By Eric Myers
Looking to avoid its first four-game losing streak of the 2017 campaign, Maryland played host to Indiana on Friday night at the Xfinity Center Pavilion. Paced by a strong attacking performance by sophomore outside hitter Gia Milana, the Terrapins (15-8, 3-7) took down the Hoosiers (12-11, 1-9) in four sets.
Maryland’s prolific sophomore accounted for 14 kills on 48 attempts. Milana, who led the Terps in kills for the 14th time this season, notched double digit kills for the first time since Oct. 13. Although her attacking numbers reached the double digit plateau, she was still critical of her performance, citing her seven attacking errors.
“[I was] just trying to do too much,” Milana said. “Once again, I’m going to still work on not making too many errors. That goes back to the decision making… so that’s something I’m going to continue to work on my whole career.”
In the opening frame, Maryland fell behind 5-1 to start the match, before scoring five of the next six points to draw even. Behind Milana’s five first set kills on a .400 hitting clip, and five blocks, the Terps took the first set 25-19.
During the second set, Maryland and Indiana exchanged runs until the middle of the set where the Terrapins found themselves with a 14-13 lead. The home team then reeled off five consecutive points to separate from Indiana at 19-13. Maryland was able to close out the second set at 25-21.
Following the break, Indiana seized Maryland’s momentum by opening up the set by scoring nine of the first 12 points of the set. The Terrapins were unable to rally back due to multiple receiving and attack errors. They eventually dropped the problematic third frame 25-19, as their late wave of momentum was too little, too late.
“I thought Indiana was good [in the third set], I didn’t think we were ready to play,” head coach Steve Aird said. “I wasn’t thrilled with our effort or execution.”
In the fourth set, coming off of some “adult advice” from Aird, Maryland looked to close out the Hoosier team, which has only one conference win on the season. After the teams traded points, Maryland took control late and finished off Indiana 24-20.
The Terrapins also received strong contributions from freshman outside hitter Erika Pritchard, who added 11 kills and three blocks, and first-year middle blocker Jada Gardner, who added eight kills on a .538 hitting percentage and five blocks. Overall, Maryland turned in a strong performance rejecting shots at the net, with 11 total blocks.
Gardner has continued to adjust to the college game while taking Katie Myers’ place in the starting lineup after her season-ending injury. Her increased comfort is showing on the court with improved timing and positioning in her blocking game.
With the win, Maryland is one step closer to reaching NCAA tournament eligibility that requires 16 wins on the season. Maryland will have the chance to collect that win when it closes out its four-game homestand with a Sunday matinee against Purdue. It’ll then conclude the season on a daunting four-game road trip that features three of the top four teams in the Big-Ten.
“As ambitious as it might be, our goal is to make the NCAA tournament,” Aird said. “We need another win to become eligible to do so, and obviously the league is punishing at times, so I’m going to let my staff and my team until about 10 am tomorrow when we start training for Purdue.”
