EVANSTON, IL – The Terps fell on the road to Northwestern in four sets (25-27, 17-25, 25-23, 21-25) on Sunday afternoon. Maryland (8-14, 1-11 Big Ten) traded runs and scoring stretches with the Wildcats (15-9, 5-7 Big Ten) through four tight frames, but Northwestern came away with the win on its home floor despite three Terps tallying nine or more kills.

Ajack Malual had another impressive day, leading her Terps with 16 kills, four blocks and an ace. Both Duru Gökçen and Eva Rohrbach added 2.5 blocks to their respective season totals while Ally Williams picked up a pair of aces in the loss.

Eva adds her first kill of the match

S2| Northwestern 7, Maryland 4 pic.twitter.com/vpHchwvqxB

— Maryland Volleyball (@TerpsVolleyball) November 2, 2025

Sydney Bryant and Haley Melby tallied 10 and nine respective kills in the bout. Maryland rallied with several timely runs to capture a 25-23 win in the third set to extend the match, but Northwestern ended the day with a win in the fourth set. 

What a shot by AJ to tie us up at 17. 💥

S3| Maryland 17, Northwestern 17 pic.twitter.com/MVRA5vLYbc

— Maryland Volleyball (@TerpsVolleyball) November 2, 2025

How it Happened:
Set 1:

• Lilly Wagner recorded the Terps' first kill as Maryland took a 3-2 lead. 
• A Northwestern ace evened the set at 5-5.
• Gökçen picked up her first kill amidst a 6-1 Northwestern run.
• A Williams ace gave the Terps their 10th point of the set. 
• Maryland used an 8-0 run to claim a 16-12 lead.
• The Wildcats picked up back-to-back aces in a 5-1 run to tie the set at 20-20.
• NW's fourth ace of the set gave the home team a 22-21 lead. 
• Malual's fifth kill of the set evened the score back up.
• A 3-0 Terps run put them ahead 24-22. 
• Northwestern stormed back to win the set 27-25 on its fifth ace of the frame. 

Set 2:

• Northwestern opened the set on a 6-3 run despite a pair of kills from Melby.
• Maryland worked back into the set with a 4-1 stretch.
• The Wildcats collected another ace during a 5-0 run as they took a 15-8 lead. 
• Williams gave the Terps their 10th point with her second ace. 
• Northwestern pushed forward as another ace gave the Wildcats a 22-16 lead.
• NW took the second set 25-17.

Set 3:

• The Wildcats opened the set with a 6-1 lead. 
• Katie Scherer, Bryant and Malual picked up kills in a 5-0 run that evened the set at 6-6.
• After NW took the lead, a 3-0 Maryland stretch made it 16-14, Wildcats.
• Kills from Bryant and Malual helped Maryland snag an 18-17 lead. 
• Malual's 11th kill put Maryland up 21-19 in the third set. 
• Melby's sixth kill moved the Terps two points from the set win.
• Bryant's sixth kill capped off Maryland's 25-23 win.

Set 4:

• A Scherer kill got the set started. 
• Maryland took a 7-6 lead with a Malual ace.
• Scherer and Bryant both collected a pair of kills in a 4-1 run that put the Terps up 12-11.
• Two Northwestern errors gave Maryland a 15-13 lead to take into the media timeout.
• An ace gave the Wildcats an 18-16 during a 4-0 run.
• Bryant's ninth kill evened the set at 18-18.
• NW ended the day by winning the fourth set 25-21. 

Numbers to Know:

• 34: Malual added an ace to her season total, tying the Big Ten's fourth-highest mark of 34.
• 96: Rohrbach sits seventh in the conference with 96 blocks in 2025. 
• 103: Gökçen added 2.5 blocks to her Big Ten-leading 103 season total. 
• 319: With 16 kills against Northwestern, Malual moves her season total to 319, which is good for fifth in the Big Ten.

Up Next:

• Maryland returns home to face Ohio State on Nov. 8. The match will start at 1 PM and air on B1G+.