The three-time defending America East champion UMBC Volleyball team begins the 2023 season on Friday afternoon at the LD&B Insurance Invitational at James Madison. The Retrievers are set to play their strongest non-conference schedule in program history as they face multiple 2022 conference champions and 20-match winners including: Pitt (31-4, 17-1 ACC, National Semifinalist, No.4 Final Ranking), Princeton (21-4, 13-1 Ivy), Fairfield (25-7, 17-1 MAAC), Sacred Heart (21-10, 12-2 NEC), Ohio (20-12, 13-5 MAC, NIVC Second Round), High Point (23-10, 14-2 Big South, NCAA First Round), Howard (20-10, 12-2 MEAC), James Madison (24-5, 15-1 Sun Belt, NCAA First Round) and Penn State (26-8, 13-7 Big Ten, NCAA Third Round). They will face Ohio, High Point and JMU this weekend.
Weekend Schedule:
Fri, August 25 vs Ohio | 1:30 pm
Sat, August 26 vs High Point | 12:30 pm
Sun, August 27 vs James Madison | 2:00 pm
All links to follow live stats are available at UMBCRetrievers.com. Live video is not available for the matches, but the match against JMU will have live audio.
UMBC was selected to sit atop the 2023 America East Volleyball Preseason Poll. The poll was released Friday afternoon and was voted on by the league's head coaches.
The Retrievers edged out last year's regular season champions, earning 24 points and four first-place votes, while the Bearcats tallied 21 points and the remaining two first-place votes. Coming off their first finals appearance since 2016, New Hampshire rounds out the top-3 with their 18 point total.
Volleyball Preseason Poll
| Pl. |
School |
Points (1st) |
| 1. |
UMBC |
24 (4) |
| 2. |
Binghamton |
21 (2) |
| 3. |
New Hampshire |
18 |
| 4. |
Bryant |
12 |
| 5. |
UAlbany |
9 |
| 6. |
NJIT |
6 |
UMBC returns all but one student-athlete from their 2022 championship roster, highlighted by the tournament's Most Outstanding Player,
Mila Ilieva, the 2022 Defensive Specialist of the Year,
Aysia Miller, and the 2021 Rookie of the Year,
Mia Bilusic. The team also welcomes a talented four-person freshman class, including the first top-100 recruit in program history in
Hannah Howard.
Scouting Ohio:
? This is the first time the Retrievers will face the Bobcats.
? The Bobcats went 20-12 overall and 13-5 in the MAC conference last season.
? Graduate student Caitlin O'Farrell returns after leading the team in kills with 365 with a
3.09 kills per set.
? Senior defensive specialist Sam Steele led the team in digs with 523 last season.
? Caroline Clippard and O'Farrell were nominated to the All-MAC First Team and Anna
Kharchynska returns after being named to the All-Freshman team in conclusion to the
2022 season.
? UMBC Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinatoe
Jaime Kosiorek is a 2018 graduate of Ohio, a two-time team captain and the programs' all time ace leader
Scouting High Point:
? This is the first time the Retrievers will face the Panthers.
? The Panthers went 23-10 overall and 14-2 in the conference last season being crowned
the 2022 Big South Champions.
? High Point was voted by the Big South coaches to four-peat as the regular season
conference champions, while Senior Dylan Maberry was voted as the Preseason Player
of the Year and All-Conference team for the second year in a row.
? The Panthers bring in 10 new players this season to a relatively young team.
Scouting James Madison:
? The Retrievers last faced the Dukes at the Chesapeake Insurance Arena on Aug 9, 2022
winning 3-2.
? It was the highest-ranked win in UMBC program history as the Dukes were No.22 in RPI
? It was the first win over the Dukes since 2009, and the first win at home over JMU since
1995.
?
Kamani Conteh led the way setting a UMBC rally-score era record with 32 kills on .303
hitting.
?
Mia Bilusic added 22 kills on .340 hitting and 12 digs to defeat the Dukes.
