When Steve Aird was hired as the head coach of the University of Maryland women's volleyball program before the 2014 season, he understood the challenges that were ahead of him.
Aird, who came to Maryland after two years as an assistant at perennial NCAA power Penn State, inherited a program that hadn't been competitive in the Atlantic Coast Conference. At the time of his hiring, the Terps were about to move to the Big Ten, which had been one of the nation's highest-rated volleyball conferences for years.
"I'd never coached in the ACC and had no knowledge of what Maryland had done before," Aird said. "But this sport is truly valued in the Big Ten. The conference attracts the best volleyball players in the country, and you'd be hard-pressed to find better coaches anywhere. At several Big Ten schools, volleyball is the No. 1 women's sport. It's an exceptional league."
