Ex-Hampton standout Anastasia Russ thrives in debut season at Maryland

Former Hampton volleyball star Anastasia Russ has come out of her shell.

After three years at Pitt as an underused backup, Russ transferred to Maryland in January and flourished in her first season with the Terrapins.

The 6-foot-5 redshirt junior middle blocker emerged as one of the best defensive players in the Big Ten and ranked in the top five in the nation in blocks.

“This is the first time I’ve had a major role on the court, so I was kind of excited to see what I could do,” Russ said. “It’s definitely a lot of fun, and I’m definitely where I want to be.”

Russ enjoyed team success as Pitt, reaching the Elite Eight and the Final Four in her final two seasons. But the 2019 Hampton graduate saw action in only 12 sets — out of a possible 126 — during the Final Four season and entered the transfer portal.

Russ visited Maryland with her family and met with Terrapin coach Adam Hughes in late December and enrolled at the Big Ten school the following month.

“That was kind of a home run for us,” Hughes said.

Russ earned a starting role and helped the Terrapins to a 16-16 season (7-13 in Big Ten), punctuated by a couple of memorable wins over top-10 teams.

Russ ranked fifth in the NCAA Division I at 1.54 blocks per set and, along with 6-foot-3 senior Rainelle Jones, powered a Terrapins front line that led the nation in blocks (3.33 per set) for the second year in a row.

Russ had six blocks and seven kills in an Oct. 16 victory at Purdue, the Terrapins’ first road win against a top-10 opponent since joining Big Ten in 2014.

She also had 11 blocks, matching her career high, in a 3-1 upset win over No. 5 Ohio State on Nov. 18 at College Park, Md.

“That was probably one of the best moments of my life,” Russ said. “I’m not going to lie. That was absolutely insane.”

Russ is one of the tallest players in the Big Ten; only four players stand taller. But she knows blocking is an art that requires more than height and long limbs. She focused this season on her eye work, being able to better anticipate where to position herself and form a blocking wall.

“That’s something that was kind of missing on my game,” said Russ, who has two more years of eligibility.

Russ does more than just block. She is formidable on offense and ranked in the top 10 in the Big Ten in hitting efficiency.

“She’s got great vision of what’s in front of her,” Hughes said. “She’s a very low-error player. She rarely gets blocked. She rarely makes any bad decisions. She does a good job of balancing both offense and defense.”

Blocks, however, are the most electrifying play in volleyball, and that’s what Russ does best.

“From an energy factor, for sure,” Hughes said. “And when she does it, she usually blocks a ball before anyone lands. That means it’s down very fast.”

Coaches took notice. Russ was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week twice and earned all-Big Ten second-team honors Nov. 30 in voting by the league’s coaches.

Not too bad for someone who got cut from her seventh-grade volleyball team.

Russ became motivated after the snub and attended multiple volleyball camps and joined a travel team. She made the Hampton middle-school squad as an eighth-grader and, two years later, she earned the first of three consecutive all-state honors with Hampton varsity.

“Obviously, I didn’t like getting cut,” she said. “It was not a good feeling for a seventh grader, but I used that to work harder.”