LONG BEACH, Calif.---The UMBC volleyball team
won its first match of the 2011 season Saturday, defeating Prairie
View A&M, 25-8, 25-18, 25-18, in its final game of the Mizuno
Invitational at Walter Pyramid. Earlier in the day, the Retrievers
(1-2) fell to No. 7 Washington (2-0), 25-15, 25-14, 25-15.
In the nightcap, freshman Hannah
Schmidt (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales) led an
impressive Retriever attack, hitting .500 with 14 kills against
only two errors. In addition, Schmidt added four digs, three blocks
and two aces.
"Hannah is growing in confidence with every set she plays,"
Blanchard said. "She's learning she can be competitive at this
level and its showing in her performance."
Sophomore Hallie
Carter (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) hit .316
with nine kills, while freshman Dalton
Tolliver (Ortonville, Mich./Notre Dame Prep) hit
.375 with seven kills.
Sophomore Ali
Goc (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/R.S. McLaughlin
Collegiate) led the team with nine digs, while
junior Katie
Kelly (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar) earned
five blocks.
The Retrievers only trailed once in the entire match, 1-0 in the
first, and hit .358 as a team and held the Panthers (0-3) to a
-0.025 hitting percentage. UMBC also had seven aces to Prairie
View's two and lead in blocks, 7-4.
"Anytime you can get a win in California is a great win," head
coach Ian Blanchard said. "We were able
to put pressure on them with our serve and played well
defensively."
Earlier in the day, the Retrievers fought valiantly against the
No. 7 Huskies, but fell 25-15, 25-14, 25-15.
"Washington is a Top-10 team in the nation and I thought we
played competitively with them," Blanchard said. "I'm very happy
with our performance."
Senior Iman
Kennedy (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) led the
Retrievers, hitting .500 with eight kills, while Kelly was again
solid in the middle, hitting .333 with five kills.
Krista Vansant led the Huskies, hitting .538 with seven kills
and no errors.
Senior Allie
Spaay (Kenosha, Wisc./Kenosha Tremper) was named
to the All-Tournament team after recording 79 assists in three
matches.
The Retrievers return to action Monday when they travel to UC
Riverside at 3 p.m. before returning to Maryland.
