Maryland volleyball was unable to overcome the stout defense of No. 9 Wisconsin, losing in straight sets Wednesday 25-16, 25-20, 25-19.
Erika Pritchard led the Terps with 10 kills overall, while Samantha Drechsel and Samantha Burgio were tied with nine digs for Maryland. The team was once again without junior libero Kelsey Wicinski, who missed her third straight match.
The Terps finished the game hitting at a .069 clip with a .284 kill percentage while Wisconsin hit at a .389 clip with a .500 kill percentage. For Wisconsin, freshman Dana Rettke led with 14 kills and Tiffany Clark led with 11 digs.
Maryland (14-7, 3-6 Big Ten) came into the match with a 3-5 record in the Big Ten, including an 0-3 record against ranked Big Ten opposition, which didn’t help going up against the Badgers (14-4, 5-4).
Head coach Steve Aird made two changes before the game, swapping the positions of two freshman. Pritchard moved to opposite hitter, with Drechsel taking her place at outside hitter.
In set one, Maryland fell behind early and couldn’t recover, losing the set 25-16. The Terps got the score to as close as 14-10 before Wisconsin closed out the game on a 11-6 run. The Badgers took advantage of nine attack errors committed by the Terps, including set point.
The Badgers dominated the set, hitting at a .560 clip with a .600 kill percentage. On the other hand, Maryland hit at a .029 clip with a .294 kill percentage.
In set two, the Terps kept the game much closer, leading as late as 13-12, but the Badgers proved to be too much, winning 25-20. The Terps kept the game to a one-point affair up until Wisconsin was leading 20-19, before they went on a 5-1 run to end the set.
The Terps benefitted from three aces and four serving errors by Wisconsin in the second set, but the Badgers produced 15 kills on only four attack errors. Maryland only had nine kills, but committed six attack errors. In the set, the Terps hit at a .083 clip, with a .250 kill percentage, while Wisconsin hit .324 with a .441 kill percentage.
In set three, the Terps kept pace with the Badgers in the early going, but fell behind in the middle. After Maryland took an 8-7 lead in the set, Wisconsin went on a 18-11 run to end it. Maryland fell victim to attack errors, committing seven in the set.
The Terps hit at a .094 clip and a .313 kill percentage in the set, their best in the game, while Wisconsin hit at a .323 clip with a .484 kill percentage.
Maryland will have a few days off before they face No. 10 Michigan State on Saturday at 5:30 pm on the main floor of the Xfinity Center.