LONG BEACH, Calif.—The UMBC volleyball
team opened its 2011 season Friday night, falling to No. 22 Long
Beach State, 25-15, 25-12, 25-15 in the first day of the Mizuno
Invitational at Walter Pyramid.
"Long Beach State has a rich tradition and is a tough first
challenge of the season," head coach Ian
Blanchard said. "Even though there are some things we
need to improve upon, I was happy with our effort tonight."
Junior Katie
Kelly (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar) led the
Retrievers, hitting .625 with five kills, two blocks and no errors,
while freshman Hannah
Schmidt (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales) led the
squad with nine kills in her Retriever debut.
Senior Allie
Spaay (Kenosha, Wisc./Kenosha Tremper) had 21
assists, while sophomore Kat
Lincalis (Halethorpe, Md./Towson) led UMBC with
nine digs.
The first and third sets almost mirrored each other as the
Retrievers and 49ers were in a tight battle throughout the first
half of the sets, before Long Beach State pulled away. The 49ers
never trailed in the second set.
The Beach was led by Janisa Johnson, who hit .684 with 13 kills
and no errors.
The Retrievers return to action Saturday for the final day of
the Mizuno Invitational when they face No. 7 Washington at noon
before taking on Prarie View A&M at 5 p.m.
