The Terrapin volleyball team wants Sunday’s close loss to 17-2 Miami (17-2, 6-2 ACC) to be the turning point of its season, but that hope hinges on their next two matches.
The Terps (5-14, 1-6) want to build off the energy they showed in the 1-3 match against the Hurricanes, which they lost by a combined total of only seven points. The match has given the team a positive outlook on a so-far bleak season and has made the players confident they have the ability to compete against the best teams in the conference.
But this was only one match.
The Terps have yet to prove that wins will result from their epiphany against Miami, though they have their chance this weekend with matches against Georgia Tech on Friday and Clemson on Sunday at the Comcast Pavilion.
“We’ve talked a lot about how excited we are for two of the better teams in the conference to come in and for us to compete against them,” outside hitter Maggie Schmelzle said. “We know if we compete with the energy and effort we had against Miami, and continue [to], then they’ll be two great games that we can’t be disappointed in with our effort.”
But the teams will be a tough test to the Terps’ new confidence and positive outlook.
The Yellow Jackets and Clemson have two of the ACC’s most potent offenses. Clemson and Georgia Tech are tied for the 20th best hitting percentage in the country with .266.
Comparably, the Terps’ offense has sagged, hitting only .137 so far this season.
But players repeatedly said that if they could replicate their performance against Miami, in which the team hit .213, they can succeed this weekend.
“It really was such a big step, with a complete effort and how we worked together as a team,” right side hitter Brittney Grove said. “I’d really like to see us make the little plays that make a difference, and once we do that, we’ll start to win matches.”
The Terps do have reason to believe the match against Georgia Tech (12-5, 4-3) could be a close one. Four of the last five matches between these two teams, and three matches straight, have gone to five sets. The teams are 5-5 in their last 10 meetings.
Defending ACC champion Clemson (13-5, 5-2) has won its last four matches against the Terps.
Coach Tim Horsmon said he recognizes the difficult weekend that lays ahead for the team. And as happy as he was about his team’s play against Miami, it will not mean much unless they can win this weekend.
“We’ve moved forward,” Horsmon said. “We played much better [against Miami] than we have been. We’re taking it one match at a time, and we really showed what we’re capable of. But now we have to do this consistently. We need to build on this, and not let this be a one-time thing.”
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