Durham, N.H. – The UMBC volleyball squad staved off a match point and extended its winning streak to seven with a dramatic 3-2 win over New Hampshire at Lundholm Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
The Retrievers triumphed, 25-15, 21-25, 25-14, 21-25, 17-15 and improved to 12-5 overall and 5-0 in America East Conference play. UNH fell to 14-9, 2-4.
UMBC won sets 1 and 3, but UNH battled back to capture 2 and 4 and send the game to a deciding set. The Wildcats trailed, 12-8, but rattled off five straight points to lead 13-12. But facing a match point at 15-14, senior
Emily Ferketic tied the score with a kill and then went back to serve. UMBC freshman
Laila Wooldridge gave the visitors a 16-15 with a put-away and junior
Mia Bilusic recorded the match's final point.
Senior
Kamani Conteh led the Retrievers with 15 kills, while Bilusic added 13. Middles
Mila Ilieva and Michela DeMarzi each recorded eight kills and just one error apiece.
Junior libero
Aysia Miller led UMBC defensively with 20 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Set 1: With the set tied at 7, UMBC went on a 11-4 run to take command. Serin Maden served a pair of aces as the Retrievers closed out the set on a 4-0 surge.
- Set 2: UNH led from the early stages. The Retrievers climbed to within 21-19 on a Conteh kills, but the host closed the set on a 4-2 run.
- Set 3: Conteh served six consecutive winning points to open the set as the Retrievers cruised to an 11-point set win.
- Set 4: UMBC appeared poised to win the match, 3-1, as they led, 18-10, after a block from Ferketic and Maden. Trailing, 20-15, UNH took advantage of a few errors and built momentum in an 8-0 run and eventual 25-21 set win.
- Set 5: Both teams hit their best in the decider, as UMBC recorded 13 kills against only three errors.
UMBC has improved to 4-1 in five-set matches this season.
The Retrievers have won 11 of their last 13 matches, 20 consecutive regular season America East matches and 23 in a row versus league foes (including league tournament play).
UMBC has a pair of home matches next weekend, as they host NJIT (Friday, Oct. 28, 5:00 p.m.) and Binghatmon (Sunday, Oct. 30, 1 p.m.).
