Maryland volleyball finally did it.
The Terps claimed their first conference victory Oct. 15 against Rutgers in four sets — part of a week that saw the Terps’ best form since Big Ten play season began. The win snapped a six-match losing streak.
While Maryland lost the following meeting against Michigan State in five sets, the team’s improvement in recent matches has been precipitated by multiple factors, but the three most prevalent have been the team’s increasingly multifaceted offense, the re-emergence of a team leader and an inspiring middle blocker duo.
“I thought it was the best we played as a group, cohesively, working together in transition,” coach Adam Hughes said after the win. “It means a lot in how it got done, for sure, to do it under pressure in tough situations.”
Maryland’s offense struggled to adjust to the Big Ten when it began conference play. In their first two conference matches against Iowa and Nebraska, only sophomore outside hitter Olivia Ruy reached double digit kills for the Terps.
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In contrast, four Terps reached 10 or more kills in their matches against Rutgers and Michigan State. The Rutgers meeting was one of the best offensive showings Maryland has had this year, with the team hitting .341 and averaging 14.75 kills a set.
Outside hitter Sydney Bryant’s recent production is a microcosm of the offense’s development. The junior went from being completely inactive in the team’s first week of conference play to having more than six kills in each of her last five games, tying her season-high of 11 kills in the Rutgers win.
“The more offense you have, the less you’re on the defense,” Hughes said. “One of our things that we have been focusing on is trying to be a little bit more offensive, and I think we’ve been doing that week to week.”
While Maryland’s offense has grown into a more versatile unit, its success still hinges on senior right side hitter Ajack Malual — the team’s standout through non-conference play.
Iowa and Nebraska made it a priority to contain her. Malual was limited to eight and nine kills in the two matches, including a flat .000 hitting percentage against the Hawkeyes.
The recent diversification of attackers in Maryland’s offense gave Malual more room to breathe. She has averaged 4.04 kills a set and a .247 hitting percentage over her last five games.
Malual’s showing against Rutgers reflected Maryland’s growth. After her 14-kill effort in the teams’ first meeting went to waste, she rebounded in the rematch by hitting .378 and matching her season high with 21 kills.
“It’s hard to be a star, it’s hard to be the focal person or feature person offensively,” Hughes said. “She’s done a good job in a short amount of time, and I still feel like she’s just getting warmed up.”
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The offense’s overall improvement complements a Maryland defense top five in the Big Ten in numerous metrics — with key contributions from sophomore Duru Gökçen and junior Eva Rohrbach.
The pair of middle blockers are the first and second most prolific blockers in the Big Ten, with Gökçen and Rohrbach having 93 and 92 blocks respectively. Despite this, the duo could only muster 4.5 combined blocks in the Terps’ two opening conference matches.
The narrative flipped last week, particularly against Michigan State. Gökçen and Rohrbach combined for 9.5 total blocks and altered numerous Spartan swings, anchoring a defensive effort that carried Maryland through five sets.
“Duru’s coming to understand what she can do at this level and Eva’s been there and Eva’s done a really good job talking to Duru a lot about trusting her skills,” Hughes said. “Those guys have become a backbone.”
With new energy from fresh faces, a resurgent Malual and the growing dominance of Gökçen and Rohrbach as one of the conference’s top defensive tandems, Maryland will head west with more confidence — and momentum — than usual.
