Maryland volleyball setter Taylor Smith and outside hitter Liz Twilley displayed improved on-court chemistry during straight-set losses to Illinois and Northwestern over the weekend.
Twilley recorded eight kills and made just two attacking errors against the Fighting Illini. Meanwhile, Smith posted 32 assists to go along with nine digs, four kills and two service aces.
Coach Steve Aird said Smith did not play with the same crispness in the loss to the Wildcats on Saturday night, but her connection with Twilley continued. Smith assisted on seven of the outside hitter’s team-high 11 kills.
As the Terps (11-19, 3-15 Big Ten) try to move past a disappointing weekend, they will look to both players for offensive contributions against Purdue (17-12, 7-11) and Indiana (17-14, 6-12). The squad can equal last year’s Big Ten win total if it takes both matches to conclude the season.
“We know the feeling of [the losses to Illinois and Northwestern], and we know we don’t want to feel like that anymore,” Smith said. “So we’re going to get back in the gym and work hard.”
Twilley made the most of her attacking opportunities against the Fighting Illini and Wildcats. She committed only three attacking errors and led Maryland outside hitters in hitting percentage.
When Big Ten play started, that type of production was less common. Through the Terps’ first eight conference matches, she had just one outing with double-digit kills.
But Twilley has improved since missing an Oct. 19 game against then-No. 16 Michigan due to an upper body injury, posting 10 or more kills three times.
“I had a dip midseason where I wasn’t playing my best volleyball and wasn’t feeling as confident,” Twilley said. “So I’m just trying to work on getting that back.”
The Ijamsville native also attributed her recent play to the passing of Smith, a first-year starter who said she has become more comfortable managing the offense over the past few weeks.
Twilley and Smith have devoted extensive practice time to building an understanding of which type of passes to expect from one another in different situations. That’s helped them reduce attacking errors caused by misplaced sets.
Still, Aird said the development is not enough for the Terps to be successful. He complimented Twilley for some “good matches” this past weekend but emphasized the need for the entire squad to contribute.
“I think [Twilley is as] disappointed as the program is,” Aird said. “I was happy with her contributions, but at the end of the day it’s a team game, and if we have one or two people playing well, it’s not going to be enough.”
It’ll be important for the Terps to find more balance against Purdue on Wednesday night at Xfinity Pavilion. In a 3-1 defeat to the Boilermakers earlier this month, just two players recorded more than six kills.
To succeed in the upcoming matchup, the players know they must regain their focus and avoid thinking about the pair of losses they suffered over the weekend.
“We have to have short memories about what happened,” Twilley said. “We really need to focus on each game as a single entity and make sure that we are just focused on Purdue.”
