With just three matches remaining this season, the fate of the Terrapin volleyball team’s NCAA Tournament hopes may rest on its performance this weekend.

The Terps (19-10, 10-7 ACC) will travel to Florida for contests with Florida State (18-9, 10-7) on Friday and Miami (20-8, 10-7) on Sunday. And with all three teams tied for third in the conference standings behind Duke and North Carolina, this weekend will go a long way in determining how the ACC standings look at the end of the season and, ultimately, which teams will continue into the postseason.

“For us, this weekend means a little bit more,” coach Tim Horsmon said. “This weekend is probably going to determine what is going to happen, and we’re definitely in the mix with both of these teams.”

The last time the Terps matched up with each team, they encountered mixed results. They struggled in a 3-1 Oct. 15 loss to Miami on Comcast Center’s main floor before Maryland Madness. Against Florida State on Oct. 17, however, the Terps came out with a different intensity, toppling the then-No. 22 Seminoles in a thrilling five-set match.

With a date at Boston College, a team winless in ACC play, less than a week away, this weekend should appropriately prove to be the Terps’ final test. Both their opponents enter the weekend on two-match winning streaks that included a victory over the second-place Tar Heels.

“Both teams are playing very well,” Horsmon said. “It’s going to be tough going into their place. … We’re going to have our hands full this weekend.”

With their two wins last weekend, the Terps moved up to 50th in the RPI rankings, placing them firmly in tournament contention. Nothing is certain yet, but Horsmon believes that last weekend’s performance, as well as a strong showing this weekend, could solidify the Terps’ place in the NCAA Tournament’s 64-team field for the first time since 2005.

“We played probably some of the best ball that we’ve played all year [last weekend],” Horsmon said. “I’d like to think that if we win both matches this weekend, we’re going to get in.”

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