BALTIMORE-- The UMBC volleyball team clinched a spot in the America East Tournament with a 3-0 win over Stony Brook on Friday night on a night when junior Ashley Oscars (Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty) became the seventh player in UMBC history to record 1,000 career kills. With the win, the Retrievers improved to 17-12 and 6-5 in America East play, while the Seawolves dropped to 12-17 and 3-8 in conference action.
"We're really happy to be in the playoffs," said head coach Ian Blanchard. "Every team goes through a certain amount of adversity, and we have been through our fair share and its nice to not only get a win, but play well doing it."
Hitting and blocking were the story tonight as the Retrievers hit eight more kills (35-27) and stuffed 11 more blocks (12-1) in the 25-23, 25-10, 25-19 win. Freshman Iman Kennedy (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) and redshirt freshmanSarah Hill (Richmond, Va./L.C. Bird) each earned six total blocks, while junior Kira Giles (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada/Westlawn) added five and sophomore Bridget Scheetz (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy had four.
"Our blocking tonight was outstanding," said Blanchard. "Even if we weren't stuffing the ball down, we were getting enough of the attack so that it slowed the ball down so we could take advantage and run our offense."
Oscars earned her fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 11 kills and 10 digs as she became the first Retriever since Jocelyn Teoh to reach the 1,000 kill milestone. She now has 1,005 for her career and is also sixth all-time in school history in attacks with 3,03.
"It's a great, outstanding individual achievement," said Blanchard, "and for it to come on a night when we win and secure a spot in the America East playoffs, that's really special."
While the Seawolves led the Retrievers in digs 42-35, Blanchard thought his team passed very well, especially junior Pam Jarrett (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Pius X).
"Every time we needed a really good pass, Pam came through for us," said Blanchard. "Even when she wasn't passing perfectly, she passed well enough for us to be able to run our offense."
UMBC also held the advantage on serving, hitting nine aces to Stony Brook's four.
The Retrievers conclude their regular season Sunday at 2 p.m. when they host Hartford at the RAC.
