Maryland volleyball has a long way to go before reaching steady crowds that will rival top Big Ten teams. But Xfinity Center offers its own unique and challenging atmosphere, as well as increasing attendance rates for coach Steve Aird’s team. In 2014, Aird’s first season in College Park, the average attendance rose from 336 to 1,539 for volleyball.
In their first three Big Ten matches of the season, the Terps faced not only the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the nation, but crowds of 3,319 at Minnesota and 5,700 at Wisconsin. Unranked Iowa on Wednesday night pulled a crowd of 1,372 for the Hawkeyes’ sweep of Maryland.