The Terrapins volleyball team went 13-19 last year and will enter the traditionally dominant Big Ten for the 2014 season, but first-year coach Steve Aird has brought a positive mindset to the program.
Aird previously served as an assistant at soon-to-be conference rival Penn State, and he helped the Nittany Lions to their fifth national championship since 2007 this past season. Along with first-year assistants Kristin Kenney and Adam Hughes, Aird is tasked with ending the Terps’ perennial mediocrity and bringing them to prominence in the Big Ten.
With four incoming freshmen and former Oregon State setter Carlotta Oggioni set to join the Terps this fall, the foundation for the staff’s time at the helm has already been laid.
“We’re trying to build a championship program here,” said Kenney, a former assistant at Connecticut. “The vision is there, I think it’s going to happen.”
That vision includes a specific mold of players they recruit. Size, blocking and the ability to play above the net are areas Kenney and Hughes cited as important for the team’s success.
Off the court, though, they want players with a work ethic they can build around.
“We’re kind of looking for some kids right now that got kind of a chip on their shoulder,” said Hughes, who followed Aird to the Terps from Penn State. “They’re maybe a little bit different; they’re trying to build something rather than following somebody else’s tradition. … Moving to the Big Ten, everyone kind of sees it as a new era, kind of a new chapter.”
One of the first recruits the Terps targeted this offseason was Sam Higginbothem. A libero from Middletown, Higginbothem said she was interested in joining the Terps because she wanted to be part of the program’s growth in a new era.
In April, she committed to the team.
“She might play harder than anybody we have right now,” Hughes said. “She’s a little kid, flies around and makes plays.”
Higginbothem is the daughter of military parents and credits her work ethic and perseverance during games to her upbringing.
“I have a lot of heart when I play, a lot of energy,” Higginbothem said. “I’m a little person, but I’m definitely a leader, or would like to be.”
The Terps will look to players like Higginbothem to spark a turnaround after a 14th-place finish in the ACC last season, a mark that included a 1-11 record on the road. The coaching staff has identified serving and blocking as facets the team can improve moving forward.
And as the Terps continue to hit the recruiting trail and add depth to their roster, the coaches hope the program’s transformation will begin.
“Whether you’re a scholarship kid or you’re a walk-on, Day One you get a fair shot,” Hughes said. “Everyone’s getting a crack at it, and I don’t really care who plays. It’s something you have to have as a team…I’m not picking favorites, and I want everyone to compete, and I think everyone can.”
