The UMBC volleyball squad had a short stop-over on campus on Monday and Tuesday before heading back onto the road and competing in the Lone Star state this weekend. The Retrievers will compete in the Cowtown Classic at TCU on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 2 and 3.

The defending America East Conference champions open up play by facing Nicholls State at 1:00 p.m. EDT and then take on UT-Rio Grande Valley at 4:00 p.m. On Friday, UMBC plays host TCU at 8:00 p.m. EDT at Schollmaier Arena. Live stats will be available for all of the matches.

RETRIEVER REVIEW

• UMBC (0-4) dropped a pair of heartbreaking five-setters in the Homewood Suites FGCU Invitational on Saturday. The Retrievers won sets two and four in a 3-2 setback to South Florida, then could not hold a 2-0 advantage and fell by the same margin to Rutgers in the second of back-to-back matches. UMBC also dropped a straight set affair to host Florida Gulf Coast on Friday and a 3-0 decision at Miami (Fla.) on Sunday.

HONORED

• Graduate student Loren Teter (Redondo Beach, Calif.) was named America East Defensive Specialist of the Week, the conference announced on Tuesday morning. Teter averaged 4.75 digs per set during the Retrievers opening weekend. Teter had at least ten digs in three of the four games for the Retrievers this past weekend, including a 32-dig performance in a 3-2 loss to Rutgers on Saturday. She was named to the Homewood Suites FGCU Invitational All-Tournament Team.  

OTHER STAT LEADERS

• Sophomore Aysia Miller (Mililani, Hawaii) averaged 6.9 assists per set and was behind only Teter with 3.3 digs per set in the four games in Florida.
• Graduate student Grace Rigsbee (Suwanne, Ga.) and senior Paige Krenik (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) both averaged more than two kills per set in Florida. Rigsbee's top effort was a 14-kill performance and 40.0 hitting efficiency vs. South Florida, while Krenik contributed 12 kills vs. USF and 13 vs. Rutgers.

THIS WEEKEND'S FOES

• UTRGV – The Vaqueros on their first two matches of the season, capturing a 3-0 decision over Alcorn State and a 3-1 victory over host New Orleans on August 27. They were slated to play Tennessee State on August 28, but the match was cancelled due to Hurricane Ida. The two wins matches the win total (2-15) from this past spring. Junior OH Sarah Cruz is off to an outstanding start, averaging 3.7 kills per set, while freshman setter Luanna Emiliano dished out 63 assists in the two victories.  Emiliano and sophomore middle blocker Luisa Silva Dos Santos earned All-Tournament team honors at the New Orleans Invitational.
• Nicholls State – The Colonels swept all three home matches at last weekend's Colonel Classic. NSU defeated Texas Southern, Niagara and Southern. A match scheduled versus Northern Arizona on Aug. 31 was postponed due to Hurricane Ida. Senior middle blocker Aaliyah Burras led a balanced attack over the weekend, registering 28 kills in nine sets of volleyball. The Colonels pounded 26 service aces versus their foes and only allowed four. They have already surpassed their win total (2-11) of last spring.
• TCU – The Horned Frogs played a pair of top ten teams in Madison, Wisc. last weekend, falling to No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 7 Minnesota in straight sets. TCU went 4-17 in the spring, but swept Oklahoma on the road on March 26/27. Junior middle blocker MyKayla Myers produced a solid weekend in Madison, recording 17 kills and hitting 34.3 in the two matches.
• It will be the first meeting for UMBC versus UTRGV and Nicholls State, but the Retrievers did face TCU in 2005 and the Frogs came away with a 3-1 victory.

UP NEXT

• UMBC has one more road contest, at American on Sept. 7, before making their first appearance in the friendly atmosphere of Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on Sept. 10-11. The Retrievers will face Quinnipiac, Howard and Maryland.