Maryland Volleyball Swept by No. 18 Indiana, Falls to 0-2 in Big Ten Play
By Brian Hradsky
The Maryland Terrapins faced another difficult test to begin Big Ten play Saturday night, falling in straight sets to No. 18 Indiana, 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20, at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington.
Maryland entered conference play with a 10-1 record but opened its Big Ten schedule with consecutive road matches against No. 10 Purdue and No. 18 Indiana. The back-to-back losses dropped the Terrapins to 10-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference, while Indiana improved to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play.
The Terrapins improved as Saturday’s match progressed, scoring 17 points in the opening set, 18 in the second and 20 in the third. Indiana’s offense and front-row defense ultimately proved too much, however, as the Hoosiers hit .361 and recorded 10 blocks while holding Maryland to a .178 hitting percentage.
Indiana controls the opening set
Indiana immediately put Maryland in a difficult position by jumping out to an 8-2 advantage in the first set. Ava Brown recorded Maryland’s first kill of the match, but the Hoosiers maintained control and carried a 15-7 lead into the media timeout.
Maryland attempted to work its way back into the set. Brown and setter Sara Toth delivered kills during a three-point Terrapins run, while Brown and Marlee Sivak added kills later in the frame. The early deficit was simply too large to overcome.
Indiana finished the opening set with 15 kills and only three attacking errors, hitting .387. Maryland recorded 10 kills against six errors and hit .138 as the Hoosiers secured a 25-17 victory.
Maryland pushes Indiana in second set
Maryland gave Indiana more resistance in the second.
Brooklynne Brass recorded two early kills and helped the Terrapins remain within striking distance. Brass, Toth and Brown later delivered kills during another Maryland push that forced Indiana to call a timeout.
Toth, primarily responsible for directing Maryland’s offense, also contributed offensively herself. Her third kill of the match gave Maryland its 10th point of the second set.
Indiana nevertheless held a 15-10 advantage at the media timeout. Sivak and Brass interrupted Hoosiers runs with kills, and Maryland put together a late 4-1 run, but Indiana maintained enough separation to take the set 25-18.
Maryland’s offense improved considerably from the first set, finishing with 15 kills and a .200 hitting percentage. Indiana was even more efficient, recording 14 kills with just two errors for a .364 percentage.
The Terrapins were down 2-0 and needed a comeback to extend the match.
Terps rally in third
Indiana again started quickly in the third set, building a 6-1 advantage.
Maryland refused to let the match get away immediately. Eva Rohrbach delivered a kill that sparked a 5-1 Terrapins run and helped Maryland work its way back into the set.
Indiana led 15-10 at the break, but Maryland continued fighting. The Terrapins eventually cut the deficit to two points, forcing an Indiana timeout and giving themselves their best opportunity of the night to take a set from the nationally ranked Hoosiers.
Indiana responded after the timeout and regained control with another run. Brass recorded Maryland’s only service ace of the match late in the third, but the Hoosiers closed out the set 25-20 to complete the sweep.
The final set was Maryland’s closest of the night. Indiana recorded 17 kills and hit .333, while Maryland finished with 10 kills and a .192 hitting percentage.
Brown leads Maryland attack
Brown finished as Maryland’s leader with nine kills, while Rohrbach followed with eight. Brass contributed six kills, six digs, one ace and one block, while Sivak added five kills and a block.
Toth handled most of the setting duties and finished with 29 assists and a team-high nine digs. Her work helped Maryland accumulate 35 kills on 90 total attacks.
Maryland’s offensive numbers were an improvement from its Big Ten opener against No. 10 Purdue, when the Terrapins hit only .115 and recorded 27 kills. Against Indiana, Maryland increased those totals to 35 kills and a .178 hitting percentage.
The difficulty was that Indiana was operating at an even higher level.
Indiana dominates at the net
One of the clearest differences between the teams came at the net.
Indiana finished with 46 kills to Maryland’s 35 and committed only 11 attacking errors compared with Maryland’s 19. The Hoosiers also held a commanding 10-2 advantage in blocks and finished with four service aces to Maryland’s one.
Ella Boersema led Indiana with 11 kills and an outstanding .667 hitting percentage. Avry Tatum made her season debut and immediately made an impact, recording 10 kills, hitting .350 and matching her career high with six blocks.
Jaidyn Jager added nine kills and eight digs, while Kiki Granberry contributed eight kills and five blocks. Setter Teodora Krickovic directed Indiana’s efficient offense with 38 assists and six digs.
Tatum’s return gave an already strong Indiana team another weapon. The fifth-year opposite was an AVCA honorable mention All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2025.
Tough opening weekend in the Big Ten
Maryland’s 0-2 conference record needs context.
The Terrapins did not receive anything resembling an easy introduction to Big Ten play. Maryland traveled to face No. 10 Purdue on Thursday and then No. 18 Indiana two nights later. Both matches ended in straight-set defeats.
Before the conference schedule began, Maryland had won nine of its previous 10 matches and seven consecutive matches immediately preceding Purdue. The Terrapins had also swept Campbell, East Carolina and Old Dominion in their final three nonconference matches.
Indiana presented a particularly difficult matchup.
The Hoosiers opened Big Ten play by sweeping UCLA on Thursday and then did the same to Maryland Saturday. Indiana held UCLA to a .150 hitting percentage before limiting Maryland to .178.
Indiana has now won seven consecutive matches. The Hoosiers have also opened Big Ten play 2-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1987 and 1988.
Maryland returns home
The Terrapins will finally get an opportunity to play a Big Ten match in College Park.
Maryland returns home to host Iowa on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Stephen M. Schanwald Pavilion inside XFINITY Center. The match will stream on Big Ten Plus.
Returning home could be important after Maryland opened conference play with two matches against nationally ranked opponents on the road.
At 10-3, the Terrapins still have a strong overall record. The challenge now is translating their successful nonconference season into wins against Big Ten competition.
MSB Take
Maryland’s first Big Ten weekend was rough, but the level of competition cannot be ignored. Opening conference play on the road against No. 10 Purdue and No. 18 Indiana is about as difficult as it gets, and Maryland learned quickly how small the margin for error becomes against nationally ranked Big Ten teams.
There were improvements Saturday. Maryland increased its kills from 27 against Purdue to 35 against Indiana and raised its hitting percentage from .115 to .178. The Terrapins also became more competitive in each set, going from 25-17 to 25-18 and finally 25-20.
The biggest concern was Indiana’s dominance at the net. A 10-2 blocking disadvantage made it difficult for Maryland’s attackers to establish consistent rhythm, while the Hoosiers’ .361 hitting percentage put constant pressure on the Terrapins to side out. Those are areas Maryland will have to improve as conference play continues.
Still, two losses should not erase what Maryland accomplished during the first month of the season. The Terps are 10-3, and their first two Big Ten opponents were both ranked inside the national top 20. Getting back to College Park against Iowa gives Maryland an opportunity to reset and begin turning a strong overall start into Big Ten victories.
