Harrisonburg, Va. -- The UMBC Volleyball team rallied from a 5-0 fifth-set deficit to knock-off perennial MAC power Ohio (20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 17-25, 17-15) in the first game of the season-opening LD&B Insurance Invitational at James Madison.
Mia Bilusic (Zagreb, Croatia) paced the offense with 16 kills on .310 hitting, while
Kamani Conteh (New Castle, Del.) added 11 kills.
Aysia Miller (Mililani, Hawaii) had a dynamic all-around performance, finishing with 17 assists, 10 digs, six kills, two blocks and delivered the match-winning ace.
The defense was anchored by a pair of freshmen, as
Hannah Howard (Inwood, W. Va.) had a team-best 16 digs, while
Julija Grubisic Cabo (Maribor, Slovenia) had 15 digs of her own to go along with seven kills and three blocks.
Last season, Ohio went 20-12, 13-5 MAC and reached the NIVC Second Round
How It Happened:
- After a back-and-forth start to the first set, UMBC held a 20-19 lead before the Bobcats scored the final six points to take the set
- The second set was similar as the teams traded runs, before a 6-1 run from the Retrievers in the middle of the set gave them a 21-17 lead that they would not relinquish.
- UMBC went on an early 5-0 run to go up 13-6 in the third
- Ohio would stage a furious comeback and cut the deficit to one on multiple occasions, but the Retrievers scored five of the final seven points to take the set
- The Bobcats jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the fourth, but UMBC would score six straight to tie it up
- Ohio would respond with an 11-2 run to pull away and force a fifth set
- It was all Bobcats early in the fifth, as they scored the first five points of the set.
- The Retrievers would battle back and eventually tie the set at eight on a block by Grubisic Cabo and Micehla De Marzi (Milan, Italy)
- The teams would alternate points until a kill by Weronika Wrzesinska (Frednowy, Poland) kick-started a 3-0 run to give UMBC match point at 14-12
- Ohio would fight off a pair of match points to tie the set at 14 before a Bilusic kill gave the Retrievers their third match point
- The Bobcats would stay alive thanks to a kill, but another Bilusic kill gave UMBC its fourth and final match point
- Miller would close the match by following Bilusic's kill with an ace
The Retrievers face High Point tomorrow at 12:30. The Panthers are the defending Big South champions and finished last season ranked at No.53 in RPI after going 23-10, 14-2 Big South and reaching the NCAA First Round
