Maryland (4-2)
at
Howard (3-3)
September 10, 2023
Burr Gymnasium
2:00 p.m.
Live Stats
COLLEGE PARK, MDÂ -Â The University of Maryland volleyball team (4-2) hosts its first regular-season matches of the 2023 season as part of the Maryland Tournament, as the Terps welcome Coastal Carolina for a match on Friday, Sept. 8, followed by a showdown against Princeton on Saturday, Sept. 9. Maryland will close out its weekend with a short trip south to Washington, D.C., where it will face Howard.
Maryland's home matches are set to take place at the XFINITY Center Pavilion, and both contests will be streamed on B1G+.
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Parking Information
FRIDAY, SEPT 8 PARKING
Fans attending Friday's afternoon game will need to park in the XFINITY Visitors Lot, which is a metered lot. Lot 4B will not be open for fan parking until 4 p.m. Fans parked in lot 4B or other lots around XFINITY Center may be subject to ticketing before 4 p.m.
Click HERE for a campus parking map.
SATURDAY, SEPT 9 PARKING
Fans attending Saturday's game will need to purchase parking permits, due to the football game Saturday night. Fans can click HERE for more info and to purchase.
Smooth Sailing At The Yard
- Maryland continued its strong start to the 2023 season, finishing the Kristen Dickmann Invitational in Annapolis, MD, with a 2-1 record.Â
- The Terps opened the weekend with a dominant offensive display against Old Dominion, sweeping the Monarchs, 3-0.
- Another offensive showcase followed on Saturday's match against Utah Valley, with the Terps fending off the Wolverines, 3-1.
- Maryland dropped its final match of the weekend on Sunday against Navy, 3-0.
Sam Csire produced 16 kills to lead the Terps in their Saturday win over Utah Valley.
Dowler Puts Together Banner Weekend
- Senior setter Sydney Dowler had a weekend to remember in Annapolis, as she dished out her 2,500th career assist while winning her second-career Big Ten Setter of the Week.
- The Oconomowoc, WI, native continued her torrid start to the season, dishing out 10.8 assists per set across the weekend while helping the Terps reach historic heights.
- Dowler dished out 34 assists in three sets during Friday's opener against Old Dominion, helping Maryland hit .412 for its highest single-match hitting percentage since 2019.
- The senior put in one of her most outstanding performances of the young season Saturday against Utah Valley, falling just short of a double-double with season highs in assists (45), digs (nine) and total blocks (five) to help four Terps record at least 10 kills for the first time since at least 2018.
- Early in the fourth set of Saturday's match, Dowler fed Sam Csire for her 32nd assist of the contest and the 2,500th of her career. She is the sixth player in program history to reach the 2,500-assist benchmark.
Sydney Dowler won her second Big Ten Setter of the Week award, averaging 10.8 assists per set while leading Maryland in blocks in two of the three matches at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational.
Offense Is In Full Swing
- Maryland has been one of the hottest offenses in the country to start the season, thanks to a hitting efficiency that is among the best in the nation.
- The Terps are hitting .280 through their first six matches, good for the second-best clip in the Big Ten and the 30th-best rate in the NCAA.
- This offensive surge has come as a result of Maryland hitting over .250 in five of its six contests so far while never hitting under .200 in any match.
The Terps rank second in the Big Ten with a .280 hitting percentage while also averaging the second-most points per set in the conference (17.71).
Russ and Rohrbach ConnectionÂ
- Freshman middle blocker Eva Rohrbach and redshirt senior middle blocker Anastasia Russ are a major reason for the Terps' early offensive success, as they rank among the most efficient hitters in the country.
- Russ ranks ninth in the NCAA (second in the Big Ten) with a .509 hitting percentage, while Rohrbach follows just behind tied for 14th in the country (fourth in the Big Ten) with a .500 clip.
- Rohrbach and Russ are the only teammate duo in the country to be hitting over .500 with at least three attacks per set.
Anastasia Russ (pictured) and
Eva Rohrbach both are among the top five hitters in the Big Ten and among the top 15 hitters in the country by each hitting over .500. They are the only set of teammates to be hitting over .500.
Good Csire
- Entering the season with 891 career kills, senior outside hitter Sam Csire has made strides toward joining the elite 1,000-Kill Club at Maryland over the first two weekends of 2023.
- With a 16-kill performance against Utah Valley on Saturday, the Strongsville, OH, native leads the squad with 55 kills this season, increasing her career total to 947 kills.
- If Csire records her 1,000th-career kill, she would become the 15th player in Maryland program history to reach the 1,000-kill milestone.
- In addition to her hitting success, Csire has also excelled from the backline, serving up 14 service aces at 0.74 aces per set, the second-best rate in the Big Ten and tied for 13th best in the NCAA.
Sam Csire has notched Maryland's two best scoring efforts of the season, producing 17 kills against FIU and 16 kills against Utah Valley.
Spohn Is On
- Freshman defensive specialist Jonna Spohn earned a starting role for all three matches at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational, helping the Terps in the back row.
- The Lewis Center, OH, product played in all 10 sets on the weekend, picking up 14 digs and three service aces in the first starting nods of her college career.
Jonna Spohn made her first three collegiate starts at defensive specialist at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational, bolstering Maryland's back row.
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 and seven years of coaching at the club and college levels.
Scouting The Opposition
- Freshman middle blocker Eva Rohrbach made her collegiate debut at the Canes Classic, but looked like a veteran in her first three matches.
- Maryland head coach Adam Hughes named the San Diego, CA, native the starting nod in all three matches on the weekend, giving her a chance to shine on the Terps' block.
- Rohrbach excelled on both offense and defense, hitting an efficient .528Â across the tournament (22k-4e-36a) while recording six blocks in her debut against FIU to finish the weekend with a team-leading 11 total blocks.
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.
