Chavi St. Hill smacks the ball at the University of Maryland Volleyball game agaisnt Indiana on Friday at Xfinity Center.
The Terrapins volleyball team’s match against Rutgers on Oct. 21, the Terps only match slated to broadcasted on the Big Ten network, has been moved from Ritchie Coliseum to Xfinity Center Pavilion to better accommodate the anticipated number of attending fans.
The Terps have played all their home matches at the Xfinity Center Pavilion since its completion in 2002 — the last year that the team hosted a match in Ritchie. The Terps also haven’t played the Scarlet Knights since 2005.
And in a new conference against their new rivals, playing in Ritchie would have provided a nostalgic contrast to the unfamiliar atmosphere.
“I was intrigued by it,” coach Steve Aird said. “I thought it was a really cool thing. They played a lot of matches in [Ritchie] over the history of the program. It was just going to be cool to see what it was like, especially when it was packed.”
The move was fueled by the unexpectedly large attendance during the Terps’ opening weekend at home.
Against Indiana two weeks ago, 1,238 fans showed up to support the Terps, the sixth highest home attendance in the team’s history. The following match against Purdue, 751 arrived at the Pavilion.
“It’s the start of building the program that we want for years to come,” defensive specialist Dani Bozzini said. “And to be a part of it, to get it all started and to hit the ground running, it’s a great experience.”
More than 50 fraternity and sorority groups were scheduled to attend the team’s match against Rutgers, and Ritchie would have been a more convenient location for them.
Coach Steve Aird has targeted many Greek organizations since he arrived in College Park to try to increase student involvement in the sport.
“When I to the job I drove by frat row and kind of saw that and I was really impressed. It’s beautiful,” Aird said. “And then I got to know them… I think they were pretty into the fact that someone from the athletic department really cared enough to help them generate money and raise money and do events.”
In response to the change, shuttles will be offered along Fraternity Row and the intersection of Knox Road and Yale Avenue for students going to and from the match.
Aird was also inspired to have the game in Ritchie because of a similar event hosted by Penn State, his alma mater. Last year when the Nittany Lions men’s basketball team hosted Princeton, they returned to Rec Hall which hosted every match prior to the team’s move to the Bryce Jordan Center in 1996.
“I think for a lot of the alums it would’ve been more reminiscent which would’ve been really cool,” middle blocker Hailey Murray said. “But I’m not too bummed about it.”
But though the team will not be able to host their first ever match on the Big Ten Network’s main channel on their old court, the number of people interested in watching the Terps is encouraging for the players.
“It means a lot,” Murray said. “We get better when we have people cheering for us. It’s really awesome to know that people want to come and see us do our thing.”
