After the Maryland volleyball team started Big Ten play 0-8 and endured a number of injuries to key players, coach Steve Aird just wanted his team to show fight against No. 16 Michigan on Wednesday night.
Outside hitter Liz Twilley missed the match due to an upper body injury, while outside hitter Gia Milana and opposite hitter Angel Gaskin were not at 100 percent.
With a depleted unit, the Terps (8-13, 0-9 Big Ten) put together one of their best performances so far in conference play. But they squandered a two-set advantage to fall short of upsetting the Wolverines.
Still, Aird was pleased with the performance.
“Our kids battled,” Aird said. “We had a swing to win the match. … These kids are getting great experience, and I was proud of the way they fought.”
Milana led the attack with a career-high 22 kills. She said that didn’t matter, though, as she felt disappointed with the loss despite the way the Terps competed.
As a Michigan native, she had extra motivation to top the Wolverines.
“I really, really wanted that win.” Milana said. “You want every win … but that one had an emotional tie to it.”
With Maryland behind, 15-14, in the first set, Milana, who wore a brace on her right knee because of her injury, dove with her back to the net to make a dig. After the save, the Wolverines (17-4, 6-3) hit the ball into the net to even the score.
Later in the frame, setter Taylor Smith made a no-look overhead assist to Milana on a broken play to give the Terps a 21-18 advantage.
Smith notched 43 assists and four kills. After the match, she praised the squad’s hitters for being well positioned to earn points from her passes.
“The hitters were there,” Smith said. “I could trust them to put the ball away. …it’s a growing connection and I think we’re getting there.”
Entering its matchup with Michigan, Maryland had struggled to finish sets well in conference play, which Aird attributed to inexperience. So he called two timeouts with the lead late in the first frame to discuss strategy with his players.
After the second timeout, the Terps went on a 3-1 run to win the frame, 25-21.
Maryland carried that momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 9-1 advantage with the help of kills from Milana, Gaskin and MacGregor. Though Michigan came back to tie the frame at 16, the Terps once again finished strong to take a two-set lead.
However, Michigan responded with a 25-18 set three triumph and then dominated set four to even the match. The Wolverines won the fourth frame, 25-14.
The Terps did not give up after that lopsided result and started the decisive fifth frame with a 9-7 lead. Smith said that comeback showed the squad’s character.
“I thought the fight at the end … coming back from games three and four was great, and it just shows how much potential we have,” Smith said.
But the Terps lost the final set, 18-16, to seal the defeat. They had match point at 16-15, but made errors on two of the last three points.
When talking to players after the loss, Aird focused on how the team outperformed expectations and competed with a quality team instead of dwelling on the result.
“I want them to take the positives from what we did,” Aird said. “I was really pleased with the grit our young team showed.”
