Maryland volleyball’s offense falters in straight sets to No. 9 Purdue

Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.

Maryland volleyball was outperforming many season-long trends on offense, hitting at a .200 rate and notching 14 kills by the end of a close first-set loss against Purdue.

But the Terps’ offense never returned to form. The offensive production went silent after the opening set, falling victim once again to a plethora of attacking errors in an eighth consecutive loss.

Maryland ended the match with 18 attacking errors, falling in straight sets to No. 9 Purdue at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind., on Friday. The loss is Maryland’s eighth via sweep this season.

The Terps’ (8-17, 1-14 Big Ten) offense entered play as the second-worst unit in the Big Ten, better than only Ohio State. They’ve accrued a conference-worst 11.02 kills per set rate and 0.173 hitting percentage. 

The contest opened with a much-improved Terps’ offensive effort, hitting at .545 through the first 20 points. Despite the Terps’ 14-kill set, the Boilermakers’ (22-3, 13-2 Big Ten) net presence was noticeable in the first set. Purdue’s defense notched five blocks, enabling it to withstand Maryland’s offense.

The Terps’ defense entered play tied for second-best in the Big Ten at 240.5 total blocks and boasted two top-ten blockers. But Maryland failed to tally a block in the first set, and the 5-0 block differential aided in Purdue’s 25-19 set win.

What was once a promising start for the Terps was quickly erased, as the Boilermakers opened the second set with a 16-6 dominant lead. The Terps’ offense hit at a -.038 rate, committing nine attack errors. Five more blocks for the Boilermakers’ defense halted a potential comeback from the Terps, as the early offensive woes led to a 25-17 second-set victory for Purdue.

During their seven-match losing streak before reaching Purdue, the Terps had committed 154 attack errors — an average of 22 errors per match. The offense hit at a 0.105 rate on average during the losing streak and struggled to find clean hits. After the first two sets on Friday, the team had already reached 17 attacking errors, hitting just .081 and notching only 22 kills.

A 9-2 Boilermakers lead opened the third set, but Maryland’s offense found rhythm mid-way through the set. The Terps tallied 10 kills on just one attack error in the final set, a level of production that enabled the team to build late scoring runs, including surviving four consecutive Purdue set points.

Despite a .273 hitting percentage, the Boilermakers accrued 17 kills on a .308 hitting percentage and rolled to a 25-18 set three victory and a dominant sweep.

Maryland’s struggles in keeping up with high-power offenses continued against Purdue in the loss. The Terps’ opponents have outkilled them by 156 kills this season. Maryland has not recorded more kills than its opponent since defeating Rutgers nearly a month ago on Oct. 15. 

The Terps were out-killed 41-32 on Friday and have not won a set against a ranked team since taking two from then-No. 16 Penn State on Oct. 5.

With three consecutive ranked opponents on the docket following Friday’s loss, the woes against tougher teams may continue as Maryland still seeks a second Big Ten victory.