While her Maryland volleyball teammates aimed serves toward two mats placed in the back corners of the court at Tuesday’s practice, outside hitter Gia Milana hit balls as hard as she could inside the court.
A week into reimplementing the jump serve she used in high school, Milana aimed to get comfortable after using a standing float serve so far in college due to a shoulder injury. Now healthy, she hit three aces in Maryland’s sweep over Indiana on Saturday, part of a nine-ace performance for the team.
“I can hit the ball as hard as I want, and it’ll go in,” Milana said. “It keeps me aggressive and it keeps me in a rhythm when I hit, too. It gives me that confidence going up to the front line.”
Midway through the third set against the Hoosiers, coach Steve Aird pulled Milana aside during a stoppage. After the Romeo, Michigan native notched eight attacking miscues, she said she looked glossed over, caught up in her error-heavy performance. She hit just .103 despite leading the squad with 11 kills.
Aird told Milana she needed to take over as the Terps trailed late in the frame for the first time that match. Milana hit two kills and two aces in the span of five points, which gave Maryland back the lead.
“She has the ability to dominate anything, and I think sometimes she needs to be reminded about that,” middle blocker Hailey Murray said. “I’m not sure we[‘ll] win that third set if she doesn’t go back there and bang her jump serve.”
When Aird saw Milana struggle with her float serve to start the year, he approached her about reverting to the jump serve. Before making the change ahead of last week’s Ohio State match, the sophomore hit just four aces with 13 miscues.
Milana struggled finding the perfect window to hit a float serve to keep it in play while putting speed on the ball.
After recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, the timing was right to make the adjustment. In two matches utilizing the technique, she’s added four aces.
“She’s added tools, she’s a better player than she was a year ago,” Aird said. “But I still think there’s a whole bunch left in her.”
If she feels more sore than usual after a match, there’s a chance Milana switches temporarily back to the float serve. But when she’s healthy, her jump serve, creating top spin, is her primary option.
Strong serving against Indiana aided the Terps’ defense by forcing the Hoosiers out of rhythm. They scored points on just half of their serve receives.
Fourteen matches into her sophomore year, Milana said she feels more relaxed on the court, aided by her change in serve style.
“That’s just always something that I’ve had in my game as another weapon, and coach knows that,” Milana said. “I’m feeling good with my shoulder — might as well go for it and let me hit balls.”
CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this post said Steve Aird called Gia Milana “glossed over” after her attacking errors against Indiana. Milana said that about herself. This post has been updated.
