While Maryland volleyball boasts some of its best hitters in recent history, Wednesday’s match against No. 9 Wisconsin poses a challenge for its young arms.

The Badgers have held opponents to the second-lowest hitting percentage in the Big Ten (.159) and are even with No. 1 Penn State for the second-most blocks per set in the conference (2.82).

Maryland plans to run a quick offense and spread out its attack to counter Wisconsin’s defensive ability.

“You have to run stuff fast,” coach Steve Aird said. “There’s not a lot of smoke and mirrors in this conference. It’s everyone is really good and everyone has a game plan. And if you execute, you have a chance. And if you don’t execute, you get thumped.”

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Wisconsin is led at the net by Dana Rettke, a 6-foot-8 middle blocker who has picked up five conference Freshman of the Week honors while pacing her team in blocks.

But setter Samantha Snyder’s grasp of the Maryland offense has facilitated a rapid-fire attack, which could help offset Rettke’s presence. Against Northwestern last Friday, the sophomore notched a career-best 40 assists, aiding five Terps hitters to double-digit kill totals.

Since Snyder transferred from American in the offseason, she has emerged as Maryland’s top setter. Recently, the Terps have sped up their attack, playing to Snyder’s strengths.

They’ll look to continue that pace against Wisconsin.

“If we don’t speed it up, there’s a [6-foot-8] middle,” Snyder said. “So we’re not really going to have the windows we’ve had in the past.”

Aird said Maryland’s attackers should trust Snyder to produce accurate, on-time passes, alluding to a quarterback-wide receiver combination in football.

Opposite hitter Angel Gaskin said the hitters have worked during practice to build a rapport with their new setter. Extra hitting sessions have aided Snyder’s understanding of each hitter’s preferences, such as outside hitter Gia Milana wanting a set much quicker than outside hitter Erika Pritchard does.

That chemistry helped Snyder spread out Maryland’s attack against Northwestern. Four attackers received more than 20 attempts in the five-set victory, something the team hopes to replicate against the Badgers.

“We don’t want to be one-dimensional,” Gaskin said. “It’s important to spread out our offense … to keep their defense true and their blockers true. Gives them a lot to worry about when we have arms in every position.”