The Ohio State women’s volleyball team celebrates after a win over Michigan State at the Covelli Center Nov. 8. The Buckeyes swept the Spartans in three sets. Credit: Lance Haupricht | For The Lantern
Ohio State women’s volleyball was on the wrong side of a sweep against an efficient Maryland attack.
After sweeping the Terrapins earlier this year at home and sweeping Michigan State last Wednesday, the Buckeyes (10-15, 7-9 Big Ten) were taken down in three sets (25-23, 25-19, 25-23) Sunday by Maryland (16-12, 6-10 Big Ten).
The offense was electric in College Park, Maryland, for the Terrapins, as they hit at a .288 clip on the day.
The performance was led by Erin Morrissey, a redshirt-junior outside hitter who paced Maryland with 12 kills on a .281 hitting percentage.
They stopped the Ohio State offense as well, holding them to a .191 hitting percentage in the match.
Five blocks apiece from freshman and senior middle blockers Eva Rohrbach and Anastasia Russ carried the Terrapins defensively.
Senior outside hitter Emily Londot stood out for the Buckeyes, collecting 17 kills on 44 swings to lead the team. Sophomore middle blocker Zaria Ragler produced as well, picking up nine kills on a .500 hitting percentage.
Freshman setter Mia Tuman set them up well, dishing 36 assists on the day to go with 10 digs on the defensive end, her third straight double-double.
The offense featured heavily in the first set, as the Terrapins hit .340 and the Buckeyes worked at a .298 clip. The high mark for Maryland propelled it to the early advantage, winning the set 25-23, driven by a 6-point run that dug it out of a 4-point deficit and kept it ahead for the rest of the set.
In the second set, Ohio State kept it close with the Terrapins, trading the lead 12 times in the match until the score hit 18-17. After that point, Maryland went on a 9-1 run to close out the set 25-19.
The third was similar, with each team trading blows, tying the set 12 different times. Just like the previous set, Maryland found a 4-point lead not long after staring down a 3-point deficit at 17-14, swinging the score in their direction to a 22-18 lead.
The Buckeyes made it a game after that, rallying to get up 23-22, but the Terrapins scored the next three to secure the sweep with a 25-23 win.
Ohio State will continue its road trip Wednesday into Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, where Illinois will host at 9 p.m.
