Weekend preview: Maryland volleyball vs. Michigan State and Michigan

Maryland volleyball (15-9, 5-7 Big Ten) is on the road again this weekend, traveling to the midwest to face Michigan State (14-9, 6-6 Big Ten) and Michigan (4-17, 2-10 Big Ten).

The Terps ended the month of October with a win, defeating Iowa for the second time this season. As a team they were excellent on the serve, recording a season-high 12 service aces — including four from setter Sydney Dowler. The win capped off a down month for Maryland, as it went just 3-6. 

After struggling against No. 1 Nebraska, the Terps’ offense ignited against the Hawkeyes. Sam Csire’s seven kills in the first set alone helped revive the offense. The outside hitter ended the match with 11 kills and leads the team with 2.86 kills per set.

The Spartans are coming off their first ranked win of the season, taking down No. 16 Penn State last Saturday. The win was in comeback fashion, as they stormed back after going down 2-1. Michigan State has especially been good this season at limiting opponents to low-hitting percentages, which was present in the win as it held the Nittany Lions to .135.

“[Michigan State] has created a pretty good home court advantage,” coach Adam Hughes said. “It catches your attention when someone is beating a top 15 team … both of their setters are setting extremely well. Those things allow them to get balanced offensively and I think that’s one of our big concerns.”

Freshman Taylah Holdem accounts for many of the Spartans’ kills this season. Her 14 kills on Saturday increased her team lead to 289, over 100 more than second place. Holdem ranks 10th in the conference with 3.32 kills per set.

Maryland and Michigan State are well-matched with similar averages in most statistical categories, but the difference in the match could be at the net. The Spartans allow the third-most blocks per set in the conference (2.39), while the Terps are near the top of the conference in blocks per set (2.52).

Maryland faces Michigan on Sunday, a team the Terps already beat in Sept. But this is a much different Wolverines squad as coach Erin Virtue has gotten younger players involved. Freshman Morgan Burke has taken over the starting setter duties, recording 41 assists in each of the last two matches.

“It is nice to have Saturday where we can prepare a little bit, switch gears, and try to change the mindsets,” Hughes said. “We probably [must] throw away our Michigan match last time we played them. It’s a totally different team now … I’m hoping we can play better. We were a little bit high-error and we didn’t defend the lefts very well.”

Virtue’s team is also coming off a home win, defeating Ohio State for its second conference win this season. The offense hit well above average (.246) and had three players with double-digit kills.

Michigan still gets many of its kills from outside hitter Kendall Murray, who leads the team with 2.74 kills per set. Murray was the only player to record double-digit kills (14) in the Wolverines’ loss to Maryland.

Michigan is dead last in the Big Ten in hitting percentage, assists per set and kills per set as it boasts one of the worst overall offenses in the conference. But it does get points from the service line, as its 1.74 aces per set ranks trails only Indiana.

Maryland’s match against Michigan State on Friday is set for a 7 p.m. start. Its match versus Michigan on Sunday will begin at 2 p.m.