ALBANY, N.Y.—Junior Iman Kennedy
(Charlotte, N.C./Independence) hit .714 with 10 kills and no errors
as the third-seeded UMBC volleyball team defeated No. 2 Binghamton,
25-15, 25-21, 25-15, to advance to the America East Championship
Saturday at 7 p.m. The Retrievers (12-16) will face No. 1
Albany, who defeated No. 4 Stony Brook, 3-2, in the other
semifinal.
"We did an excellent job of executing the game plan tonight,"
head coach Ian Blanchard said. "We had strong performances from a
lot of different people and I'm proud of a complete team effort
tonight.
Kennedy's .714 hitting percentage broke the America East
tournament record for hitting in a match, which has stood since
1993. The junior also added five blocks as she moved into a tie for
the fourth-most assisted blocks in a season with 89 and sixth in
total blocks with 107.
Senior Sabrina Hoeks
(Olympia, Wash./AG West Black Hills), a 2010 America East
All-Conference First Team selection, hit nine kills while adding 12
digs and two aces. Junior Allie Spaay
(Kenosha, Wis./Kenosha Tremper), a second team All-Conference
honoree, posted 38 assists.
UMBC's two All-Rookie team members, Hallie
Carter (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) and Ali Goc (Oshawa,
Ontario, Canada/R.S. McLaughlin Collegiate) each had strong outings
with Carter earning a game-high 15 digs and Goc recording a
double-double with a game-high 11 kills and 14 digs.
Two other Retrievers hit over .300, with sophomore Ali Loynachan
(Whitby, Ontario, Canada/Sinclair) hitting .333 with six kills and
seven digs, and freshman Emily
Witsaman (Medina, Ohio/Medina) hitting .385 with six kills.
For the match, UMBC outhit Binghamton (14-14), .324 to .135 and
earned 44 kills to the Bearcats' 31.
