Maryland volleyball drops five-set thriller to Illinois

Down 20-12 in the second set, Maryland volleyball senior setter Sydney Dowler made history. With a service to senior outside hitter Sam Csire, Dowler became just the sixth-ever Terp to record 3,000 career assists.

“She deserves all the credit she gets for her work rate and her support,” head coach Adam Hughes said.

But the historic moment was tarnished as the Terps dropped their fourth straight game, falling to Illinois in five sets (21-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-20, 15-10).

Maryland moved to 1-12 all-time against the Illini and 0-8 under Hughes.

Errors continued to plague Maryland Friday, which recorded a season-high 36 attack errors to go along with 12 service errors.

“I thought situationally there were just way too many attack errors, and honestly, too many service errors,” Hughes said. “Both of those, I think, were what really cost us more than anything”

Despite being the best blocking team in the conference, the Terps finished with zero solo blocks and eight block…