By Danny Chung-A-Fung
Maryland volleyball looked to snap its five-game losing streak Sunday afternoon against No. 7 Wisconsin at the Stephen M. Schanwald Pavilion.
The Terps have not been able to overcome Wisconsin, with a record of 1-12 all-time against the Badgers coming into Sunday’s match. The Badgers swept the Terps when they met in Madison nearly a year to the date.
The Terps would fall in the same result on Sunday, swept at home, 3-0.
Wisconsin came into College Park fresh off its loss against No. 19 Penn State, which the Terps also fell to a week ago on the Xfinity Center main court. Before the Penn State game, the Badgers were 11-1 and undefeated in conference play.
In the first set, Maryland started hot, thanks to two service errors from Wisconsin, which forced them to call an early timeout. But the Badgers fought back to take a late lead and eventually won the first set 25-20.
The Terps won the first set against Illinois, which coach Adam Hughes praised the team for last game. However, this was not the case today.
The second set was neck-and-neck for most of the way, but once again, the Badgers pulled away late to go up 2-0 in the match.
The third set was much more lopsided, with the Terps only scoring 12 points and losing 25-12.
Head coach Adam Hughes emphasized postgame that the third set does not reflect the team’s overall performance.
“I want to make sure that it’s clear that game three was below our standard, Hughes said.”
The Terps’ 23 kills were their lowest total this season and lowest since having 25 kills against Nebraska.
Redshirt senior Ajack Malual, a transfer from Tennessee, had 10 kills, adding to her team-leading 213 kills on the season. Junior Haley Melby had eight kills of her own.
When asked if he would like to see more versatility in the offense, in the future, Coach Hughes said that every team has a star player.
“Everyone’s got a signature persona,” Hughes said. “We feel like we have our featured person [in Ajack Malual].”
Hughes referred to Wisconsin outside hitter Mimi Colyer, who had a game-high 12 kills, as the Badgers’ main attack weapon.
The Terps will look to rebound Wednesday night right back at the Pav, as they host Rutgers.
Coach Hughes said the team has grown since the last time they played the Scarlet Knights, but they must remain the course as they hit the home stretch of the season.
“Tomorrow’s a day of practice, Tuesday’s a day of practice, we play Wednesday, and Thursday’s a day off, so hard stretch,” Hughes said. “But, you know, I feel like we’re physically at a pretty good space.”
