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Albany, N.Y. -- Playing in front of a raucous crowd for the first time this year, the UMBC Volleyball team twice rallied back from down a set to stun defending champion UAlbany in five sets (23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 15-13) for its first America East Championship in program history. 

With the win, UMBC (11-3, 9-3 AE) clinched its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1998, when the team won the NEC conference crown. 

Rookie of the Year Darina Kumanova (Plovdiv Bulgaria) recorded her eighth double-double of the season after finishing with a match-high 22 kills and 17 digs and was named the championship's Most Outstanding Player.

Graduate student libero Loren Teter (Redondo Beach, Calif.) was named to the All-Championship Team after picking up a match and career-high 33 digs. Freshman Michela De Marzi (Milan, Italy) was also named to the All-Championship Team after picking up 14 kills on .480 hitting with three blocks. 

Outside hitter Paige Krenik (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) played stellar defense the entire match. The lone junior on the squad had only recently returned to play from injury and picked up 20 digs and had the championship-clinching kill. 

Setter of the Year Aysia Miller (Miliani, Hawaii) had career-highs in assists (58) and kills (seven on .500 hitting), while adding 12 digs and a block. First Team All-Conference selection Anouk Van Noord (Amsterdam, Netherlands) added 15 kills. 

The first two sets were back-and-forth affairs, as each team won a set 25-23. UAlbany (10-5, 9-3 AE) took a first set which featured 10 ties and four lead changes, before the Retrievers took a second set featuring nine ties and seven lead changes. The Great Danes jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the third set, but UMBC battled back to cut the lead to 12-11. UAlbany however, would pull away again and take the set, 25-21. 

With the Great Danes needing just one more set to win the title, UMBC fought back back in an epic fourth set that featured 16 ties and five lead changes. No team would lead by more than two points in the fourth set, until a late run from the Retrievers. The hosts had a 20-19 advantage, but UMBC would get three straight after a Kumanova kill followed by a combo block from Krenik and De Marzi and a solo block from De Marzi. After an error made it 22-21, De Marzi and and Miller had back-to-back kills to give UMBC set point. UAlbany would then get a kill, but Beste Ayhan (Istanbul, Turkey) got a kill of her own to win the set and force a deciding fifth.

The teams went back-and-forth in the fifth set, with the Great Danes pulling ahead 10-7. UMBC rallied, however, and tied the match at 10 after kills by Van Noord and Kumanova and a block by Miller and De Marzi. UAlbany called timeout, but the run extended all the way to five straight points after an attack error and a kill by Kumanova. After a Great Dane point, Kumanova got another kill to make it 13-11 and force the hosts to call their final timeout. UAlbany got a kill to make it 13-12, but a service error gave UMBC championship point. A blocking error extended the match, but Kayla Tomas (Silver Spring, Md.) made a great serve receive and Krenik got a kill off the block to secure the title. 

Tomas finished with seven digs, Ayhan had six kills and eight blocks, and Emily Ferketic (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added two kills and three blocks.

The Retrievers were one of the youngest teams in the nation, with a roster that featured seven underclassmen, including five freshmen, and was picked to finish fifth out of seven teams in the preseason poll. UMBC, however, won a share of its first ever America East regular season title after going 10-3 overall and 9-3 in conference.

The team will find out who it will play in the NCAA Tournament during the selection show at 4 p.m. on Sunday on ESPNU. The NCAA tournament first round begins on April 14 in Omaha, Nebraska.

All-Championship Team

Darina Kumanova (M.O.P.) - UMBC

Michela De Marzi - UMBC

Loren Teter - UMBC

Danielle Tedesco - UAlbany

Charlotte Macken - UAlbany