Maryland volleyball finalized its 2023 schedule on Friday, which features a pair of trips to Florida during its non-conference slate and nine matchups against Big Ten opponents that made last season’s NCAA tournament.
The Terps begin their sixth season under head coach Adam Hughes in Miami on Aug. 25, when they’ll take on the Hurricanes before facing Florida International and Lamar.
Maryland will then travel to Annapolis to meet Old Dominion, Utah Valley and Navy in the Kristen Dickmann Invitational.
The Terps’ lone home non-conference matches will take place on Sept. 8 against Coastal Carolina and on Sept. 9 against Princeton before the team makes the short trip to Washington, D.C., to take on Howard on Sept. 10.
Hughes’ squad will return to Florida to round out their nonconference slate in Fort Myers at the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic. They’ll battle Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast and Le Moyne.
Almost half of Maryland’s 20-match Big Ten schedule pits the Terps against teams that qualified for last season’s national tournament. Maryland faces Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin twice this season, with additional contests against Minnesota, Nebraska and Penn State.
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The Terps start Big Ten play at home against the Boilermakers on Sept. 22 before hosting Michigan on Sept. 24.
Maryland faces a string of four straight road matches halfway through its conference schedule, beginning with a test against conference powerhouse Nebraska on Oct. 27.
The Terps will then meet the Hawkeyes in Coralville ahead of dates at Michigan State and Michigan the following week.
Potentially the toughest back-to-back matches of the season follow the Terps’ road trip as they’ll welcome Wisconsin, last season’s Big Ten regular-season champion, and Ohio State to Xfinity Pavilion on Nov. 10 and 12, respectively.
However, Maryland’s most recent home matches against the Badgers and the Buckeyes produced two of the most heralded wins in program history. The Terps knocked off then-No. 2 and eventual national champions Wisconsin in 2021 and upset then-No. 5 Ohio State last November.
Maryland will round out its Big Ten road schedule the following week against Indiana and Purdue before concluding its regular season at home against Penn State and Rutgers.
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The Terps have yet to finish with a winning record in conference play since joining the Big Ten in 2014. Last season’s 7-13 record featured a pair of top-10 wins, including the program’s first road victory against such a foe since joining the conference.
Maryland swept then-No. 9 Purdue in West Lafayette on Oct. 16 before stunning then-No.5 Ohio State a month later.
Hughes’ squad will play a total of 11 games against teams that qualified for last year’s NCAA tournament in 2023, as Miami and Florida Gulf Coast were featured in last year’s edition along with Maryland’s nine Big Ten opponents.
Those early challenges could help prepare the Terps for a grueling conference schedule, and a strong nonconference slate coupled with a breakout Big Ten campaign may be enough to vault the Terps into the postseason for the first time since 2005.
