Freshmen dazzle as Maryland volleyball overcomes Iowa in five-set thriller

As Brooklynne Brass spiked the final ball down to secure a 3-2 win for Maryland volleyball, the court transformed into unscripted chaos.

Players exploded into victory dances, engulfed star player Brass in a gigantic group hug and rushed across the hardwood to celebrate alongside the roaring pep band. Together, they were united in their deafening cheer, screaming, “Go Maryland.”

The Terps closed out the emotional victory in five sets, knocking off Iowa Thursday night at the XFINITY Pavilion. Head coach Adam Hughes and his team finally overcame the odds to secure Maryland’s first conference win in 351 days.

“We went through two top-15 teams on the road, and did it with probably four or five freshmen out there… It feels really, really good to get a win,” Hughes said.

After having started recent games slowly, Maryland began the first set strong, winning a point off the serve from Brass. In a 4-4 run, both Iowa and Maryland were unwilling to back down. This tie game found its way to 12 apiece, with neither team able to create an advantage.

It wasn’t until Duru Gökçen gave Maryland a 19-18 lead with a kill that either team was able to find momentum. A quick 4-0 run handed the Terps a significant advantage at 21-18. By managing to maintain this lead, Maryland set the tempo and won the close set, 25-20.

“We were passing really well in game one,” Hughes noted. “It’s a field possession, realistically. So if we’re passing well, we’re getting enough offense at them.”

Losing the first set did nothing but motivate the Hawkeyes for the second. Iowa found themselves on the board following an attack error from Brass. Eva Rohrbach tied the set with a vicious kill, but Iowa made headway with an eight-point run. With a powerful service ace, Henlee Moszkowicz extended the Hawkeyes’ lead to 20-12 and later the set victory at 25-13.

Tied at 1-1, the energy in the Pavilion was tense going into the third set. From opposing fan taunts to cheers from the pep band, both teams were required to focus carefully on each point.

Maryland broke a tied set with a 9-7 lead driven by kills from Rohrbach and Sydney Bryant. While trailing Iowa in service aces and producing more service errors, Maryland desperately needed to fix the serving deficit. Finding that missing serving pressure, the Terps were able to close out another close set with a vicious service ace, 25-22.

The next set followed the pattern of the night: the score remained tied up until 9-9, right before Iowa went on a match-shifting, multi-point run. Hitting percentages for both teams were remarkably high, with Maryland at .450 and Iowa at .353. Both teams were executing cleanly in-system early in the frame.

Trailing 24-17, Maryland didn’t yield immediately, saving multiple set points to pull back within 24-19 before giving up an emphatic kill that forced a fifth set.

“I was more proud that even though we got kind of smoked in those two sets, you know, this group is really young and super resilient, and I watched them grow here in a tough environment—good environment for us to be home, but tough situation,” Hughes said.

The deciding fifth set opened in another tight battle. In a high-stakes set where every point counted, Maryland fell into a quick two-point deficit after misreading Iowa’s attack options but quickly regrouped. Gökçen delivered a crucial kill to pull Maryland ahead, 4-3, before Iowa leveled it once more at four.

Holding a slim 5-4 lead, Maryland turned to Brass on the outside to drive offense once again. Capitalizing on the rising energy inside the arena, the Terps launched a crucial 3-0 run.

“[Brass is] one of the most athletic defensive specialists I’ve ever seen… The thing that I thought she was elite at tonight was just the resiliency,” Hughes said. “They were serving her and targeting her… She held firm, made some crazy, crazy good passes in Game 5, and I think that’s a big reason why we were so good offensively.”

The turning point came when a contested challenge, which was ruled in Maryland’s favor, gave the Terps the point. Feeding off the crowd’s energy, senior middle blocker Rohrbach slipped a soft touch over the net.

By the time Maryland pushed the lead to 13-7, the atmosphere reached a crescendo; at the same time, Iowa’s team energy dissipated. With standing fans, the bench dancing along the sidelines, and the pep band playing at full volume, the Terps completely locked down the floor. During that stretch, Maryland’s defense held Iowa to zero kills, while the Terps hit a blazing .462. In what was a close set, Maryland narrowly closed out the final stretch 15-10 to secure the 3-2 match victory.

“[The team is] really, really happy, really proud. I think our fight and our grit all throughout showed, and I know the team’s ecstatic right now. Everybody’s just really happy,” Brass said.

1. Freshman performance. Freshmen Brown and Brass led the charge with career-high 18-kill performances each. Senior middle blocker Eva Rohrbach aided the pair and added 13 kills on no errors to give setter Sara Toth reliable options all night.

Freshman performance. Freshmen Brown and Brass led the charge with career-high 18-kill performances each. Senior middle blocker Eva Rohrbach aided the pair and added 13 kills on no errors to give setter Sara Toth reliable options all night.

1. Overcoming historical conference struggles. Historically, Maryland has struggled in conference play and has been unable to limit attacking and service errors; this set was no different. With the lowest hitting percentage of all of its matches (.138), Maryland was forced to adjust its strategy, which later sparked their comeback

Overcoming historical conference struggles. Historically, Maryland has struggled in conference play and has been unable to limit attacking and service errors; this set was no different. With the lowest hitting percentage of all of its matches (.138), Maryland was forced to adjust its strategy, which later sparked their comeback

1. Number one up next. The Terps will look to carry this energy towards their match on Saturday against No. 1 Nebraska.

Number one up next. The Terps will look to carry this energy towards their match on Saturday against No. 1 Nebraska.

“We focused on this game,” Brass said. “We didn’t look ahead of it, and now our next goal is Saturday’s game, and we’re going to put the same focus into it.”