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Box Score 2
BALTIMORE – The UMBC volleyball team swept past St.
Francis (Pa.) in its weekend opener behind ten kills from sophomore
Sherelle
Walker (New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock) and then eased by NJIT
in straight sets in the night cap by getting 12 winners from senior
Emily
Witsaman (Medina, Ohio/Medina), Friday afternoon on the first
day of the Maddie Bingaman Tournament at the RAC Arena.
Senior setter Mallory McIntyre (Winnipeg, Manitoba/St. Mary's
Academy) handed out 31 assists in the opener, and followed it up
with 34 helpers against the Highlanders as UMBC (6-4) swept
its fourth straight match.
Following the loss to UMBC, St. Francis (Pa.) (0-9) fell in four
sets to Howard while NJIT (1-5) only played one match on
Friday.
In the opener, the Retrievers held the Red Flash to .074 hitting
and recorded 6.5 total blocks. Eight different athletes
recorded at least one put-away with senior Ali Goc (Oshawa,
Ontario/R.S. McLaughlin) putting down eight and scooping up seven
digs. Freshman Casey Griffith (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper
Merion) led the Retriever backline with 15 digs in the three-set
contest.
After St. Francis (Pa.) jumped out to a 4-2 lead, UMBC ran off
11 of the next 13 points and never trailed again.
Back-to-back Red Flash points cut the lead to just three, 11-8, but
the visitors never got any closer as UMBC used five Walker kills
for a 25-19 first set win.
UMBC squandered an early 3-0 lead in the second frame, but
recovered and rattled off five straight after a 5-5 tie for a 10-5
advantage. The Retrievers again stemmed the tide after two
Red Flash points with six consecutive points behind the serving of
senior Robbin
Lee (Olney, Md./Sherwood) for a 17-8 lead. St. Francis
(Pa). rallied to cut the lead to five, but UMBC grew the lead
steadily and earned a 25-15 set win on an attack error.
In the third set, UMBC never won more than two points in a row
until late, but slowly pulled away from the Red Flash.
Leading 19-14, though, the Retrievers claimed the final six rallies
to win the match with a 25-14 third set victory.
In the final contest of day one, UMBC got on NJIT early and
never let up, cruising to a three-set victory after hitting .452
against the Highlanders. Goc nearly picked up the
double-double in the quick 59-minute match, sending down ten kills
and picking up nine digs. Sophomore setter Paige Miller
(Reading, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) helped in the wide-spread offense,
sending out five assists.
The visitors won each of the first two points, but never won
back-to-back points again, and a 9-0 run gave UMBC the cushion it
needed. The Retrievers later strung seven points in a row and
won the opener going away, 25-8.
The surge continued in the second set as UMBC won seven straight
to open the frame and added three more after a Highlander point for
a 10-1 lead. Three consecutive NJIT points trimmed the lead
to 10-4, but another 5-0 run all but put the set away for the Black
and Gold. Goc recorded six kills on just eight swings in the
frame as UMBC took a two sets to none lead by winning the second
set, 25-12.
The third set saw more of the same as the hosts won the opening
rally, and never trailed, taking the match with a 25-11 win.
Seven Retrievers notched at least one kill in the frame, including
freshman Zoya
Trendafilova (Sophia, Bulgaria/Elisaveta Bagryana), who
recorded her first winner since the season-opener versus Ole
Miss.
UMBC concludes weekend play on Saturday afternoon with a match
against local rival Coppin State. The Retrievers and Eagles
are scheduled to hit the RAC Arena court at 2:30 p.m.
DAWG BITES
- UMBC now
leads the all-time series with St. Francis (Pa.) 11-3 and has won
eight straight meetings.
- The
Retrievers also improved to 3-0 all-time versus NJIT.
- Miller's
five assists were her first of the season.
- Freshman
Elise
Adamson (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) recorded her first career
kill in the sweep of St. Francis (Pa.)
