BALTIMORE – After a pair of four-set wins at home last weekend at the RAC Arena, the UMBC volleyball team begins the second half of America East play by traveling to Stony Brook for a Friday evening contest at Pritchard Gymnasium. The Retrievers and Seawolves are scheduled to hit the court at 7:30 p.m. with live coverage on the America East Digital Network.
Scouting the Retrievers
UMBC (14-8, 5-2 AE) received two America East Conference honors following the two-win weekend with junior Hannah Schmidt (Catonsville, Md. /Mount de Sales) being named Player of the Week and senior Mallory McIntyre (Winnipeg, Manitoba/St. Mary's Academy) receiving Setter of the Week accolades. Schmidt recorded double-doubles in both matches last weekend, totaling a team-best 32 kills. McIntyre registered 104 assists between the two matches and averaged 13.00 assists per set. She leads the conference with a 10.12 assists per set average and UMBC paces the league in hitting percentage (.205).
McIntyre has kept the Retriever attack diverse with senior Ali Goc (Oshawa, Ontario/R.S. McLaughlin) leading a trio of hitters with 200+kills this season. Goc has registered a team-best 226 kills so far and she leads the team with ten double-doubles. The senior is second on the team in 2013 with 306 digs which has moved her up to seventh all-time at UMBC with 1,334 digs in her career.
The Retrievers' back line has been strong this season as freshman Casey Griffith (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) has taken over for Goc at libero and excelled, picking up double-digit digs in all but three contests this season. A strong front line has also keyed the Retrievers' defense which leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.152), as well as blocks (2.09 per set). Friday night against Hartford, Schmidt and senior Emily Witsaman (Medina, Ohio/Medina) each registered five block assists as the Retrievers outblocked the Hawks, 10.0-5.0.
Scouting the Seawolves
Stony Brook (11-13, 5-2 AE) battled Seton Hall in a non-conference contest Tuesday night but fell in three sets to the Pirates. Senior Kaitlin Costello put away seven kills for the Stony Brook offense, while junior Hannah Dolan handed out 18 assists. On defense, sophomore Laura Hathaway scooped up 11 digs.
The Seawolves defeated Providence and Hartford last weekend in conference play to join the four-team tie atop the league standings. Costello leads the America East with her 3.16 kills per set average while sophomore Melissa Rigo sits in sixth (2.71 per set). Stony Brook also paces the conference in service aces, averaging 1.74 per set with Dolan leading all servers with a 0.47 per set average.
All-Time Series
UMBC defeated Stony Brook in four sets back on Sept. 27 at the RAC Arena to knot the overall series at 11-11. The teams met once prior to UMBC joining the America East in 2003 with the Retrievers coming away victorious at the 1980 George Washington Tournament.
Schmidt and Goc each recorded a double-double in kills and digs while senior Rebecca Garrigues (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) dished out a career-best 36 assists in the first clash between the two squads this season. Sophomore Sherelle Walker (New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock) led all hitters by recording a season-best 17 kills, while Goc paced the back row with 19 digs.
Retriever Stat Pack
Season Highs:
|
Stat |
Player |
No. |
Opponent |
|
Kills |
19 |
at Albany |
|
|
Assists |
Mallory McIntyre |
56 |
at Albany |
|
Digs |
Casey Griffith |
28 |
at Albany |
|
Blocks |
Emily Witsaman |
8 (0-8) 8 (1-7) |
vs. Delaware at West Virginia |
|
Aces |
Mallory McIntyre |
5 |
Towson |
Double-Doubles:
|
Player |
Opponent |
Stat 1 |
Stat 2 |
|
Mallory McIntyre |
George Mason |
38 assists |
11 digs |
|
Hannah Schmidt |
George Mason |
17 kills |
14 digs |
|
Ali Goc |
Delaware |
13 kills |
18 digs |
|
Ali Goc (2) |
Loyola (Md.) |
18 kills |
13 digs |
|
Ali Goc (3) |
LaSalle |
12 kills |
13 digs |
|
Ali Goc (4) |
vs. Liberty |
13 kills |
10 digs |
|
Mallory McIntyre (2) |
vs. Liberty |
45 assists |
12 digs |
|
Ali Goc (5) |
vs. Georgetown |
17 kills |
21 digs |
|
Ali Goc (6) |
at West Virginia |
13 kills |
14 digs |
|
Mallory McIntyre (3) |
at American |
41 assists |
10 digs |
|
Rebecca Garrigues |
Stony Brook |
36 assists |
17 digs |
|
Ali Goc (7) |
Stony Brook |
10 kills |
19 digs |
|
Hannah Schmidt (2) |
Stony Brook |
11 kills |
10 digs |
|
Rebecca Garrigues (2) |
UMass Lowell |
29 assists |
11 digs |
|
Rebecca Garrigues (3) |
New Hampshire |
29 assists |
12 digs |
|
Ali Goc (8) |
New Hampshire |
11 kills |
19 digs |
|
Hannah Schmidt (3) |
at Albany |
17 kills |
14 digs |
|
Ali Goc (9) |
at Binghamton |
11 kills |
16 digs |
|
Mallory McIntyre (4) |
at Binghamton |
47 assists |
11 digs |
|
Hannah Schmidt (4) |
Hartford |
15 kills |
11 digs |
|
Ali Goc (10) |
Providence |
12 kills |
18 digs |
|
Mallory McIntyre (5) |
Providence |
51 assists |
12 digs |
|
Hannah Schmidt (5) |
Providence |
17 kills |
18 digs |