Maryland volleyball swept by Indiana for second time this season

Photo courtesy of Rose Fernandes/Maryland Athletics

Then-No. 24 Indiana dominated Maryland volleyball in straight sets on Oct. 31. The Hoosiers held the Terps to just 24 kills, including a third set where the offense recorded a season-low five kills.

This time, on the road in Bloomington, Ind., Maryland’s offense saw a large improvement in production, but the Hoosiers’ offense was simply overwhelming.

Maryland (8-18, 1-15 Big Ten) lost in straight sets to No. 18 Indiana on Sunday in its ninth consecutive loss, continuing its struggles against ranked opponents. The Terps have won just one match since Sept. 16 – a home victory against Rutgers on Oct. 15. 

Maryland has claimed just two sets against ranked teams during the 2025 campaign, both coming against then-No. 16 Penn State on Oct. 5. Throughout their eight-match losing streak, the young team has hit at just a .131 rate and been out-killed in all but one of those matches.

In the teams’ last matchup, Indiana (21-5, 12-4 Big Ten)  notched 45 kills on just 12 attack errors, hitting at a .344 rate and holding the Terps to a .099 hitting percentage. 

Sunday’s result was more closely contested, but ultimately saw the same outcome.

Play opened with both teams trading kills, tallying 13 through the first 15 points, resulting in a 7-7 deadlock. The first half of the set saw 22 combined kills, including seven from the Hoosiers’ freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager en route to a 15-12 mid-set lead.

Jager recorded 10 kills in the Hoosiers’ Oct. 31 win against the Terps, and entered Sunday’s contest second on the team with 303 total kills. By the end of the first set in Bloomington, the freshman nearly matched that total with eight kills.

Maryland’s offense saw a much-improved production in the opening set, notching 16 kills at a .389 rate on just two attack errors. Senior opposite hitter Ajack Malual spearheaded the effort with six kills of her own, but the unit could not keep up with the Hoosiers’ offense that produced 21 kills at a .409 rate. 

Despite another strong first set from the Terps, the Hoosiers held firm on their way to a 25-23 set one victory.

The first set was a stark contrast compared to the last time these two teams faced off, as the Terps’ offense more than doubled their hitting percentage from .162 to .389. Maryland’s 16-kill, two-error set was a welcome change of pace from their performance on Oct. 31.

“I didn’t think we found great rhythm against Purdue,” head coach Adam Hughes said. “But I thought we competed and took a big step forward offensively against Indiana.”

Similarly to Friday’s loss against No. 9 Purdue, however, Maryland’s offense began to lose steam as the match progressed.

The Hoosiers held firm control for most of the second set, mounting multiple 3-0 scoring runs and continuing their clean swings with a .387 hitting percentage. The Terps managed to tie the match 21-21, but the early-set woes proved too much to overcome in the 25-22 loss.

Attack errors returned in the second set for the Terps, as they’ve averaged over 20 errors per game over the eight-game losing streak. Maryland picked up five attack errors in each set the last time they faced Indiana.

The Terps posted a .344 rate through the first two sets, a glaring improvement compared to the .137 rate through the first two sets in the last head-to-head matchup. Still, Maryland could not generate enough momentum to benefit from the improvements, dropping the first two sets for the third straight match.

Set three saw the largest lead of the night, with the Hoosiers claiming a 15-11 advantage. The Hoosiers’ offense notched 17 kills at a .607 rate, while the Terps had their worst set of the contest. A 7-0 scoring run followed, sealing a dominant 25-14 set three victory and the match.  

Third-set blunders have plagued the Terps all season, typically running out of energy against high-tempo offenses. The third set against Indiana on Oct. 31 saw the Terps tally a season-low five kills at a .000 rate in a 25-12 loss.

The 12-kill third set on Sunday was not enough, handing Maryland its 10th straight set loss and third consecutive sweep, still looking for a second Big Ten win.

“We knew this was going to be a challenging road weekend,” Hughes said. “We had countless small windows, but couldn’t capitalize.”