Maryland volleyball middle blocker Katie Myers tore her meniscus during the Maryland Challenge last weekend and will miss the remainder of the season, the team announced Wednesday night.
The redshirt freshman, who sat out of her rookie campaign after suffering a setback from a previous ACL injury, led the Terps with 43 blocks before she was sidelined again.
“Everyone in the program cares a great deal about Katie,” coach Steve Aird said. “When anyone gets injured, you’re upset. But they also know it’s a long season and injury is part of sport.”
After Myers posted four kills and four blocks during Maryland’s upset over then-No. 18 Southern California, she sat out of both Friday matches against Oklahoma and No. 7 Washington.
In her place, freshman middle blocker Jada Gardner entered the starting rotation. Gardner posted eight kills and seven blocks between Friday’s matches.
“We have a deeper bench,” outside hitter Gia Milana said before Tuesday practice. “If someone gets hurt, if something happens – just like with Katie and Jada, Jada’s ready to play. We’re going to miss Katie, but Jada is such a great athlete and teammate so I feel like … we’re just ready.”
In Wednesday’s defeat at Ohio State, Gardner recorded just one kill and one block. Still, Maryland outblocked the Buckeyes, with outside hitter Erika Pritchard leading the line with three rejections.
Milana shared the training room with Myers for much of the offseason as they recovered from injuries. After her teammate’s third major injury in the last three years, she expects a successful comeback bid.
“It broke a piece of my heart because I just know that she’s put in everything,” Milana said. “I don’t have one doubt in my mind that she’s going to come back and be better than ever. That’s just her personality, that’s just who she is.”
