Maryland volleyball coach Steve Aird told Samantha Drechsel and Erika Pritchard at Monday’s practice they would swap positions for Wednesday’s match against No. 9 Wisconsin.

Aird wanted Drechsel to pass the ball more while giving Pritchard experience on the right side of the court. So Drechsel checked in as an outside hitter and Pritchard featured as an opposite hitter.

Drechsel racked up nine digs and Pritchard led the team with 10 kills during Maryland’s straight-sets defeat against the Badgers. Their performance in new roles backed Aird’s plan to move players around during a difficult stretch that continues with a matchup against No. 10 Michigan State on Saturday.

“If you’re in matches against teams that are really … good, it’s mindless to roll out the same lineup,” Aird said. “I’d like to learn about my team, I want to know what kids can do. I want to know what responsibilities they’re into and how they respond to it.”

[Read More: Maryland volleyball struggles to hit in 3-0 loss to No. 9 Wisconsin]

Drechsel matched a team high in digs in her first match playing all six rotations. After missing a potential dig for Wisconsin’s second point of the match, she completed the second-most serve receptions behind libero Sam Burgio.

Aird moved Pritchard — who has a better hitting percentage this year — to opposite hitter to counter the Badgers’ blocking ability. Wisconsin’s left-side defenders aren’t as tall as its right-side blockers, helping Pritchard lead the Terps in attacking efficiency.

“We haven’t had that much time to work on it, but both of them, they’re pros,” middle blocker Hailey Murray said. “They went out there and they did their jobs, and I think you saw that Erika did great on the right and Sammy’s great on the left.”

Following Maryland’s loss to then-No. 3 Penn State on Oct. 7, Aird said Pritchard was more exclusively a left-sided player. Pritchard said the switch was a “little awkward at first in practice on Monday,” but Aird expected her to thrive on the right side after seeing her succeed in that position before in club volleyball and other practices.

Murray said the team knew Pritchard could be productive wherever she lined up due to her height and athleticism.

Drechsel hit in negative figures for the match, continuing an inconsistent attacking start to her college career. But handling defensive duties in the back row against veteran Wisconsin hitters was a positive development, Murray said.

Aird witnessed Drechsel’s defensive prowess on the preseason Big Ten Foreign Tour in Europe. The fourth-year coach said the No. 23-ranked PrepVolleyball recruit needs to keep working on strength and endurance to adapt to the college level.

In a couple of years, Aird predicts Drechsel and Pritchard will be able to use their positional versatility to become valuable six-rotation options.

“They can both do all the skills,” Aird said. “If you have kids who can play volleyball and you can move them around … it makes it really tough to game-plan against.”