By Christian Andriolas
After Maryland won its first Big Ten match last week against Rutgers, the Terps traveled this weekend to face two ranked opponents: No. 9 Wisconsin and No. 14 Minnesota.
The Terps could not get any wins, losing both games in sweeps and falling to 10-7 (1-5 B1G).
Despite the formidable challenge of facing two of its toughest matchups back-to-back, the Terps did not back down from the competition.
“We know we need to have good serving [matches] and take some risks and try to push the envelope,” said head coach Adam Hughes during the week.
Playing two ranked opponents on back-to-back nights presents challenges, but the Terps know they must prepare for both teams.
“You can’t not talk about Minnesota,” Hughes said. “You’re worried about Wisconsin, but you turn and burn and play in 24 hours, so you have to discuss both [matchups].”
Maryland vs Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin – Maryland’s first matchup was against Wisconsin. The Badgers entered the game 12-1 all-time against the Terps.
The Terps knew this would be a challenge and struggled to get anything going during the match, falling to the Badgers in three sets (25-15, 25-11, 25-15).
In set one, Maryland kept it competitive early — with the score at 9-8 — but Wisconsin began pulling away with a five-point scoring run that the Terps never recovered from.
“We could have been a little better in our control in game one… but this is what Big Ten life can look like,” said Hughes.
Set two was more of the same.
The Terps kept it tight early on, but errors plagued them. During the Badgers’ nine-point scoring run, Maryland had six attack errors, allowing Wisconsin to open the door and eventually win the set with another scoring run of six in a row.
Wisconsin jumped out to an early lead in set three looking like they would dominate again, but the Terps did not quit. Maryland played its best set of the night, but ultimately fell once again, losing the match.
“In the third set, we were definitely more competitive… we were executing at a higher level,” said Hughes. “I was proud that [we] didn’t surrender there, and [we] kept battling against a good team.”
Maryland vs Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota – After a difficult loss, the Terps look to bounce back against another great team — No. 14 Minnesota. Maryland beat Minnesota last season, possibly giving them some insight on how to do that again.
“I think anytime you beat somebody, it allows the program to realize you’ve done it before,” said Hughes. “It does give [us] a little more confidence going into the game.”
Despite being ranked slightly lower than Wisconsin, Minnesota presented a different challenge with its distinct style of play.
“[It’s] a very different style of team,” Hughes said. “We’re going to have to make some gambles and risks against a really good team.”
This different style of play was too much to adjust to and the Terps fell in straight sets for the second night in a row (25-21, 25-15, 25-18).
The first set was the closest of the night with a back-and-forth style familiar to the Terps from previous conference matches.
Maryland was within one point late — 22-21 — until the Golden Gophers scored the final three points to win the set.
Minnesota jumped out to an early lead in the second set. The Terps fought back with help from its three kills leaders this season — Samantha Schnitta (13), Sam Csire (9), and Sydney Bryant (4) — but ultimately lost the set.
Maryland entered set three looking to avoid another sweep. The Terps tried to make some adjustments to create a spark.
“I thought Becca [Acevedo], our associate coach, did a good job making adjustments. We were learning on the fly and just changing where we were giving them looks,” said Hughes. “[We got] a little bit more offensive balance. I thought that was a nice pop there.”
This helped the Terps keep a lead for some time in the set, but the Golden Gophers won the set and the match.
“We think we’re a good volleyball team, but all of these are underdog scenarios… I thought we did a better job starting on time. That was something we wanted to do,” said Hughes.
Next up, Maryland will play a new conference foe — USC — at home on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Following that, the Terps will travel to Illinois on Sunday to face the Fighting Illini at 2:00 p.m.
