Before Wednesday’s match against Ohio State, Maryland volleyball outside hitter Gia Milana spoke about limiting offensive errors.
The Terps hit below .100 in their first loss of the season against No. 7 Washington last Friday, marking their least efficient attacking performance of the campaign. So, Milana hoped for a turnaround in the team’s Big Ten opener.
Instead, the Terps faltered again, dropping their second straight contest, 3-0 (20-25, 16-25, 18-25).
“It’s tough to win in the Big Ten on the road,” coach Steve Aird said. “Ohio State played as well as they’ve played all year and we made a lot of errors, and that’s kind of what you get when those things happen.”
Milana led the way with 10 kills, but the Terps finished the match hitting .099. The Buckeyes overcame early struggles to finish with a .364 attacking clip.
Milana was the only Maryland attacker to hit above .200 in the first set, and three Terps finished the frame in negative figures. But Aird’s squad kept close until the Buckeyes used a 5-1 run to help close out the set.
“Honestly, I think the first set both sides played well, we just left a few plays out on the table,” opposite hitter Angel Gaskin said. “It just comes back to getting in the gym with our setters.”
Aird again used setter Abigail Bentz in the Terps’ 6-2 formation, rotating the general setup of Taylor Smith and Samantha Snyder. Bentz played in all three matches at the Maryland Challenge, and in three sets Wednesday she added 11 assists while Snyder chipped in 13.
Midway through the second set, Ohio State broke away with a 12-3 run to take the frame, again hitting cleaner than the Terps. Maryland hit -.027 in the set, while Ohio State hit .360.
The Buckeyes carried the momentum into a dominant the third set to complete the sweep.
“Coach was just talking about how they were doing almost every single thing in volleyball better than us,” Milana said. “They were just outplaying us, and I think that really let them take off.”
Maryland has yet to win a conference opener in the Big Ten.
While Milana said Maryland’s preparedness compared to last season is a “world of difference,” the Buckeyes’ sweep showed the team’s weaknesses. The Terps entered the match after receiving eight votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll. They haven’t been ranked since 2005.
“The Big Ten is a 20-match gauntlet over 10 weeks,” Aird said. “You’ll learn some lessons at different times of the year, and I thought tonight we ran into a team that played really well.”
