Albany, N.Y. – Visiting UMBC won its eighth consecutive match, outdueling rival UAlbany, 3-1, at University Gym.

The Retrievers improved to 13-10 overall and remained undefeated at 8-0 in America East Conference play. UAlbany, the preseason poll favorite, dropped to 8-13, 4-3.

"This was a great win for our team tonight," said head coach Cristina Robertson. "I am proud of the way we competed and the contributions from everyone from the court to the bench. It is always a great feeling to get a quality win on the road and especially from a veteran team like Albany. We have seen a lot of growth from our team as the season has progressed and are looking forward to continuing our development as a team."

The match took on some of the drama of this past spring's title match, when UMBC rallied from 2-1 down to defeat the Great Danes, 3-2, in the same venue.

In three of the four sets, the team trailing by at least five points at one point rallied to win.

The eight consecutive wins by UMBC ties its longest streak since also recording eight victories in a row in 2013.  

UMBC graduate student outside hitter Grace Rigsbee (Suwanee, Ga.) led the squad with 16 kills and hit .231. Freshman Mia Bilusic (Zagreb, Croatia) added 15 kills and added 10 digs and sophomore Aysia Miller (Mililani, Hawaii) produced 11 kills and 10 digs.

One of the nation's leading blockers, sophomore Beste Ayhan (Istanbul, Turkey) produced one solo and five assisted blocks and junior setter Andjelija Draskovic (Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia) dished out 32 assists and added 12 digs and five kills. Graduate student libero Loren Teter (Redondo Beach, Calif.) finished with a match-high 17 digs. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

·       UAlbany jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the first set, but UMBC put together a 10-3 run, taking the lead on a Mila Ilieva (Vidin, Bulgaria) kill and moving in front,17-15. The Great Danes would battle back and forged ties at 23, 24 and 25-all, before Bilusic produced back-to-back kills to give the Retrievers the first set.  

·       In another tight set, the teams were knotted at 21-all, when UMBC took advantage of three Great Dane errors down the stretch to prevail, 25-23.

·       The Retrievers appeared to be in control as a combined block by Bilusic and Ilieva gave the visitors a 16-10 lead in the third set. But UAlbany put together a 7-1 run to tie the score. The Great Danes earned three set points, but UMBC reeled off four consecutive points with junior Kayla Tomas (Silver Spring, Md./Blake) serving to earn a match point at 25-24. However, the hosts fought off that point and did allow another as they prevailed, 29-27.

·       UMBC would flip the script in the deciding set. The Danes forged ahead, 17-11, but the Retrievers finished the set on a massive 14-3 run. UMBC scored the final six points of the set as Ayhan and Rigsbee contributed one kill each and combined on a match-ending block.

NOTABLE

·       UMBC ran their total of consecutive sets won to 19, before the Great Danes captured the third.

The Retrievers have a chance to clinch a berth in the America East Tournament with a win at Binghamton on Sunday. The match gets underway at 1:00 p.m. from West Gym.