Baltimore -- The UMBC Volleyball team relied heavily on defense Sunday as six different players recorded a block as the Retrievers limited Binghamton to 27 total kills and a .111 hitting percentage while sweeping the Bearcats (25-16, 25-20, 25-16) in an America East match at the RAC.

UMBC (11-5, 2-2) had five players record multiple blocks, finished with 10 more digs (53) than Binghamton (8-10, 2-3), and had 20 more assists (45) than the Bearcats. 

"It was a nice bounce back win for the team this afternoon." Head Coach Ian Blanchard said "I thought we executed extremely well in nearly every phase of the game today"

Junior Abbie Mirabella (Hockessin, Del./St.Mark's) had 13 kills (.440), eight digs and three blocks to finish as lone player in the match with double-digit kills. Classmate Ashley Ramos (Orlando, Fla./Liberty/Monroe JC) had a match-high 15 digs to pair with nine kills (.250) and two blocks, while freshman Fran Reed (Aurora, Colo. /Grand View) hit .312 with eight kills, two blocks and an ace. 

Sophomore Claudia Lopez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Academia Maire Reina) filled up the stats sheet with a match-best 43 assists five digs, two kills a block and an ace. 

The Retrievers jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first set and never led by less than four at any point. In the second set, the Bearcats started hot, at one point leadin 8-4, but UMBC rallied and eventually ended the set on a 4-0 run to go into the break up 2-0. The third set started as a back-and-forth affair, with the Retrievers up 8-7, before a 10-3 run put the set, and match, out of reach. 

UMBC hits the road for four matches, beginning with two in New England next weekend. The Retrievers are at Hartford for a 7 p.m. match on Friday before travelling to Lowell, Mass. for a noon Sunday affair.