NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – Maryland volleyball swept Rutgers for the second time this season (25-20, 25-19, 25-22) at College Avenue Gym on Friday. The Terps improved to 14-16 overall and 5-14 in Big Ten play heading into their season finale on Saturday.
Maryland dominated throughout the match, holding Rutgers to a .128 hitting percentage throughout. The Terps got off to a strong start by tallying five blocks and three service aces in the first set. They then stole set two with a late 9-1 scoring run that saw them take the lead and eventually the set. In the final set, Maryland closed it out despite a late push by Rutgers.
Samantha Schnitta again led the Terps, tallying nine kills, 10 digs and six service aces. She now has 87 aces to lead all NCAA Division I. The total is also a program record.
Katie Scherer (12 kills and three digs and three blocks),
Eva Rohrbach (eight kills, eight blocks and three digs),
Sam Csire (nine kills and four digs),
Zoe Huang (19 assists and six digs) and
Anastasia Russ (four blocks) were other standout performers. Scherer and Rohrbach each hit over .550.
The Terps previously defeated the Scarlet Knights (6-24, 1-18 Big Ten) in consecutive sets on Oct. 5. Maryland closes out the 2024 regular season with a match on the XFINITY Center court against No. 2 Nebraska on Senior Day, Saturday.
Breaking Down The Action
Set 1: Maryland 25 Rutgers 20
- The Terps opened the first set with a 3-0 run with kills by Samantha Schnitta and Anastasia Russ.
- A Kill by Eva Rohrbach gave the Terps a 9-5 advantage.
- The Terps extended their advantage to five at 15-10 with a kill by Csire.
- Rutgers burned a timeout after the Terps led 21-17.
- Maryland took the set with a kill by Csire at 25-20.
Set 2: Rutgers 25 Maryland 19
- Rutgers started set two leading 7-5.
- Back-to-back kills by Rutgers gave it a 15-11 advantage.
- Schnitta's service ace and Rutgers's attack error left Maryland trailing by two at 17-15.
- A solo block by Sydney Dowler tied the set at 18 apiece.
- Rohrbach's block assist and Rutgers's bad set gave the Terps a 20-18 lead, forcing a Scarlet Knights timeout.
- The Terps engineered a 9-1 scoring run before taking the set.
Set 3: Maryland 25 Rutgers 22
- Back-to-back aces by Schnitta gave the Terps a 5-3 set three lead.
- A kill by Schnitta that Zoe Huang assisted gave Maryland a 10-7 lead.
- The Terps continued their dominance, leading 18-12 after back-to-back kills by Csire.
- Rutgers went on a 3-0 scoring run, and it trailed 20-17.
- The Terps earned the set victory after a Rutgers service error.
Numbers To Know
- 3: Sydney Dowler ranks third all-time in assists for Maryland. She now has 3851 assists.
- 3: Sam Csire is third all-time in program history with 1448 career kills.
- 5: Katie Scherer recorded her fifth career game with double-digit kills.
- 17: Samantha Schnitta tallied 10 or more digs for the 17th time in her career and the fifth time in 2024.
- 25: The Terps are 25-14 all-time against the Scarlet Knights.
- 87: Schnitta tallied six service aces in the match, bringing her to 87 on the season, ranking first in NCAA Division I. Her total is also a program record.
- 100: Anastasia Russ eclipsed 100 blocks in a season for the third consecutive year as a Terp.
Up Next
- Maryland closes out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 30, against No. 2 Nebraska. The match starts at 7 p.m. and will be streamed on Big Ten Network.
