Preview: Maryland volleyball takes six-game win streak to UCF Tournament

Dylan Davies/Maryland Athletics

Riding the momentum of a six-game win streak, Maryland volleyball (7-2) faces perhaps its toughest challenge yet this weekend.

The Terps are taking a weekend trip to Orlando for the UCF Tournament, where they play Nevada (7-2) on Friday at noon and UCF (5-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The Wolf Pack and the Knights come into the weekend on more rest than Maryland who is coming off a midweek matchup with Delaware State on Wednesday.

Coach Adam Hughes described Maryland’s packed schedule as a “quick turn and burn” and said he wished the Terps could have closed out their match against the Hornets a bit quicker.

“We leave [Thursday] at 5:30 … I was hoping we’d take care of business a little bit cleaner,” Hughes said.

Though the Terps stumbled in the third set against Delaware State, all three programs at the UCF Tournament enter with high confidence.

Nevada is coming off a strong showing this past weekend in the Rose City Tournament, going 3-0 and only dropping one set. The weekend sweep built momentum for the Wolf Pack after a somewhat surprising loss to a 3-2 CSU Bakersfield squad.

Though Nevada rosters only six upperclassmen, they account for the majority of the team’s kills. The top four players in kills are all juniors or seniors. Sophomore Tehya Maeva is the only underclassman heavily involved in the offense, averaging over 8 assists per set in Nevada’s one-setter offense.

The attack hasn’t been the most efficient, hitting only .219, but they will test Maryland regardless.

UCF is one of the most talented squads the Terps have played this season and certainly looks to be the most physically imposing. The Knights have eight players 6 feet, 2 inches or taller, compared to Maryland’s four.

“[UCF] is probably more physical than we are, probably our first time,” Hughes said.

The offense is led by 6-foot-5-inch outsider hitter Avah Armour. Armour averages nearly four kills a set, far ahead of second-place Britt Carlson (2.52 kills per set). UCF as a team is hitting a solid .241 on the season and averages over 13 kills a set.

No. 21 Florida State handed the Knights their first loss this year on Sunday, Sept. 15. Though UCF took a set from the Seminoles and kept the match fairly competitive.

Jenny Maurer was named head coach of the program in 2023, though she helped guide the Knights to several AAC titles and five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in her seven years as assistant head coach.

Maurer’s first year at the helm was somewhat of a down year, as the team went 17-12. Yet the Knights still finished in the top 75 of last year’s RPI rankings, a testament to UCF’s recent success.

This weekend may be grueling for the Terps, but wins over Nevada and UCF to storm into Big Ten play on an eight-game winning streak would be a dream scenario for Hughes and his team.