When middle blocker Jada Gardner rose and struck Maryland volleyball’s final kill, her teammates met her at the net with a hug. The Terps bench spilled onto the court, and their coaches screamed and hugged.
After Maryland coach Steve Aird shook No. 17 Purdue coach Dave Shondell’s hand, he turned and smirked into the cheering crowd. In his fourth year as coach in College Park, the upset victory gave him his highest-ever win total. It also means the Terps are eligible for the NCAA tournament, which they haven’t made since 2005.
Aided by a balanced attack, Maryland upset Purdue in five sets (25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 25-27, 17-15) at Xfinity Pavilion on Sunday.
“Since I committed, since I visited, [Aird’s] always said, ‘I know how the movie ends, it’s just if you want to join me or not,'” outside hitter Gia Milana said. “Would I say we’re surprised? Heck no, we’re not surprised.”
Outside hitter Erika Pritchard paced the Terps with 18 kills while Milana and opposite/outside hitter Samantha Drechsel each added 13.
On Friday, Maryland (16-8, 5-7 Big Ten) earned a four-set victory against Indiana despite notching fewer kills and a lower hitting percentage than the Hoosiers. The squad benefited from 15 service errors and controlled the net with 11 blocks.
The Terps didn’t receive the same luxury against the Boilermakers, who entered fourth in the country with a .321 hitting percentage. Purdue hit .366 in Maryland’s five-set victory.
Last year, Aird’s squad totaled 12 wins. Maryland has four more wins this season with eight contests left. The improvement has come despite two sidelined starters. Middle blocker Katie Myers required season-ending surgery for a torn meniscus, and libero Kelsey Wicinski has missed the past six matches with an upper body injury.
“In the past, if we had an injury or two, it was really hard to compete,” Aird said. “We’re still competing at a really high level with players who started the year on the bench. That’s I think the testament of the fact that we’re starting to get a little bit of depth and belief in the program.”
Gardner, Myers’ replacement, tallied eight kills with just one error. Libero Sam Burgio added 14 digs after picking up 22 against Indiana.
Aird criticized Milana’s ability to adapt her game following Friday’s win against Indiana, and again Aird appeared unhappy with the sophomore in the first set Sunday when she struck a kill attempt into two leaping Boilermakers. He called a timeout and yelled at her on the sideline.
But after the stoppage, Milana hit her second ace of the frame and leapt into the air when Purdue, down by three, called a timeout. She then struck a kill for the first set point, leading to a set victory. Aird greeted her in the team’s next huddle with a high-five.
“Tough love for sure, but I need that from him,” Milana said. “I need to be reminded that I’m better than I am [playing] sometimes.”
After Purdue captured the second frame, middle blocker Hailey Murray, Drechsel and Pritchard led a third-set win, combining for 13 kills.
Maryland served aggressively early on to push the Boilermakers out of system, but risks from the end line led to 13 service errors in the first two sets. The Terps dialed back the pressure in the third frame, however, as Burgio’s two aces compensated for the team’s two miscues. Still, Maryland finished the match with 22 service errors to seven aces.
“It’s about, can we get them out of system?” Milana said. “They’re hitting for crazy numbers, so if we can get them a little bit more off the net and have to manage the ball, that’s a win for us.”
Despite pulling ahead 23-22 in the fourth set, the Terps could not hold on, as Murray served long and Purdue blocked Pritchard to reverse momentum.
Trailing, 11-7, in the final frame, Aird used his last timeout.
“It’s now or never,” Drechsel remembered him telling his huddle. Maryland tied the set with four straight points, and after some back-and-forth play, the Terps won it with Gardner and Pritchard posting Maryland’s final four kills.
“What I’m most proud of is the fact that we never quit,” Aird said. “We had lots of opportunities to kind of roll over and at times you guys see some really young stuff happening, but they just kept fighting.”
