Adreene Elliott (15) blocks an attack from Syracuse during the Terps’ 3-0 loss on Oct. 18, 2013.
The Terrapins volleyball team sits at 6-0 after earning three more wins on the road this weekend, but coach Steve Aird warns that the record is deceiving.
After taking home their second tournament title of the season at the Patriot Invitational in Fairfax, Virginia, this weekend, the Terps are still not meeting the expectations of the first-year coach.
“I didn’t come to Maryland to have an intramural team,” Aird said. “I came to Maryland because I want to win Big Ten titles, and I want to win national championships.”
After helping Penn State claim an NCAA title as an assistant coach last season, Aird knows what the highest level of volleyball looks like. Players need to be able to pass, set, serve, block and hit efficiently. The great ones, Aird said, excel in all areas. But to him, the Terps have players with ability in some areas, but not others.
He does see glimpses of talent residing in his team, though. Setter Carlotta Oggioni and outside hitters Ashleigh Crutcher and Adreené Elliott were all named to the Patriot Invitational all-tournament team this weekend. Oggioni and Crutcher were also dubbed the best setter and attacker of the weekend, respectively.
Against East Tennessee State, Crutcher recorded her 1,000th career kill, a testament to her performance over the years.
Nonetheless, Aird contends his team is marred by inconsistency.
“I see the same team in practice,” Aird said. “Good for 30 minutes, bad for 30 minutes. Good on a Monday, bad on a Tuesday.”
Aird has a couple theories about the team’s struggles to begin the season. He believes because the Terps joined the Big Ten, teams relish the idea of knocking off a group from the best volleyball conference in the nation and look to give them their best shot every game.
He also feels that his team is accustomed to mediocrity — over the past four years, the Terps have lost more games than they’ve won — and they don’t know what being a great team demands.
According to Aird, the Terps don’t hold themselves to a high standard, and he suspects some players believe they wouldn’t be capable of reaching such a standard anyway.
“I don’t have anyone on the team that shows up and competes as hard as they can,” Aird said. “We have kids who are learning that. We have kids who want to do that; they care enough to do that. But there’s a difference between caring and doing.”
Though the Terps are off to their best start since 2005, Aird still isn’t happy. And he only will be when the team begins performing consistently.
“I’m so disinterested in wins and losses,” Aird said. “That’s why I’m not popping champagne because we’re 6-0. If we lose 10 matches in a row, I’m not going to be the other way where I’m thinking all is lost. … What bothers me about the group right now is when they do compete and they play and they take brave swings and they do what they can do, they’re not a bad volleyball team.”
