Maryland volleyball coach Adam Hughes didn’t know how to gauge his team heading into Big Ten play. Despite a 7-3 start to the season, he knew his roster of transfers and underclassmen had a big challenge ahead.

The Terps suffered their worst season since 2020, only managing one conference win to go with 13 sweeps.

“Just felt like there were too many transition pieces … a lot of people in their first year in that role,“ Hughes said. “We’ve got a long way to go because we played well below our standard this season.”

Maryland’s dreadful offense played a major role in its decline. The Terps finished the year averaging 10.87 kills per set, 10.06 assists per set and a .173 hitting percentage, all lowest in the Big Ten.

In the Terps’ 2024 matchup against Oregon, their offense kept pace for two sets. A year later, Maryland lost the opening two sets against the Ducks by nine and 14 points, respectively.

The comparison is even more striking considering the Ducks were ranked No. 11 when Maryland visited them in 2024. But Maryland had home court advantage against an unranked Oregon team this season.

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Maryland’s defense fared a little better, particularly with the help of Duru Gökçen and Eva Rohrbach, who both finished top-10 in the Big Ten in total blocks.

Despite this, the team allowed opponents to hit .246 on average throughout the year.

Maryland’s serve-receive broke down repeatedly, and they struggled to get shots past the net. The back row found itself unable to make up for the lack of support, wearing out as matches drew to a close.

“If you’re not great with the first touch, it just makes the offense that much harder,” Hughes said. “We struggled a little bit in serve receive, and honestly just never found any sort of offensive rhythm this season.”

A mass exodus last offseason also didn’t help Maryland this season. Several veterans left the team, which meant holes had to be plugged by young players and transfers.

The gap in experience shows in the numbers. The Terps saw three players with significant playing time average two or more kills per set last year. Ajack Malual was the only player to hit that mark in 2025.

Maryland was often reliant on Malual, one of two seniors on the team, to keep the pace. In all seven conference matches where the Terps took at least one set, Malual had double digit kills.

But once opponents began keying in on her, the offense wasn’t able to vary their attacks enough against hardened Big Ten defenses.

“[I] had an idea to try to make the offense a little bit more variable, allow some of our hitters to be a little bit more able to play the styles they wanted,” Hughes said. “It never felt like we fully got clicking there.“

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The Terps were swept in all of their final seven matches, only reaching more than 20 points in four sets across that span.

“You kind of have to make small adjustments in a time where it’s extra harder to make those adjustments,” Malual said. “It forces everybody to put their ego aside and focus on how to shift your individual mindset, how to communicate better, how to be smart with your choices.”

The Terps’ 8-22 season leaves many questions regarding the future of the program.

Though Malual and libero Ally Williams are the only departing seniors this offseason, they vacate important roles. It’s unknown whether Hughes and the staff can entice quality replacements through the portal.

The Terps’ offseason priorities will likely be roster retention and in-house development, with many fresh faces expected to get their shot. Maryland also has a class of five high school recruits on the way.

But given the program’s decline in past seasons, the prospect of their two-decade NCAA tournament drought coming to an end next year seems unlikely. It’ll be up to a young and hungry roster to defy the odds.

“I feel like you have to hit rock bottom if you want to spike back. And so, I feel like as bad as it was, this can be used as a great trampoline to have a really good season next year,” Malual said.