in the set before kills from Laila Ricks and Eva Rohrbach, coupled with a Lilly Gunter service ace, leveled the contest.
• After trading points early in the set, the Terps took a 13-10 advantage with a 5-1 run spearheaded by a solo block and two kills from Ricks.
• A 7-2 Maryland run put the Terps up 21-17 and forced a Lamar timeout.
• The Terps remained in cruise control for the remainder of the match. 

Numbers to Know

• .048: Maryland allowed just a .048 hitting percentage in the contest, the lowest rate given up this season and the lowest since Stony Brook hit just .027 against the Terps on Sept. 2, 2022.
• 1.000: Laila Ivey put together an impressive performance on the outside with a hitting percentage of 1.000, notching six kills in as many attempts.
• 4: Lilly Gunter tied her career high with four service aces.
• 14: Gunter amassed 14 digs on the contest, extending her double-digit digs streak to six matches.
• 920: Sam Csire continued her journey to 1,000 career kills, posting four on the match to put her career total at 920
• 2,434: Sydney Dowler dished out 30 assists as she nears her 2,500th career assist.

Up Next

• The Terps play Old Dominion on Friday, Sept. 1 to kick off the Kristen Dickmann Invitational in Annapolis.