Duru Gökçen was having the game of her life. After four sets against Coppin State, not only had Maryland volleyball’s sophomore middle blocker amassed a career-high 12 kills, but she was once again leading the team’s defensive effort with nine blocks.
Despite her performance, the Terps were struggling to put Coppin State away. When the fifth set began, Gökçen quickly delivered. She supplied back-to-back blocks during a 7-2 run. Shortly after, the Terps won and moved to 6-3 on the year.
Gökçen’s 1.46 blocks per set ranks top-10 among Big Ten players so far. Though her fast start is promising, she’s one of many standout defensive players that has fueled the Terps to wins in six of their last seven matches.
Eva Rohrbach has been reliable alongside Gökçen in the back row, averaging 1.38 blocks per set. The junior middle blocker has only improved as the season’s progressed, recording 23 blocks in Maryland’s last three matches.
“[Rohrbach is] someone who’s got a great IQ for the game and uses that to her advantage,” coach Adam Hughes said. “She’s a great communicator with the people around her, reminding them of their assignments and where they’re going to take advantages.”
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Rohrbach’s clutch defensive plays have helped the Terps close out opponents. Most notably, she provided the match-winning point against William & Mary with a block on Katherine Arnason, who led the match in kills.
The chemistry between Gökçen and Rohrbach isn’t just visible on the court.
When Gökçen won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week recently, the team had a meeting to highlight it. Gökçen gave all the credit to Rohrbach, according to Hughes.
“She said, ‘I know I’ve worked hard, but Eva has been so good for my development,’” Hughes said.
Senior Ally Williams and redshirt freshman Lilly Wagner are pacing the team in digs. Williams’ 128 digs is second highest in the Big Ten. Wagner is averaging 2.59 digs per set and has contributed 34 total blocks.
Williams’ and Wagner’s consistency has helped Maryland keep up against high-powered offenses.
The defensive efforts from Hughes’ players in recent matches show promising growth after a bumpy start. The team is quickly developing on-court chemistry, something that’ll become more important once the conference schedule begins.
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“They’re starting to not just understand what we’re trying to accomplish, but starting to learn the differences and strengths of the athletes that are around them,” Hughes said.
Individual player growth has created an uptick in the team’s defensive stats. The Terps have out-blocked their last seven opponents, 98.5 to 67. In contrast, the team was out-blocked 26-14 in losses against Coastal Carolina and North Carolina.
Maryland’s first two opponents hit .200 and .346 against them, respectively. The Terps held their opponents to a combined .142 in the rest of their matches, and have only allowed Wake Forest to hit .200 or higher in that stretch.
The Terps’ defensive efforts stand out even more at the conference level. Maryland leads the Big Ten by a wide margin with 112.5 blocks, 15 more than second-place Iowa.
It’s no surprise that Maryland also leads the conference with 3.04 blocks per set. Indiana and USC are the only other teams in the conference averaging three or more blocks per set. Maryland leads the Big Ten with 505 total digs, as well.
Though conference play is yet to come, Maryland’s early defensive output is promising.
“I think the Big Ten just doesn’t give you as much time — the windows of opportunities are much shorter,” Hughes said. “I’m hoping that we can do that same process of being quick to execute the game plan, and then also remind ourselves we’re going to keep adjusting throughout.”
