Maryland volleyball’s offensive struggles have been a main reason for their forgetful season, but the unit showed major improvement against Indiana.
The Terps’ offense gave a consistent performance throughout the match, but the Hoosiers’ offense hit .456 and stayed ahead of the Terps. Even with promising improvements, the Terps dropped their second straight-set loss against the Hoosiers this season.
Maryland is now 1-15 in conference play this season.
Both offenses were hot to start the match. At the first timeout, the Terps were hitting .348 and the Hoosiers were holding a 15-12 lead and a .429 hit percentage.
The offensive performances were precipitated by efforts from Ajack Malual, who again took the initiative on offense for Maryland with six kills in the first set. However, she’d be matched from Indiana.
Jaidyn Jager finished with eight kills in the first set, setting the pace of the match. Her efforts caused Indiana to keep their short lead over the Terps as the set continued.
[Maryland volleyball swept by No. 9 Purdue, 3-0, for eighth straight loss]
Eva Rohrbach and Haley Melby brought the set back to a point with the only blocks from either team in the set, but Maryland’s second and last attacking error of the frame made the deficit two again.
The Hoosiers took the first set 25-23 with help from leading scorer Candela Alonso-Corcelles, who supplied two of Indiana’s last five points. In the loss, Maryland’s .389 hit percentage in the set showed promise.
A few Indiana errors contributed to Maryland starting the second set with a 3-0 lead. The teams traded short runs followed by opposing timeouts, ending up tied at nine.
Jager and Alonso-Corcelles continued to score and Avry Tatum tallied eight kills through two sets.
As the second set continued it progressed into a dogfight between Malual and Indiana’s top weapons. Despite Malual’s three kills and a few blocks, Indiana’s collective offensive effort kept Maryland at bay, and the Hoosiers took a 2-0 match lead.
[Poor offense, late-set inconsistency have plagued Maryland volleyball under Adam Hughes]
Maryland’s offense continued to operate efficiently in the third set, but weren’t able to match the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers hit .456 in the match and had three players finish with double-digit kills.
Malual closed the match with 13 kills — continuing to be the Terps’ most reliable offensive option. Setter Lilly Wagner also got her 13th double-double of the year with 32 assists and 11 digs, adding to her consistent campaign.
The match brought another recurring problem to the forefront for Maryland volleyball.
Despite keeping scoring relatively close throughout the first two sets, Maryland couldn’t hold momentum long enough to take the win, or even a single set.
This is something that happened in matches against Ohio State and Northwestern earlier this season. The Terps’ many close set losses have led them to drop multiple matches this year.
Wagner recorded Maryland’s final point. Despite hitting a collective .312 across the match, the Terps’ offensive improvement couldn’t get them a win as they fell to Indiana 25-14 in Set 3.
