COLLEGE PARK, MD — The Terps fought extremely hard in every frame, but ultimately fell to No. 13 Penn State 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 21-25, 22-25) in front of a tremendous home crowd of 2,056 fans. The two teams were separated by just 12 total points.
After dropping a hard-fought, back-and-forth opener, the Terps rebounded to come away with a massive set two win that got The XFINITY Pavilion up and rocking. Maryland held a 22-16 lead in the frame thanks to seven kills from Sam Csire. The Nittany Lions went on a 6-1 run to close the gap, but Anastasia Russ came up with a powerful kill to give the Terps the win.
Csire reached the 10-kill mark early in set three, but the Nittany Lions jumped out to a 8-3 edge. Maryland fought back with a 6-2 run, punctuated by a Sydney Dowler ace to force a Penn State timeout. The Nittany Lions pulled away late to claim the set 25-21.
The final frame was just as close as the previous three and was knotted at 19 late, but Penn State came out on top to secure the match victory.
The Terps recorded 14 blocks compared to Penn State’s seven and extended their streak of out-blocking their opponent in every match.
The loss snapped the Terps’ three-game winning streak and dropped them to 12-9 overall and 3-6 in B1G play. Penn State moved to 16-4, 5-4.
Top Performers
- Csire led the way with 12 kills.
- Anastasia Russ added nine putaways and a team-high eight blocks.
Notable Numbers
- 2: Two Terps (Dowler and Erin Engel) had two service aces.
- 4: Four different Terps notched at least nine kills: Csire (12), Russ (9), Rainelle Jones (9) and Laila Ivey (9).
- 2,056: 2,056 Maryland faithful showed out and were loud all night in The Pav.
Up Next
- The Terps are right back in action tomorrow and will host Northwestern at 8 pm. That game will air on B1G+.
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