ORLANDO – Maryland volleyball defeated UCF, 3-2, (20-25, 25-15, 18-25, 25-18, 15-12) on Sep. 21 in the UCF Tournament at The Venue. Maryland (9-2) has now won eight consecutive matches, its longest win streak since winning 13 straight matches to begin the 2021 campaign.
The Terps spared a 6-0 run in the final set to jump out to an 8-4 lead. However, UCF brought the set within one before a Samantha Schnitta kill and an attack error by the Knights sealed Maryland's victory.
The Terps grabbed the set number two, sparking runs of 6-0, 4-0 and 3-0 throughout while hitting .500%. They also won set number four to continue the match while hitting over .300.
Maryland battled in every set. It trailed by as many as 12 in set three but ignited a 6-0 run before UCF scored the game point. The Terps also dropped the first set despite rallying within three points after trailing by as many as eight. Schnitta recorded seven kills in the set.
Eva Rohrbach collected a career-high 13 kills with three aces, two assists and four blocks. Schnitta added 16 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double of the season.
Sam Csire provided 11 kills and five digs as Maryland's top performers.
Lilly Gunter posted a team-high 14 digs and
Ally Williams flanked with a career-high tying 10 digs.
Sydney Dowler (20) and
Zoe Huang (19) combined for 39 assists. Freshman Katie Scherer also had the best performance of her young career, with a career-high six kills.
Maryland closed out non-conference play, and UCF advanced to 8-1. Its lone loss this season came against No. 21 Florida State.
Breaking Down The Action
Set 1: UCF 25 - Maryland 20
- Maryland and UCF went back and forth in the opening set, tied at 3-3.
- The Terps took a 5-3 advantage after an attack and service error by UCF.
- A 5-0 run by UCF allowed them to take an 8-5 lead.
- UCF stretched its lead to as many as eight, but the Terps rallied by going on a 5-0 run to trail 19-16. Samantha Schnitta and Eva Rohrbach each had two kills during the run.
- Despite cutting the lead to three, UCF closed out the set with a kill by Britt Carlson.
Set 2: Maryland 25 - UCF 15
- The Terps and the Knights traded back-to-back scores until knotted at 6-6.
- They then traded scores until Sam Csire notched a kill to tie the set at 9-9.
- A 4-0 run allowed the Terps to form their largest lead of the evening. Kills by Schnitta and Csire gave the Terps a 12-9 advantage.
- The Terps followed with a 5-1 run with kills by Schnitta and Rohrbach to lead 17-12, forcing UFC to burn a timeout.
- Kills by Sydney Dowler, Schnitta and Csire allowed Maryland to win set two while on a 6-0 run.
Set 3: UCF 25 - Maryland 18 -
- The Knights started on a 5-0 run in set three.
- UCF extended its lead to 9-1 after another run of 4-0.
- The Terps cut the lead to five after a kill by Rohrbach and two errors by the Knights.
- However, UFC came back with a 9-2 run to lead 20-8.
- Kills by Ellie Watson and Schnitta contributed to a 6-0 run before UCF scored game point.
Set 4: Maryland 25 - UCF 18
- UCF recorded a 3-0 run to take a 4-2 lead.
- The Terps responded with its longest run of the night. It sparked a 9-0 run with kills by Katherine Scherer and four by Rohrbach to lead 11-4.
- UCF cut the lead to 15-13.
- A 5-0 run by the Terps gave them a 21-14 upper hand.
- A kill by Watson and an attack error by UCF allowed the Terps to send the match to set five.
Set 5: Maryland 15 - UCF 12
- UCF led 3-1 early in the fifth.
- The Terps ignited a 6-0 run to grab an 8-4 lead with kills by Rohrbach, Csire and Dowler.
- UCF battled back, trailing 11-9.
- Up 13-12, Maryland scored the set point after a kill by Schnitta and an attack error by UCF.
Numbers To Know
- 2: Ally Williams notched her second career game with 10 or more digs.
- 5: Sydney Dowler ranks fifth all-time in assists for Maryland. She now has 3523 assists.
- 6: Eva Rohrbach recorded 10 or more kills for the sixth time in her career.
- 6: Katherine Scherer recorded a career-high six kills.
- 8: Maryland is on an eight-game win streak, its longest since winning 13 consecutive matches to begin the 2021 campaign.
- 9: Samantha Schnitta recorded her ninth double-double of her career and second of the season.
- 10: Ally Williams' 10 digs tied her career high.
- 13: Rohrbach set a new career-high with 13 kills.
- 42: Schnitta has 42 matches in her career with 10 or more kills as a Terp, including eight this season.
- 66: Sam Csire has 66 matches with 10 or more kills in her career.
- 93: Lilly Gunter has 93 career matches with 10 or more digs.
Up Next
- The Terps begin Big Ten Play with a match against Northwestern on Sept. 26. The match starts at 7 p.m. from the XFINITY Center Pavilion. It will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
