Maryland volleyball falls to Rutgers, 3-1

Heading into Friday’s contest, Maryland volleyball was searching for its first conference win of the season. Its clash with Rutgers also served as its first matchup of the Big Ten Discover Volleyball Challenge.

But the Terps left the match Friday night still searching for that win. Despite starting strong in set one and capturing a set two victory, Maryland was dominated in the final two sets.

The Terps couldn’t replicate their early momentum across the length of the game, falling to the Scarlet Knights, 3-1, in New Jersey.

Maryland opened the first set well, embarking on an eight point run. It forced Rutgers into making multiple attacking errors. Kill attempts by Duru Gökçen, Ajack Malual, Olivia Ruy and a service ace by Lilly Wagner also added to the barrage.

Despite Rutgers’ best efforts to stop the run, Maryland continued its hot start, building a 16-5 lead. It consistently pressured Rutgers into attacking errors, and a Haley Melby kill added to the damage.

However, the Terps’ momentum slowed tremendously and suddenly. Rutgers turned the tides late, forging a comeback effort as it cut down the Terps’ lead to 20-19.

The Scarlet Knights continued to build on their run, and were able to tie up the set at 20-20.

Both teams traded blows in the closing moments, sending it past the regular 25-point limit. The Scarlet Knights had a late surge, and clinched set one, 27-25.

The second set began as a back-and-forth battle, building off the energy established in the end of the first set. Neither gained more than a slight advantage to start the set.

But the Terps started to build. A four-point run relied on attacking errors by the Scarlet Knights and kills by Eva Rohrbach and Wagner as Maryland took a 10-6 lead.

Maryland was all over the court, pressuring Rutgers into attacking and service errors. Its offense created kill opportunities for Malual and Ruy to stretch the lead to as much as 18-9.

Rutgers put on a late surge, with a 5-1 run cutting the Terps’ lead to five points, but Maryland once again pulled ahead clinched the second set, with a kill by Ruy securing a 25-17 set victory and leveling the game at one set apiece.

Going into the third set, things changed. There was an early spark, but this time it was the Scarlet Knights that took advantage. They slowly built a small lead, jumping out 8-4 after a closely-battled point.

Rutgers built consecutive runs to storm away with the lead early, 13-6. The Terps tried to close the gap late into the set, putting up a partial comeback similar to what Rutgers managed earlier in the game. But Maryland’s late surge ultimately came to an end, as a kill by the Scarlet Knights clinched a set-three victory, 25-20.

The fourth set saw an early back-and-forth trend, but Rutgers slowly clawed its way out in front and seized an 8-4 lead.

Rutgers quickly closed the door on Maryland’s attempts at gaining momentum, finishing its own opportunities and building substantial runs of its own throughout the frame.

The Scarlet Knights pestered the Terps throughout the set, racking up numerous kills and putting serious pressure on Maryland’s attack. The Terps were forced into multiple service errors throughout the set.

Rutgers’ dominant outing in the final two sets sealed the deal, 25-16, after an attacking error by the Terps. Maryland is now 7-6 on the season.

1. Hitting percentage woes. The Terps’ offense simply could not capitalize on offense Friday with a .154 hitting percentage. That’s their fourth-lowest hitting percentage mark on the season.

2. Ajack Malual’s two-way game. Despite the loss, Malual led the Terps with 14 kills, and was second in block assists with five.

3. Conference home opener test. Maryland now returns to College Park for its conference home opener. But the contest will be far from easy — Maryland hosts the reigning national champions in No. 16 Penn State. That game will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday.