Maryland Volleyball Crushes Saint Peter’s for Fifth Consecutive Sweep

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland volleyball is rolling.

The Terrapins completed a perfect Maryland Tournament with a dominant 3-0 sweep of Saint Peter’s Sunday afternoon at the Stephen M. Schanwald Pavilion, winning 25-13, 25-7 and 25-16. Maryland improved to 7-1 overall, extended its winning streak to six matches and recorded its fifth consecutive sweep.

Maryland’s 7-1 record is the program’s best through eight matches since 2021. The Terps also produced five consecutive sweeps for the first time since that same season.

Haley Melby led Maryland with 11 kills, while Sydney Bryant and Ava Brown recorded seven kills apiece. Raina Chwialkowski delivered a career-high four service aces and finished with 11 digs, while Sara Toth directed the offense with 29 assists.

Eva Rohrbach continued to make an impact at the net with six blocks.

Maryland dominated almost every aspect of the match, finishing with 38 kills against only five attack errors while hitting .434. Saint Peter’s recorded 23 kills and 23 errors, finishing with a .000 hitting percentage.

Maryland Takes Control Immediately

There was little doubt about Maryland’s intentions from the beginning.

The Terps opened the first set with six consecutive points, immediately forcing Saint Peter’s to play from behind. Chwialkowski eventually delivered Maryland’s first service ace of the afternoon as the advantage expanded to 11-3.

Bryant continued Maryland’s offensive pressure and delivered a kill that sent the Terps into the media timeout ahead 15-6.

Maryland then used a 5-1 run to increase its advantage to 21-9.

The Peacocks never seriously threatened the lead, and Maryland closed out the opening set with a 25-13 victory.

The numbers from the first set were staggering.

Maryland recorded 15 kills without committing a single attack error on 24 attempts. That gave the Terrapins an extraordinary .625 hitting percentage for the set.

Saint Peter’s, meanwhile, recorded eight kills and eight errors on 26 attempts for a .000 hitting percentage.

Maryland could hardly have played a cleaner opening set.

Second Set Becomes a Rout

If the opening set was dominant, Maryland took things to another level in the second.

Rohrbach helped establish control immediately with two early blocks as Maryland jumped ahead 3-0. She later delivered a service ace during a 6-0 run that expanded Maryland’s advantage to 11-2.

Saint Peter’s had no answer.

The Terps eventually unleashed another six-point run, with Chwialkowski delivering two aces during the stretch. Maryland’s advantage ballooned to 19-5.

From there, the only question was how quickly Maryland would finish the set.

The answer was emphatically.

Maryland won 25-7.

Saint Peter’s managed only four kills while committing eight attack errors on 34 attempts, resulting in a minus-.118 hitting percentage.

Maryland finished with 13 kills and only three errors while hitting .333.

The seven points allowed represented Maryland’s fewest surrendered in a 25-point set since 2021.

At that point, Maryland was completely in control.

Terps Finish the Job

Maryland refused to give Saint Peter’s any hope of extending the match in the third set.

Chwialkowski recorded another ace as Maryland opened with a 5-0 run. Rohrbach later delivered a kill that kept the Terrapins comfortably ahead, 9-3.

Saint Peter’s finally managed to generate some resistance and cut Maryland’s advantage to 14-10.

But the Terps responded.

Elayna Davidson delivered a service ace immediately after a timeout to increase Maryland’s advantage to 15-10.

The Peacocks remained within striking distance briefly, but Maryland eventually put together a 7-1 run that eliminated any realistic possibility of a comeback.

Maryland closed the set with a 25-16 victory and completed another sweep.

The Terrapins committed only two attack errors in the third set and hit .364.

Melby Continues Strong Start

Melby once again provided Maryland with a dependable offensive option.

The graduate student led the Terps with 11 kills, finishing as the only Maryland player in double figures. She continued an impressive start to the season after recently being named the Solomon Eye Terp of the Week.

Bryant and Brown provided plenty of additional support with seven kills each.

Rohrbach added five kills to her outstanding defensive performance.

Maryland’s offensive balance remains one of the most encouraging parts of its early-season success. The Terps do not need one player to carry the entire attack because multiple hitters have consistently contributed.

That balance was evident Sunday.

Chwialkowski Dominates From Service Line

Chwialkowski provided one of the best performances of her young Maryland career.

The freshman libero recorded a career-high four service aces and led Maryland with 11 digs. She also contributed four assists.

Her serving repeatedly prevented Saint Peter’s from establishing an offensive rhythm.

Maryland finished with six aces overall, with Rohrbach and Davidson contributing one apiece.

Chwialkowski’s impact went beyond the service line.

She helped anchor a Maryland defensive effort that limited Saint Peter’s to 23 kills on 90 attempts. The Peacocks committed exactly as many attack errors as they recorded kills.

That resulted in a .000 hitting percentage for the match.

Maryland Dominates at the Net

Maryland’s blocking provided another major advantage.

The Terps finished with 10.5 team blocks compared with only two for Saint Peter’s.

Rohrbach led the way with six blocks. Brown added four, while Duru Gökçen recorded three.

Saint Peter’s repeatedly struggled to generate clean attacking opportunities against Maryland’s front line.

The difference was reflected throughout the box score.

Maryland finished with 54.5 total points compared with 27 for Saint Peter’s. The Terps held advantages of 38-23 in kills, 6-2 in aces, 10.5-2 in blocks, 35-22 in assists and 42-28 in digs.

It was complete control.

Toth Directs Efficient Maryland Offense

Toth deserves considerable credit for Maryland’s offensive efficiency.

The setter finished with 29 assists as Maryland hit .434 for the match.

Maryland’s 38 kills came on only 76 attempts, and the Terps committed just five attacking errors over three sets.

That is an exceptional level of efficiency.

The first set was particularly impressive, as Maryland produced 15 kills without committing an error.

Toth, Chwialkowski and Melby were ultimately named to the Maryland All-Tournament Team following the weekend.

Five Consecutive Sweeps

Maryland’s recent run has become difficult to ignore.

The Terrapins have now won six consecutive matches and swept five straight opponents.

Maryland defeated UMES, George Mason, Seton Hall, Princeton and Saint Peter’s without dropping a set.

That means the Terps have won 15 consecutive sets.

Maryland’s previous victory came against Arkansas in four sets, meaning the Terrapins have lost only one set during their entire six-match winning streak.

The Terps’ last defeat came against Vanderbilt on Sept. 1.

Since then, Maryland has been nearly perfect.

Maryland Tournament Belongs to the Terps

Maryland entered the weekend looking to continue its early-season momentum.

The Terps did considerably more than that.

Maryland swept Seton Hall Friday night, defeated Princeton in straight sets Saturday and then dismantled Saint Peter’s Sunday.

The Terps went 9-0 in sets during the tournament.

Maryland’s performance against Princeton was particularly impressive offensively, as the Terps hit .374 while Bryant recorded 14 kills.

Against Saint Peter’s, Maryland was even better.

The Terps raised their hitting percentage to .434 while committing only five attack errors.

Maryland therefore leaves its home tournament at 7-1 with considerable momentum.

Next Challenge Awaits

Maryland now heads back on the road for the ECU Tournament in Greenville, North Carolina.

The Terrapins are scheduled to face Campbell Thursday, Sept. 17, before playing tournament host East Carolina.

Those matches will give Maryland another opportunity to continue building before the Big Ten portion of the schedule begins.

The competition will become considerably more difficult once conference play arrives, but Maryland has done exactly what a team wants to do during the nonconference portion of its schedule.

The Terps are winning.

They are winning convincingly.

And right now, they are barely surrendering sets.

MSB Take

Five consecutive sweeps deserve attention.

Maryland is not simply piling up victories against its nonconference schedule. The Terps are controlling matches from beginning to end, and Sunday might have been their most complete performance yet.

Look at the numbers.

Maryland hit .434. Saint Peter’s hit .000.

Maryland committed five attack errors. Saint Peter’s committed 23.

Maryland finished with 10.5 blocks. Saint Peter’s had two.

The Terps doubled Saint Peter’s in total points, 54.5-27.

Those are not the numbers from a close volleyball match.

Maryland was better offensively, defensively, at the net and from the service line.

The second set might be the most impressive part of the entire afternoon. Winning a college volleyball set 25-7 is complete domination, and Maryland accomplished it while holding Saint Peter’s to a negative hitting percentage.

Chwialkowski also continues to look like an important piece for this team. Four aces and 11 digs from a freshman libero is impressive, particularly when combined with what Maryland received from Melby, Bryant, Brown, Rohrbach and Toth.

Now comes the important part.

Maryland has won six straight matches and 15 consecutive sets. The Terps are 7-1 for their best eight-match start since 2021.

That does not mean Maryland has proven everything. Big Ten volleyball will provide a completely different level of competition.

But Maryland has done everything it can to build confidence before getting there.

Five straight sweeps.

Fifteen straight sets.

A 7-1 record.

The Terps are rolling.