After playing ranked opponents in four of the past five matches, the Maryland volleyball team faced an opponent that had not won since Sept. 2.

Rutgers arrived in College Park on Sunday in last place in the Big Ten. The match gave Maryland a chance to improve upon a frustrating performance earlier in the season.

When the Terps beat the Scarlet Knights, 3-0, in their previous meeting on Oct. 22, coach Steve Aird wasn’t satisfied. He felt the squad made too many errors in Piscataway, New Jersey, and hoped players could reduce those mistakes in the rematch at the Xfinity Pavilion.

Maryland again beat Rutgers, 3-0, but was inconsistent following an impressive opening-frame display.

“I wasn’t thrilled with our effort today,” Aird said. “It’s a different test emotionally because … the pressure kind of flips when we’re supposed to win.”

The Terps (11-17, 3-13 Big Ten) excelled in the service game, an area that had been an issue in Friday’s straight-set loss against No. 10 Penn State. They recorded 13 service aces and made eight service errors against the Scarlet Knights, compared to one ace and 11 errors against the Nittany Lions.

“We had the mentality today to be aggressive on the service line and put [Rutgers] into pressure situations,” outside hitter Liz Twilley said. “That made it easier on ourselves.”

Twilley put together a strong offensive performance, recording a team-high 12 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Aird said improved confidence from the attacker, who has experienced an up-and-down campaign, was pivotal to her strong play against the Scarlet Knights.

“[Twilley] is a good player,” Aird said. “If we could get those kind of numbers from her consistently, that would be a really good thing going forward.”

Middle blocker Ashlyn MacGregor, meanwhile, had four blocks to give her 500 blocks for her career. She’s the third player in Terps history to reach that mark.

MacGregor called the milestone “a nice accomplishment” but acknowledged she didn’t know she had reached the tally until it was announced over the PA system.

Maryland’s attack played a clean first set, making just one attacking error as it took the frame, 25-16. The squad made four service errors, but it also notched four service aces, including two from setter Taylor Smith, one of which finished the set.

The squad could not maintain that high performance level, though.

In set two, the Terps fell behind, 10-6, due in large part to four total errors, which forced Aird to call timeout.

They rebounded to win the frame, 27-25, but the coach, disappointed with the sloppy display, shook his head as he walked off the floor for the intermission.

“We just weren’t playing as clean as we’re able to,” MacGregor said. “Obviously that showed.”

Maryland also started the third set frame slow, as the Scarlet Knights built a 9-7 lead early on. But the squad responded with an 11-5 run that helped it take the frame, 25-21, and complete the team’s third Big Ten victory.

“We were able to pull out all the sets, which was good,” Twilley said. “We just need to stay aggressive and have more of a sense of urgency, which we lost for a little bit.”