The UMBC volleyball team opened up its home schedule Friday, defeating Niagara, 3-1, before falling to UMES, 3-2, in the first day of the UMBC Tournament.
Junior Sarah Ball (Winnipeg, Canada/Sisler) hit an outstanding .545 hitting percentage with seven kills against only one error, while sophomore Bridget Scheetz (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy) added nine kills and four assisted blocks as the Retrievers (4-2) downed the Purple Eagles (0-5).
The Retrievers hit 51 kills compared to Niagara’s 39 and held the Purple Eagles to a .180 hitting percentage to win their home opener (25-18, 25-15, 22-25, 25-16).
Freshman Alyssa Lang (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) had a game-high 14 kills, while junior Pam Jarrett had a game-high 15 digs.
In their second match of the day, the Retrievers dropped a heartbreaking five-set loss to UMES after coming back from one set down twice (22-25, 26-24, 20-25, 26-24, 15-11). Junior Kira Giles (Winnipeg, Canada/Glenlawn) had her third double-double of the season, netting 47 assists and 10 digs.
Redshirt-freshman Sarah Hill had the best match of her young career, with nine kills and five assisted blocks.
With her seven assisted blocks today, Scheetz is now tied for seventh on the career list at UMBC with 129.
Ball had 14 attacks on the day, moving her into 10th all-time at UMBC with 2,258 career attacks, while junior Ashley Oscars is ninth on the list with 2,289.
The Retrievers return to action Saturday evening in the final game of the UMBC Tournament, facing Duquense at 5 p.m. at the RAC Arena.
LINKS
UMBC vs. Niagara Box Score
UMBC vs. UMES Box Score
