BALTIMORE – UMBC junior
setter Mallory McIntyre (Winnipeg, Manitoba/St. Mary's
Academy) dished out a career-high 59 assists and scooped up 15 digs
as the UMBC volleyball team defeated Albany for the first time
since 2007, 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21), Friday evening at the
RAC Arena. The win stops a 13-game losing streak to the
Great Danes and marks the first victory for the Retrievers since a
five-set win at home on Oct. 12, 2007.
"That was a really nice, hard fought win for our team," said
head coach Ian Blanchard. "I'm incredibly proud
of our effort as a team and this shows that when we play as a
complete squad we're hard to beat."
With her career night, McIntyre posted her fourth double-double
of the year, second on the team behind only sophomore Hannah
Schmidt (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales) who recorded her
11th of the season, Friday night with a match-high 18 kills to go
along with ten digs. Ali Loynchan (Whitby,
Ontario/Sinclair) also notched a double-double, her second of the
year, with 11 kills and 11 digs
Schmidt and Loynachan were just two of the four Retrievers with
double-digit kills as freshmenSherelle Walker (New Freedom,
Pa./Susquehannock) and Krystal Mlemchukwu (Baltimore,
Md./Western Tech) put down 15 winners and 12 winners,
respectively.
UMBC (13-14, 6-4 America East) also received an all-around team
effort on defense as junior Ali Goc(Oshawa, Ontario) picked up
a match-high 17 digs with McIntyre, Loynachan, Schmidt and
juniorHallie Carter (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) also in
double figures.
For Albany (10-14, 7-2 America East), both Samantha Brostrom
(Ellicott City,Md./Centennial) and Traci Vandegrift registered
double-doubles. Brostrom led the Great Danes with 13
kills while picking up 12 digs and Vandegrift notched 12 put-aways
and 15 digs.
The opening set was balanced in the early going with the teams
tying seven times and neither team able to take a lead greater than
one until Albany used a 3-0 spurt to gain a 10-7
advantage. The Great Danes continued their run after a
Loynachan kill to open up a set-high four point lead at
12-8. UMBC then chipped away, and retook the lead behind
strong serving by junior Robbin Lee(Olney, Md./Sherwood) who
paced the Retrievers to a five-point run. After Albany
knotted the set at 17-17, the teams could not separate themselves
until three-straight UMBC points provided a 23-20 cushion and the
hosts held off one last charge to win the set 25-21.
Albany bounced right back in the second set, though, charging
out to 4-0 lead. After the two squads traded points
back-and-forth, UMBC responded to a Great Dane 3-0 streak with a
4-0 run to cut the lead to 11-9. The Retrievers could
only cut the lead to one, however, at 17-16, as Albany leveled the
match with a 25-21 win in the second set.
Following the break, UMBC broke open a close set by winning ten
of 14 points, opening up a 12-7 lead, capped by a Loynachan service
ace. Albany could not win back-to-back points
until Viktoriia Stroilo served an ace to
bring the visitors back to 20-13. The Great Danes put
together a little rally and cut the lead to five at 23-18, but UMBC
closed out the set with two of the next three points for a 25-19
set win.
In the fourth set, UMBC once again built an early lead, this
time racing out to a 10-6 lead, and held the lead at four at
11-7. Albany came back right away, however, winning six
of the next seven to take the lead for the first time in the frame
at 13-12. Once again the teams could not pull away from
the each other as they exchanged the lead nine times and were
knotted on 11 occasions in the frame. Down 19-18, the
Retrievers ran off five consecutive points behind Schmidt's serving
and then Walker closed the win out with her 15th kill.
"This is a great win for our program," Blanchard
said. "This allows our team to generate even more
confidence that we can take into the rest of the season."
UMBC now closes out its 2012 home schedule on Sunday when the
squad hosts Hartford for Senior Day. The Retrievers and
Hawks are schedule to begin play at 2:00 following a ceremony which
will honor UMBC's two seniors, Katie Kelly and Ali
Loynachan.
Dawg Bites
- UMBC
is now 3-22 all-time versus Albany and 2-18 in America East
play.
- The
Retrievers improve to 2-8 all-time against the Great Danes at the
RAC Arena.
- Goc's
17 digs brings her to 981 career digs, which leaves her in tenth
place all-time in school history.
