THe back-to-back America East champion UMBC Volleyball team (19-11, 12-0 AE) makes it's second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth overall when in travels to No.3 PItt for a 7 p.m. matchup on Friday. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats are available through the NCAA.

RETRIEVER REVIEW

·       Top-seeded and host UMBC dropped two sets in both the America East Conference semifinals and championship match, but rallied to defeat Stony Brook and UAlbany by 3-2 scores to capture their second league title in seven months.

·       In the semi-finals versus Stony Brook, UMBC trailed, 2-1, and fought off a match point in the fifth set, before prevailing, 22-25, 27-25, 25-27, 25-19, 17-15.

·       In the championship match against the second-seeded Great Danes, the Retrievers conceded the first two sets before storming back to win, 22-25, 18-25, 25-10, 25-19, 15-10. UMBC amassed a season-best 16 blocks in the match.

·       The Retrievers completed an undefeated America East Conference season, compiling the sixth perfect record in league history.

·       UMBC is 14-1 since a 3-1 loss to Coppin State on Sept. 20.

·       UMBC dropped both first sets in the America East Championships and rallied to win, a feat they had achieved in only one previous match (Stony Brook, Sept. 25) this fall.

THE 2021 HONOR ROLL

·       Beste Ayhan (Istanbul, Turkey) - America East All Tournament Team

·       Mia Bilusic (Zagreb, Croatia) – America East Rookie of the Year; America East First Team; America East All-Rookie Team

·       Andjelija Draskovic (Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia) -  America East Tournament Most Valuable Player;  America East All Tournament Team; America East Second Team  

·       Emily Ferketic (Pittsburgh, Pa.) –America East Elite 18 Winner

·       Mila Ilieva (Vidin, Bulgaria) – America East All-Rookie Team

·       Aysia Miller (Mililani, Hawaii) - America East All Tournament Team; America East All-Academic Team

·       Grace Rigsbee (Suwanee, Ga.) - America East First Team

·       Loren Teter (Redondo Beach, Calif.) – America East Defensive Specialist of the Year; America East First Team; America East All-Academic Team

·       Head Coach Cristina Robertson and staff- America East Coaching Staff of the Year  

TEAM NOTES

·       The 2021 UMBC program also etched its name in school history, posting the fourth undefeated record in NCAA Division I conference play. The Retrievers registered marks of 8-0 in 1994 (Big South) and 1998 (Northeast Conference) and a 9-0 record in the 2000 NEC campaign.

·       UMBC has won three conference titles in three different leagues – capturing the Big South crown in 1995, the Northeast Conference title in 1998 and America East Championship in the spring and fall of 2021.

·       UMBC's ten-match winning streak (Sept. 25-Oct. 29) was their longest since a school-record 11-match surge in 2000.

·       The ten-match streak tied the mark of the 1998 squad, while the 2000 and 1996 teams were one better as they share the school record with 11 consecutive match victories.

·       UMBC dropped only six sets in America East regular season play this season and did not compete in one five-setter.

·       The Retrievers are currently ranked 18th nationally with an opponent hitting percentage of .157 and 27th with 16.81 digs per set. 

·       UMBC's 19 wins is the most since they hit the 20-win plateau in 2007. The 2013 squad also recorded 19 victories.

PLAYER NOTES

·       Ayhan's 139 blocks are the single-most in a season at UMBC, surpassing former all-time leader Rehena Rentuma, who recorded 135 in 1991.  She is currently tied for 17th nationally in total blocks.

·       Bilusic became the ninth UMBC freshman to win America East Rookie of the Year. She led the league in overall kills (401) and posted six matches with 20+ kills. She earned two Player of the Week honors and four Rookie of the Week nods. Her 29 kills in the semifinal match were the second most in the modern scoring era in program history (Krystal Mlemchukwu, 31 at UAlbany in 2014).

·       Draskovic did not get the nod as UMBC's starting setter until the ninth match of the season, yet still stands 105th in the nation with 9.57 assists per set. Her 56 assists versus Hartford on Oct. 29 is tied with three other Retrievers for fifth on UMBC's single-game all-time list. She earned America East Setter of the Week for a league-best tying five times.

·       Ilieva complemented Ayhan with 88 blocks and came up with a team season-best nine in the America East Championship match vs. UAlbany.

·       Miller, who opened the season as the primary setter, finished it with a total of 30 kills in the America East Tournament.  

·       Rigsbee served as an excellent complement to Bilusic, amassing 210 kills in 74 sets (2.84 per set).

·       Loren Teter's 511 digs this season are currently the fourth-best single-season mark in school history. She stands 63rd nationally with 4.65 digs per set. In her five playing seasons. Teter has amassed 1,453 career digs, with 759 of them coming in just 45 matches as a Retriever. 

Teter joined Kristin Watson (2016) as the only Retrievers to earn the Defensive Specialist of the Year honor. The graduate student, who has a 3.96 GPA in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership (M.P.S.) was named America East Defensive Specialist of the Week a conference-best five times.

QUICK GLANCE AT RECORD SITUATIONS:

Three-Set Matches: 10-6                      Four-Set Matches: 7-3             Five-Set Matches: 2-2

Winning/Losing First Set: 16-2/3-9      On the Road: 7-6                     Neutral: 2-3

A GLANCE AT THE OPPONENTS

·       Pittsburgh

The Panthers are 26-3 and were ranked No. 3 in the most recent AVCA poll. In their season finale, a comeback bid fell short for the Pitt as they dropped a 3-1 decision to unbeaten No. 1 Louisville (27-0, 17-0 ACC) at Fitzgerald Field House on November 24. The setback snapped an eight-game Pitt winning streak.

The Panthers are ranked 13th in the nation in hitting percentage at .283. They present a balanced attack with four players racking up over 200 kills, including team leaders fifth-year Chinaza Ndee (331) and graduate student Kayla Lund (296). Senior Serena Gray is the team's top blocker with 110.  

·       Penn State

The Nittany Lions (20-10) were ranked No. 15 in the latest AVCA poll. They snapped a three-game skid with a 3-0 blanking of Iowa on November 27. Penn State hits .262 and are the sixth-best blocking team in the nation at 2.85 per set.

Senior Jonni Parker leads PSU with 3.77 kills per set, while classmate Kaitlyn Hord averages 1.39 blocks per set, the ninth-best figure in the nation.   

·       Towson

Like the Retrievers, Towson trailed, 2-0, in their conference championship match, but rallied to defeat Elon, 3-2, to take the CAA crown. The Tigers won their final five matches of the season and finished the campaign at 26-4 overall.

 
Towson is 16th in the nation in blocking at 2.67 per set. Senior Fay Bakodimou leads the offense with 300 kills on the season. Junior Lydia Wiers is the leading blocker with 131.