Baltimore, MD – The UMBC Volleyball team opened the 2017 home schedule with a sweep of in-state rival Coppin State (25-16, 25-14, 25-17) in front of a spirited crowd at the RAC Arena on Tuesday night.

The Retrievers (2-5) had a strong defensive performance, holding the Eagles (0-7) to -.103 hitting throughout the competition. The team received a standout performance from junior setter Krytsia Negron (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Colegio Adianez) who had  a match-best 26 assists to go along with five digs and four blocks.  Junior libero Kristin Watson (Bowie, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) had another strong outing with 22 digs, while senior outside hitter Ashley Ramos led the UMBC with seven kills.

The opening set began back-and-forth, but the Retrievers closed out the set with a 4-0 run, including a Ramos kill, to win 25-16.

The Retrievers fell down 6-5 early in the second set, but battled back with a 10-1 run to go up 15-7.  The run included kills from Paola Rojas (San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame), Carmen Freeman (Memphis, Tenn./St. Mary's), Ramos, and an ace by Negron.  UMBC would carry the momentum into the as they closed with a 7-2 run to take the set 25-14.

The Retrievers received a kill from freshman Elayna Williams (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) and an ace from Carola De Jesus (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Academia Maria Reina) during the run.

The third set was extremely tight early as it featured eight ties, and neither team held a lead higher than three points until UMBC went on a late 6-2 run to close out the set and match.

The final point of the match came from a kill from freshman Nikiya Mitchell (Bryans Road, Md./Henry E. Lackey), who made her collegiate debut in the match.

The Eagles received a strong performance from Angel Jamerson who had a match high eight kills.

The Retrievers are back in action this weekend in the Fairfield Inn & Suites Charm City Challenge, hosted by Loyola (Md.). They open up tournament play with two matches on Friday, first against Morgan State at 12:30 PM and then a match with Presbyterian at 5:00 PM. UMBC will face host Loyola at 3:00 PM on Saturday.