Maryland volleyball outside hitter Gia Milana anxiously awaited the Terps’ back-to-back road matches against Michigan and Michigan State over the weekend. The prospect of seeing friends and family in her home state during Maryland’s matchup with the Wolverines on Saturday gave her extra energy in practice.
Inside the Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan, familiar faces filled the stands for the second straight year. When Milana hit a cross-court kill to win the second set for the Terps — the lone frame win of the weekend — part of the crowd cheered for the visitors.
Maryland lost both its matches, but Milana showed improvement in the squad’s second contest.
She registered 16 kills with a .282 hitting percentage against Michigan after posting eight kills against Michigan State. Despite leading the Wolverines tilt in kills, Milana committed eight total errors.
“It was really cool to just hear the crowd get into it,” Milana said. “But I also just have to be aware that I can’t get too high. I can’t let that excite me too much.”
When she was a freshman, family and friends surrounded Milana after she exited the locker room into the small foyer outside the arena. This year, she had about 15 minutes to meet with them before boarding the team bus. It wasn’t ideal, she said, but she appreciated the chance to catch up.
She said the older she gets, the more comfortable she’ll feel playing in front of the group. She felt distracted at times against Michigan, though she found comfort sneaking glances into the stands.
“When you’re young, there’s a lot of distraction,” coach Steve Aird said. “You want to try to make sure you play great because you’re trying to make people proud.”
Aird thought Milana pressed too hard against the Spartans on Friday, as she hit for .143 with five service errors. Her performance Saturday helped the Terps take a set off the Wolverines.
Opposite hitter Angel Gaskin saw leading up to the outing how excited Milana was to return to her home state, but she said prioritizing the match itself is important.
“You know your family’s there in the back of your mind, but ultimately it comes down to performing on the court,” Gaskin said. “You have to kind of channel your energy through your teammates, your coaches.”
Milana was recruited by both Big Ten schools in Michigan. However, she jumped at the chance to join Aird at Maryland despite the program’s on-court struggles. In 15 matches against Michigan and Michigan State, the Terps have one win.
She enjoys the opportunity to build success on her own in College Park and hopes to upset her home state teams at some point in her career.
“I love the people I’m around when I’m home, but I play for Maryland,” Milana said. “You need that when you’re competing, because if you don’t have anything to fight for, if the name on your jersey doesn’t mean anything, it’s going to be really hard to want to win for your team and want to put in that extra work.”
