Volleyball's losing streak hits seven matches

The Terrapins volleyball team knew that beating either No. 19 Florida St. or No. 25 Miami would prove difficult this weekend. But playing at home for the first time since Oct. 2, it seemed, would at least offer comfort and a sense of normalcy to obscure the growing skid that's consumed the team's season.

But the Terps' on-court play offered anything but comfort. In matches against two of the three ranked teams in the ACC, the Terps fell in four sets as their losing streak grew to seven matches. Although they denied Florida State a sweep, they were unable to do anything more in a 25-15, 25-19, 24-26, 25-23 loss. Against Miami, the Terps again failed to uphold an early lead in the fourth set, losing, 25-20, 22-25, 25-13, 25-23.

"It's disappointing — in both matches, we had opportunities to win Game 4 and get to Game 5," coach Tim Horsmon said. "And it's disappointing for the players. It would've given us a great opportunity to win at home."

The first two sets against Florida State seemed to blend in with the Terps' recent performance. The Seminoles (17-4, 11-0 ACC) ran ahead 11-2 and held the Terps in check for the remainder of the set. With Florida State leading 6-5 in the second set, the Seminoles went on a 5-0 run and didn't allow the Terps to get much closer before winning the set.

The Terps (9-14, 3-8) finally showed life in the third set before almost losing it at the end. After leading 16-9, the Terps nearly collapsed and trailed 24-22 before a few heroics extended the match. Outside hitter Maddi Lee, who contributed 13 kills in the match, started the rally with a block, and middle blocker Adreene Elliott tallied a kill to tie the set. After an error by the Seminoles, Lee finished the set with a kill to take the match to a fourth set.

The opportunities Horsmon alluded to were present in the fourth set. Trailing 7-5, the Terps went off on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a kill from middle blocker Caitlin Adams, who had eight kills and five blocks in the match. After the Seminoles got back in it, the Terps led 23-20 near the end of the set. But they couldn't withstand a 5-0 run from the Seminoles to clinch the match.

In contrast to their match against Florida State, the Terps started out strong against the Hurricanes (17-3, 8-3). The first set had 14 ties and lead changes combined, but the Hurricanes eventually came away with the set victory. The second set, though, went in the Terps' favor. With the score tied at 21, Adams delivered one of her 10 kills in the match to separate the Terps from the Hurricanes and tie the match.

The third set was as one-sided as it could get. Miami started out strong and didn't let up, winning the set, 25-13, as the Terps finished with a staggeringly low 2.9 attack percentage.

The fourth set against the Hurricanes was what, once again, proved critical. After the Terps staked a commanding 9-1 lead, the Hurricanes wore it away and tied it at 20, before taking the lead. Kills from Miami setter Katie Gallagher, who had 49 assists and 19 digs, and senior Lane Carico, who had 20 kills and 26 digs, handed the Terps their seventh straight loss.

"We knew that we weren't going to continue at that pace," Horsmon said of his team's start to the fourth set against Miami. "That team is too good to not close that gap, but it's still disappointing."

Although they came against ranked teams, the Terps' last two losses only added to the growing number of negative trends in their season. This weekend marks the first time the Terps have been swept in a homestand and gives the team only two more chances on the road to escape the month of October with a win.

Primary setter Remy McBain, though, was able to achieve her eighth double-double on the season against Miami with 34 assists, 10 digs and nine kills. That performance came on the heels of her near-triple-double against Florida State on Friday, when she tallied 39 assists, nine digs and nine kills.

"If I do my job, I feel like I should be getting those numbers in every match," she said. "I need to play defense and put those numbers up, or I'll feel like I didn't do enough in that match."