Maryland Volleyball Travels to Nashville for Big Ten-SEC Challenge

Tuesday, September 1

Nashville, TN

8 PM

Maryland

Vanderbilt

Ellis Crawford Volleyball Posed Black Background

Maryland Volleyball Travels to Nashville for Big Ten-SEC Challenge

8/30/2026 12:59:00 PM | Volleyball

Live Stats Watch (SECN+)Resetting The Tone: 2026 Maryland Volleyball Season Preview Match Notes

Maryland (1-0) vs. Vanderbilt (2-0)

September 1, 2026

Memorial Gymnasium

8:00 p.m.

Maryland (1-0) vs. Arkansas (2-0)

September 2, 2026

Memorial Gymnasium

4:00 p.m.

COLLEGE PARK, MD -- The University of Maryland volleyball team will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, for a two-day Big Ten-SEC Challenge hosted by the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Terps will face Vanderbilt on Tuesday, Sept. 1, followed by Arkansas on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

First serve for Tuesday's match is set for 8 p.m. ET, while Wednesday's contest will begin at 4 p.m. ET. Both matchups will be streamed live on SEC+.

Strong start

Maryland opened the 2026 season with a sweep (25-23, 25-14, 25-22) of Howard on Friday evening. Freshman Ava Brown had a remarkable first collegiate match with a team-high 17 kills, while Haley Melby logged 12, Sydney Bryant tallied nine and Eva Rohrbach pitched in eight. The Terps stayed unbeaten against the Bison and opened the season with a strong road sweep.
Maryland outlasted Howard in a back-and-forth final set to seal its sweep. Maryland improved to 19-0 all-time against the Bison and recorded its 14th-ever sweep of Howard to start the season 1-0 for the fifth time in the last six years. The Terps hit .434, which would have been their highest mark in a match in 2025.
Head coach Adam Hughes enters his ninth season at the helm of the Maryland volleyball program. Hughes added two coaches to his staff in April.
Assistant coach Fran Bollentino joins Maryland following a successful stint as head coach at IMG Academy, where he led the 18U team to the program's first-ever USA Volleyball national qualification and a top-five finish in the Florida high school rankings.
Assistant coach Michael Ma joins the Terps after successful stints at Long Beach State, Saint Joseph High School, Seal Beach Volleyball Club and Westcliff University. A 2016 graduate of Long Beach State, Ma brings a résumé that includes multiple league titles, national club medals and a strong track record in player development and recruiting.
Hughes added one transfer during the offseason in Sara Toth, a setter from Georgia Tech, while also welcoming six freshmen to College Park.
With a blend of returning talent, transfer additions and a highly touted freshman class, Maryland will look to build on its foundation and raise the program's standards in 2026.

2026 Maryland Volleyball Team Photo

returning strength

Maryland returns Duru Gökçen, who led the Terps with 127 blocks in 2025 and was a key contributor to the team's defensive effort.
Middle blocker Eva Rohrbach returns for her senior season after ranking second on the team with 119 blocks in 2025, helping anchor the Terps' defense.
Haley Melby returns for her graduate season after leading Maryland offensively with 207 kills in 2025.
Sydney Bryant returns for her senior season after recording 140 kills and averaging 1.92 kills per set in 2025, providing another experienced offensive option for the Terps.

Duru Gökçen action shot playing during exhibition game against Georgetown

Duru Gökçen led the Terps with 127 blocks in 2025.

freshmen ready to make an impact

Six incoming freshmen, Brooklynne Brass, Marlee Sivak, Ioanna Dimitriou, Elayna Davidson, Ava Brown and Raina Chwialkowski make up the No. 16-ranked freshman class in the nation, according to Prep Dig.
The class is Maryland's second-highest-ranked incoming group in program history and the highest-ranked class of the Hughes era.
Chwialkowski was named the 2024-25 Gatorade North Dakota Volleyball Player of the Year, becoming the award's recipient for the second consecutive year.

2026 Maryland Volleyball Posed Photo of the Freshman Class

2026 Maryland Volleyball Freshmen Class.

scouting report

Vanderbilt Commodores:

Vanderbilt opened the 2026 season with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-11) sweep of Charleston on Friday at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Commodores recorded 51 kills and hit .427 as a team, marking the highest kill total in program history for a three-set match.
Reese Animashaun led Vanderbilt with 10 kills, two service aces and nine digs.
Maya Witherspoon finished with nine kills.
Kayla Dunlap added seven kills and hit .667.
Avery Scoggins directed the Commodores' attack with 36 assists.
Vanderbilt had four players record at least seven kills.

Arkansas Razorbacks:

Arkansas continued play at the Razorback Invitational on Saturday with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-17) sweep of UTA.
Fifth-year transfer and Benton native Laci Bohannan made her first start for the Razorbacks and recorded 15 kills, a .393 hitting percentage, five blocks and two service aces.
Sophomore Parker Duncan matched Bohannan with 15 kills to lead the Razorbacks.