Coach Steve Aird shouts to players at the Terps volleyball team’s game agaisnt Indiana on Friday at Xfinity Pavilion.
After the Terrapins volleyball team defeated Rutgers in five sets Tuesday at Xfinity Center to avoid the Big Ten basement and capture its first conference win of the season, the players were disappointed with their performance.
But the Terps had a rematch with the Scarlet Knights on Saturday, providing a chance for the Terps to earn a more convincing win.
The Terps, though, left with the same results: A 3-2 victory and the sense that there was room for significant improvement.
“The Big Ten is full of very talented volleyball programs who all work extremely hard,” outside hitter Emily Fraik said. “It was great that we won, and we’re happy that we won. But there are still things that we need to work on to get better so we can play cleaner and cleaner every day.”
The Terps immediately conceded their aspirations to win in three sets when they dropped the first frame to Rutgers, 27-25.
In the second set, the Terps battled back to even the match at 1-1 before entering the break. They came out strong in the third set as well and mounted a 2-1 lead.
“Our execution was just OK; I thought their fight was just OK,” coach Steve Aird said. “I was impressed with Rutgers, I thought they fought their asses off again for the entire match. I thought [Rutgers] outcompeted us for the evening, but we were fortunate enough to win.”
But the team allowed the Scarlet Knights back into the match in the fourth, beating the Terps, 25-21, to force another fifth set.
Middle blocker Kelsey Hrebenach said that at times it seemed the team was engaged in an “internal battle” rather than an external battle with Rutgers.
“It’s kind of like we fought ourselves, but we battled through it,” Hrebenach said. “It was good to look at from a record perspective. But there’s still a lot to learn and a lot to work on.”
In the end, the Terps again earned the win by taking the fifth set, 15-9. At the end of the match, though, Hrebenach said the atmosphere around the team felt like that of a loss.
“I don’t like the feeling of being outcompeted by people,” Aird said. “It’s not about wins and losses.”
And despite winning a second straight match — the first time they’ve had consecutive wins since Sept. 6 — the Terps remain unsatisfied, saying they didn’t play up to their capabilities.
“Every match is an opportunity for us to improve as a program,” Fraik said. “For us this season, we’re going to keep getting better — we have gotten a lot better — and make sure that we’re always moving forward.”
