BALTIMORE—The UMBC volleyball team put up a valiant effort
in front of a big RAC Arena crowd of 511, but Ohio State defeated
the Retrievers, 3-0, as action concluded at the Madison Bingaman
Memorial Tournament presented by BWI Holiday Inn Friday night.
Earlier in the day, the Retrievers (3-4) defeated Howard, 3-0.
UMBC vs. Howard Video
Highlights
In the first match of the day, freshman Rebecca
Garrigues (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) had her
best match in a Retriever uniform, recording 21 assists while
adding a hitting percentage of .600 with six kills on 10 swings to
lead UMBC over Howard, 25-21, 25-18, 25-14.
Four other freshmen also contributed significantly, including Ali Goc
(Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/R.S. McLaughlin Collegiate) with 10 kills
and Emily
Vandegrift (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) with a .583 hitting
percentage and eight kills. Mallory
McIntyre (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada/St. Mary's Academy) added
15 assists and two service aces and Emily
Witsaman hit .375 out of the middle.
"I thought they (the freshmen) did a nice job of settling down
and started passing better midway through the first set," head
coach Ian Blanchard said. "Once we did that, everything else fell
into place."
Senior Sabrina Hoeks
(Olympia, Wash./AG West Black Hills) just missed a double-double
with nine kills and eight digs, while adding four service aces. The
Retrievers outhit the Bison .374 to .178 and held 9-5 advantage in
serving.
"I thought we put a lot of pressure on them with our serve and
that shifted the momentum our way," Blanchard said.
UMBC vs. Ohio State Video
Highlights
In the night cap, the Retrievers and Buckeyes were neck and neck
all throughout the first set, but Ohio State won 25-22, 25-11,
25-19. The first set featured seven ties and the Retrievers were as
close as 23-22, but Buckeyes prevailed on two UMBC errors.
"I was really proud of our effort tonight," Blanchard said. "We
could have come out and played scared, but we were focused and did
not hesitate."
Hoeks led the Retrievers, hitting .429 with seven kills and
added four digs and three service aces. Freshman Hallie
Carter (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) had a game-high 12
digs.