Maryland volleyball’s offense finally seemed to make strides two weeks ago. The Terps logged 108 kills against Rutgers and Michigan State, the most they’d had in consecutive Big Ten matches this season.
But that total was cut dramatically when Maryland played No. 22 USC and No. 25 UCLA this week. The Terps only amassed 50 kills in California, resulting in two straight-set losses.
The challenging road trip showed Maryland is still fighting many of the same issues that have plagued it since conference play began — issues that have largely defined the team’s poor play this season.
“This group is competitive. I know they want it bad,” coach Adam Hughes said. “I think our challenge is to stay in the fight and keep battling.”
Maryland’s offensive showing against the Trojans in particular may contend for its worst effort this season. The Terps ended the match with a season-low 21 kills and a negative hitting percentage.
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USC’s effective gameplan against Ajack Malual largely contributed to Maryland’s struggles. Normally the team’s most effective player, the senior was held to five kills and recorded nine errors, more than the entire USC team.
Malual was able to bounce back somewhat in the UCLA match, notching a .139 hitting percentage and a team-high 11 kills. But the Terps still failed to win a set and were behind the pace of the Bruins throughout.
“One of the things we’ve been trying to focus on is getting started a little bit faster, a little bit earlier,” Hughes said after the loss to Illinois earlier this month. “Sometimes it seems like we’re maybe not executing as well as we want at the start.”
Maryland’s supporting cast around Malual has not done its part.
Not only did the offense hit below .200 for the eighth time in 10 conference matches, but Olivia Ruy was the only player besides Malual to reach double-digit kills in the Terps’ two California matches.
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The Terps’ offense has repeatedly shown that it is not able to remain competitive against most Big Ten opponents. Malual’s performances alone aren’t enough to get wins in conference play.
The inability for Maryland’s offense to put up points has led the Terps’ defense, whose workload is already high with more total blocks than any other Big Ten team, to exhaust even more energy while trying to make up deficits.
Maryland’s middle blocker duo of Duru Gökçen and Eva Rohrbach have been lighting up the Big Ten, with both players in the conference’s top 10 for total blocks. Despite this, the pair was invisible against the Trojans. Maryland only mustered two block assists in the match.
Though Gökçen rebounded against UCLA, tallying three blocks, the Terps’ six total blocks in the match was still a far cry from their best. The team had 21 total blocks against Michigan State, averaging more than four per set.
In Hughes’ eighth year at the helm, with a continued pattern of falling short of expectations in conference play, one may be led to wonder how much longer Maryland could be stuck in this cycle.
