COLLEGE PARK, MD — Maryland (7-7, 0-4 Big Ten) lost a five-set fight (16-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 4-15) with the No. 16 Nittany Lions (8-6, 2-2 Big Ten) on Sunday afternoon at the Xfinity Center.  A crowd of 5,093 fans came out for Main Court Mania to see the Terps take on Penn State, the second-highest draw for a home match in program history. 

Each of the first three sets were closer than their predecessors and Maryland largely dominated the third frame, winning it 25-19.

Terps take set three!!!!! pic.twitter.com/UMEz6bta4W

— Maryland Volleyball (@TerpsVolleyball) October 5, 2025

The fourth set was a thrilling back-and-forth affair that the Terps tallied four blocks in to win 25-23 and force a decisive fifth frame. Eva Rohrbach tallied two of her four total aces in the fourth set to flip the momentum, and the Xfinity Center, on its head. 

Maryland takes set four‼️ pic.twitter.com/huwQf5PSkw

— Maryland Volleyball (@TerpsVolleyball) October 5, 2025

Maryland fought brilliantly on its home court and took one of the nation's top teams down to the wire, but was ultimately unable to pull the upset, losing the fifth set 15-4. 

Ajack Malual led the Terps with 20 kills while Ally Williams recorded 15 digs and a pair of aces on a day where the Terps combined for nine total blocks.

How it Happened:
Set 1:

• Maryland got its first point of the day on a Penn State attack error.
• The Nittany Lions opened up an 8-1 lead, prompting a Maryland timeout. 
• Malual's first kill of the day stemmed the Penn State run.
• Maryland took a timeout as the Nittany Lions claimed a 10-2 lead. 
• Rohrbach's first kill of the day cut the PSU lead to 11-4.
• Maryland won a ferocious rally by forcing a Nittany Lion attack error.
• A stem of great Maryland blocks led to a Malual kill, bringing the PSU lead to 15-7. 
• A pair of PSU service errors gave Maryland its ninth and 11th points of the set. 
• Haley Melby and Olivia Ruy's first kills of the evening brought the set to a 21-14 Penn State advantage. 
• Rohrbach's second kill gave UMD its 15th point of the set. 
• The Nittany Lions took the first set 25-16.

Set 2:

• Melby put Maryland ahead 1-0 with her second kill of the day.
• Maryland used a pair of Rohrbach kills on a 4-0 run to come back within two, 8-6. 
• Back-to-back kills from Malual cut the Nittany Lion advantage to 12-9.
• PSU used a 5-0 run to build a 19-10 lead. 
• A vicious block from Lily Wagner led to her first kill and capped a 3-0 Terps run. 
• Kills from Melby and Malual gave the Terps their 15th and 16th points of the set. 
• Rohrbach recorded the Terps' first ace to trim the PSU lead to 22-18.
• Penn State won the second set 25-20. 

Set 3:

• Back-to-back aces from Williams gave Maryland a 3-1 lead. 
• Maryland induced a pair of PSU attack errors to take a 6-2 lead. 
• Rohrbach's fifth kill put UMD ahead 7-3.
• A pounding kill from Malual added to the Terps' 9-4 lead. 
• An ace from Rohrbach gave Maryland a 10-4 lead. 
• The Terps won a lengthy rally with Malual's 10th kill, igniting a loud Xfinity Center crowd. 
• Penn State used a 3-0 run to come back within two. 
• Malual's first ace of the day capped a 3-0 Maryland run that put the Terps ahead 17-12. 
• A big block from Rohrbach put the Terps up by four, 18-14. 
• A trio of kills from Sydney Bryant gave Maryland its 19th, 20th, and 21st points of the match.
• A PSU attack error clinched Maryland's 25-19 set win.

Set 4:

• Malual put the Terps up 1-0 with a kill.
• A 5-0 Maryland run featured a pair of aces from Rohrbach and put UMD ahead 9-6. 
• The Terps took advantage of a pair of attack errors to go up 11-7.
• Melby's fifth kill put UMD ahead 15-12. 
• The Nittany Lions used a 4-1 run to even the set at 17-17.
• A thumping kill from Bryant evened the set at 18-18.
• A Melby kill put Maryland ahead 21-20.
• A bad set by the Nittany Lions put the Terps ahead 24-22. 
• A service error from PSU capped Maryland's 25-23 set win.

Set 5:

• Penn State opened the set on a 3-1 run.
• An ace put the Nittany Lions ahead 6-2.
• Another Malual kill cut the deficit to 9-3. 
• Penn State won the final set 15-4. 

Adam Hughes' Highpoints:

• "I thought there were some bright spots throughout the match. I'm glad the team didn't let the start beat them down."
• "I believe that this group still has a lot of talent. I think the challenge is probably the speed at which I'm trying to get a bunch of new players to learn how to play together."
• "Rohrbach's somebody who's spent a ton of time in key moments. If there's someone on the back line, I want her serving. "I just have a lot of faith in her competitiveness."
• "Once we got going and the crowd got into it, it made a huge difference."

Numbers to Know:

• 4: The Terps had four aces in the third set.
• 7: Maryland had seven total aces on Sunday.
• 9: The Terps tallied nine blocks against PSU.
• 20: Malual had 20 kills in the loss.
• 5,093: Maryland brought in 5,093 fans on Sunday, its second-highest mark in program history.

Terp Nation showed up and showed OUT 🐢🔥

Second-largest home crowd in program history! pic.twitter.com/AE26frwkf9

— Maryland Volleyball (@TerpsVolleyball) October 5, 2025

Up Next:

• Maryland remains in College Park to host Illinois on Oct. 10. The match will start at 7 PM and air on B1G+.