Weekend preview: Maryland volleyball travels to Baton Rouge for three-game slate

Photo courtesy of Rose Fernandes/ Maryland Athletics

Behind a wealth of experience, Maryland volleyball looks poised to start the season off hot in Baton Rouge. 

The Terps kick off the season playing three games in the LSU Tournament, opening against a Troy team with a young roster on Friday at 1 p.m. Later on Friday, Maryland faces the host, LSU at eight and finishes the weekend against New Hampshire on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Maryland will lean on its whopping eight players with at least four years of experience, headed by middle blocker Anastasia Russ returning for her sixth season.

“We know what we’ll get out of [Russ],” Hughes said. “When she’s blocking well and she’s playing confident offensively, she’s proven that she’s an all-conference player.”

The Terps return virtually all of their key pieces, including fifth-year outside hitter Sam Csire, following a season in which she surpassed the 1,000-career-kill mark, and fifth-year setter Sydney Dowler who led the team in assists last year.

Hughes praised the team’s veterans but expressed excitement about the offseason growth he’s seen from his sophomores.

“The other thing that we’re excited about is the sophomore class that started making contributions last year,” Hughes said. “They’ve definitely developed a lot … we’re relying on them in a variety of ways as well.”

Though Troy features eleven underclassmen, the Trojans return several key starters, including senior outside hitter Tori Hester who paced the team in kills and points last season.

Troy showed resilience last season. After starting the year on a six-game skid, the Trojans rattled off an 11-game win streak to finish the season above .500. They wrapped up the 2023 season with an RPI ranking of 81, nearly 30 spots higher than Maryland.

“Troy’s RPI was better than Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, you’re talking about blue blood programs,” Hughes said. “It’s gonna be a very tough matchup for us.”

The Terps will play a second match Friday night against the LSU Tigers. LSU finished the 2023 season at 11-17, though it ranked 83rd in RPI.

Hughes’s squad should expect an entirely different look this year. LSU’s squad was overhauled this offseason, with nine of the 18 rostered players being freshmen. The Tigers’ offense will star sophomore outside hitter Jurnee Robinson, the kills and points leader for the squad in her freshman season.

LSU was one of the few teams in last year’s RPI top 100 that held a losing record at home, though playing the second leg of a doubleheader on your home court against an opponent who had to travel will prove important.

The Terps return on Saturday to take on New Hampshire, their third match in two days. However, Hughes feels his experienced roster is up to the challenge of the taxing schedule.

“We almost always played three games in 36 hours,” Hughes said. “We’ve been doing it for years.”

Hughes also spoke about the team’s time in the gym preparing for the quick turnaround.

“We actually played three simulated scrimmages over a course of a weekend,” Hughes said. “We wanted to experience what it’s going to feel like when we have to play New Hampshire on Saturday.”

New Hampshire’s offensive attack is led by senior outside hitter Hannah Serbousek, who recorded 274 kills last season. Additionally, setter Jessica Shattles returns after a freshman season in which she totaled a team-leading 478 assists.

Maryland enters the season with one goal in mind: make the NCAA Tournament. The program’s last tournament appearance was in the 2003-04 season, and the Terps are as determined as ever to snap that streak.