Maryland volleyball’s offense has been its primary weakness through an abysmal season against Big Ten opponents.

The Terps’ lack of sustained offense, a visible constant through their seven straight conference losses entering Friday, only continued against No. 9 Purdue.

Maryland mustered just a .157 hitting percentage — against a Boilermakers team that has allowed opponents to hit .216 on average this season — en route to a 3-0, straight-set road loss on Friday.

Maryland (8-17, 2-10 Big Ten) opened with improved offensive urgency. Bolstered by an early .235 hitting percentage, it led the Boilermakers midway through the first set.

The Terps entered Friday tied with USC for second in the Big Ten in blocks with 240.5, only behind Iowa.

[Poor offense, late-set inconsistency have plagued Maryland volleyball under Adam Hughes]

However, the Boilermakers (21-3, 12-2 Big Ten) dominated the area on Friday, 10-5, and surged back through the latter half of the opening set, never relinquishing their lead. Half of Purdue’s 10 blocks came in the first set alone — it committed just one error across the entire set and finished with a .571 hitting percentage.

Maryland committed eight attacking errors in its 25-19 first-set loss. Self-inflicted errors have remained a constant over recent weeks.

The visible performance gap got wider in the second set. After quickly falling into a seven-point hole, coach Adam Hughes spent both of his remaining timeouts.

Fueled by its high-pressure defense, Purdue continued to force Maryland’s offense into a myriad of errors. The Terps continued to stall offensively, hitting -.038 in the frame.

Amid an abysmal Terps’ offense, Ajack Malual yet again showed flashes as Maryland’s lone bright spot offensively. The senior logged eight kills through Friday’s first two sets, part of an eventual team-high 11.

[Maryland volleyball’s offense collapses in home losses to Ohio State, Michigan]

Despite Malual’s consistency within the Terps’ front line, middle blocking duo Duru Gökçen and Eva Rohrbach weren’t nearly as effective. The pair’s regular-season blocking totals have been among the Big Ten’s best — but the pair were held to just two block assists in the first two sets.

After an eight-point second-set win, Purdue started the third set on a 9-2 run. Hughes, once more, exhausted his timeouts in quick succession, hoping to alleviate a red-hot Boilermakers attack while regaining some momentum.

It didn’t work. Purdue finished with a .357 hitting percentage and 41 kills, nine more than the Terps. Boilermakers’ starters Grace Heaney and Kenna Wollard finished with 13 and 10 kills, respectively.

Throughout Maryland’s uninspiring effort, the service ace differential proved impactful in illustrating the two team’s clear offensive gap. Purdue notched eight to the Terps’ four, despite ranking third-worst in the Big Ten in service aces this season.

Maryland strung together four straight consolation points to close the third set, including Malual’s final kill, before another Heaney kill cemented its eighth consecutive defeat.