To open its match against No. 16 Purdue on Wednesday, Maryland volleyball put together one of its strongest sets of the season, hitting .438 while holding the Boilermakers to a .062 hitting percentage.

The Terps won the first set, 25-15, and seemed to have the momentum in the home match. From there, however, Purdue took, winning the next three sets to end any thoughts of an upset.

After recording just one attacking error in the first set, Maryland hit under .200 in each of the final three sets and made five or more errors in each. The collapse was emblematic of the Terps’ often-poor execution late in contests.

“After the first set … we were really confident,” libero Allegra Rivas said. “After that, I don’t know what happened. I feel like we should have executed better.”

[Read more: Maryland volleyball can’t hold on to early lead against No. 16 Purdue]

Hosting their first ranked opponent at Xfinity Pavilion this season, the Terps often punctuated big plays with fist pumps. Even as Maryland fell behind and dropped three sets, that display of emotion remained.

The Terps held outside hitter Sherridan Atkinson in check early on, but she picked up her play late on and finished with three aces and five blocks.

“We had a lot of energy,” Rivas said, “but on some plays, we had trouble executing.”

[Read more: Maryland volleyball faces another imposing frontcourt against Purdue]

Throughout the season, Maryland has struggled in longer matches. The Terps are 1-4 in matches longer than three sets, and are winless in five-set contests.

Coach Adam Hughes said Maryland failed to capitalize on the “windows” in Wednesday’s match that may have helped the team catch back up.

One of those chances came late in the fourth set. After outside hitter Emma Schriner gave Maryland a 21-20 lead with a kill, the Terps were in prime position to force a final set. But Purdue rattled off five straight points to end the frame and win the match.

“I enjoy emotion, and I think you should have passion for how you play,” Hughes said. “But we have to find ways in late situations to execute more than anything else.”

Rivas said balancing emotions, especially late in matches, has been an emphasis for the Terps. Maryland has also had outside speakers come in to offer advice on the subject.

“We can’t have really high highs or really low lows,” Rivas said. “I feel like we were really high and we should have just stayed in between.”

While Hughes commended his team for the first set, he wants his squad to close out matches with more effectiveness than they have so far.

“There were some positive aspects, but we’re not going to create any moral victories on this,” Hughes said. “We want the ‘W,’ and we feel like we can be at this level.”