Preview: Maryland volleyball’s weekend vs. Illinois and Iowa

Maryland volleyball (13-7, 3-5 Big Ten) had a disappointing showing last weekend, losing five of six sets in a pair of contests. It returns to College Park hoping for a better performance against Illinois (8-10, 3-5 Big Ten) on Friday and Iowa (8-12, 0-8 Big Ten) on Saturday.

The Terps are looking to bounce back and snap their three-match losing streak. Their offensive has seen some ups and downs, failing to record a hitting percentage above .174 in the stretch. Maryland hit just .029 and was out-killed 44-23 against No. 1 Wisconsin its last time out.

“We are trying to find ways to get a little bit more creative and get the right side a little bit more offense,” coach Adam Hughes said. “We’ve done good damage, we have not seen the physical results … but we don’t feel that it’s a dysfunction in any certain role.”

Sydney Dowler was the lone bright spot during the disappointing weekend. The senior recorded a new career high in kills (seven) against Northwestern and was a consistent piece of the offense all night. The Terps will need others to step up to right the ship, and that starts against the Illini.

Illinois enters the contest with an identical conference record as Maryland, having just snapped a three-match losing streak of its own with a four-set victory over Rutgers last time out.

This Illini have been great offensively despite the losing skid, with Raina Terry leading the way. The senior has been a kill machine and has only recorded single-digit kills once this season. Terry recorded 24 kills against the Scarlet Knights, bringing her average kills per set to 4.84 — best in the Big Ten and sixth-best among all Division I players.

“[Terry] scores in a variety of ways. One of the things that makes her really special is that she takes good challenges so she might get blocked but she doesn’t hit a lot of balls out of bounds, she forces you to make plays,” Hughes said. “It’s going to be an interesting matchup to see what we can do to slow her down.”

Setting up Terry is Brooke Mosher. Mosher is coming off an All-Big Ten freshman team selection and is putting together another solid season. The setter is averaging over nine assists per set and has improved defensively, recording over ten digs in each of the past two matches.

The combination of Terry and Mosher will be key for Illinois to try and build a win streak for the first time since early September.

After taking on Terry, Mosher and the rest of the Illini, the Terps will face the Hawkeyes on Saturday, a group still searching for their first Big Ten win. Iowa has won just one set in October and has been swept in six of its eight conference matches. It heads to College Park after facing No. 11 Penn State on Friday night.

The Hawkeyes’ strength comes from their defense — their 15.25 digs per set ranks first in the Big Ten. Three players recorded double-doubles in their most recent loss to Michigan State. Despite the stifling defense, Iowa has lacked offensively. It ranks in the bottom of the conference in hitting percentage (.206), kills per set (12.10), assists per set (11.13) and blocks per set (1.86).

The Hawkeyes are led by a pair of veterans. Senior Bailey Ortega has played every set for the Hawkeyes this season; she put up 33 assists with 13 digs and three kills in their last match. Fifth year Caitlan Buettner recorded 12 kills in Saturday’s loss, putting her over the 1,000 career kill mark. Her 236 kills on the season leads the team.

Facing opponents with two different styles will be a good test for Maryland as it looks to get back in the win column. Coach Hughes sees no added pressure despite the losing streak.

“When we are trying to be what we are, I [feel] pressure every match, all season … we’ve got a pretty veteran group,” Hughes said. “I think they realize that the pressure is on.”