Volleyball gets similar but different results against Virginia, Virginia Tech

When the Terrapin volleyball team hosted Virginia and Virginia Tech early last month, it swept one opponent and got swept by the other.

Nothing but the venue and the victims changed for the Terps this weekend.

After dismantling the Cavaliers in straight sets Friday, it seemed as if the Terps had a chance to finally take both contests in a weekend series. They had, after all, swept Virginia Tech on Oct. 8 in College Park.

But the Terps suffered through another breakdown Saturday, falling to the Hokies, 3-0.

"On Friday, we played probably one of the best matches since I've been here. We had great energy, and our execution was awesome," coach Tim Horsmon said. "On Saturday, we were disappointed. We made a ton of errors, didn't really compete and lacked the leadership to make plays and have that competitive fire it was going to take to win."

Inconsistency doomed the team's performance again this weekend. The Terps (17-10, 8-7 ACC) were dominant offensively against Virginia (13-12, 7-8), hitting .363 with just 10 errors. But against Virginia Tech (17-8, 8-7) the next day, the Terps weren't the same team offensively, hitting .158 with 21 errors.

It was the kind of inconsistency that has plagued the Terps all season. Horsmon and the players said they understand they won't be able to be the team they strive to be until they can find a way to break out of it.

"We're still trying to figure out how to win," Horsmon said. "We keep talking about that we have to make a decision that we're going to come out and take control of the things we can control, and we haven't done that."

Outside hitter Kara Bates and middle hitter Brittney Grove were the leaders against the Cavaliers, finishing with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Against the Hokies, outside hitter Maddi Lee was one of the few bright spots for the Terps, totaling 11 kills and a .409 hitting percentage. Libero Bethany Springer led the team defensively with 17 digs in each match.

The Terps will return home next weekend when they host Wake Forest and Duke. And with just five matches left in the season, it may be becoming do-or-die time for the Terps.

"They've all been must-wins," Horsmon said. "Everything that's happening for us is about learning how to win. We've obviously had a pretty good recovery to the last two years, and we're doing a lot of good things this year. ... We need to continue to compete for the last couple of weeks."

vitale@umdbk.com