COLLEGE PARK, MD - Maryland (4-2) took the Delaware State Hornets (3-4) by storm on Wednesday night at the Schanwald Pavilion in a 3-0 win (25-11, 25-14, 25-19) as the Terps continued their stretch of dominance in home openers.
Ajack Malual continues to string powerful performances together. She had 11 kills, five aces, three digs and was responsible for a team-high 17.5 points in the win.
Lilly Wagner had a season-high four aces as the Terps tallied 10 on the night.
Maryland jumped all over the Hornets in the first set as the Terps tallied three aces, five blocks and 14 digs. Malual had six kills and the set-sealing ace as Maryland took the icebreaking set 25-11.
The Terps were all over the Hornets again in the second set. Duru Gökçen — the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week — led the way defensively with four total blocks on the night. Maryland took the second set 25-14.
Maryland used a 10-0 in the final set and fought off a late Hornets rally to seal the sweep with a 25-19 win. Maryland earned its sixth sweep in a home opener since 2015 and is unbeaten in its first home match of a season against a non-conference opponent since 2011.
How it Happened:
Set 1:
- Gökçen opened the night with a vicious kill to put the Terps up 1-0.
- Maryland jumped out to a 3-0 lead on an early run.
- A 6-0 run featured an ace from Wagner and built a 17-7 lead.
- A kill from Malual put the Terps up 20-9.
- Malual's sixth kill of the first set put Maryland up 24-11.
- Malual finished off the set with a service ace to cap off a 25-11 set win.
Set 2:
- Olivia Ruy smoked a kill for the Terps' first point of the second set.
- Maryland took its first lead of the set, 5-4, on a Delaware State attack error.
- The Terps strung a 4-1 run to take a 9-6 lead.
- Melby and Malual combined for a stellar kill to put the Terps up 10-8 and spark a 5-1 run.
- A crushing kill from Malual gave Maryland a 17-10 advantage.
- Malual's second ace put the Terps on the brink of victory.
- A service error from Delaware State sealed the 25-14 set win for Maryland.
Set 3:
- A kill from Ruy opened a 1-0 lead for Maryland.
- Impressive Maryland recoveries forced a duo of Delaware State attack errors, prompting a timeout amidst a 4-0 run.
- A vicious kill from Malual stemmed a Hornets rally and sparked a 10-0 run that featured her third ace of the night as Maryland went up 21-10.
- The Hornets strung together a rally to reach 19, their highest total in a set on Wednesday.
- An attack error from Delaware State sealed the 25-19 win and the sweep for the Terps.
Hughes High Points:
- "We have the potential to be a really good serving team."
- "The big thing for this group is we've got a lot of talented players. We feel these early-season matchups are incredibly important no matter who we're playing because they build experiences playing together."
- "We always like being at home. We have some big matches coming down the pipe in a couple weeks and we're expecting huge crowds."
- "As you get to know Malual, she's a very mature human and she's a joy to work with and be around."
Ally Williams' Takes:
- "We're focused on being really consistent in doing our own jobs. We've been really focusing in practice and matches to just do our own jobs, whether you're a little hitter or setter, focusing on cleaning up the next touch in front of you."
- "We had some people come off the bench, which is a little hard that late in the game to build chemistry. It was tough out there for a second, but we never doubted ourselves. We all know we're really good players and we can play together really well."
Numbers to Know:
- 3: Maryland improves to 3-0 all-time against Delaware State.
- 4: Wagner had a season-high four aces.
- 6: The Terps earned their sixth sweep in a home opener since 2015.
- 10: Excluding the 2020 shortened season, Maryland has won its last 10 home openers.
- 10: Maryland had 10 aces in the win.
- 2011: Maryland remains unbeaten in its first home match of the season against a non-conference opponent since 2011.
Up Next:
- The Terps go back on the road for a match with Davidson on Sept. 13. The match will start at 3 PM.
