BALTIMORE - UMBC overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat Binghamton in the America East Semifinals on Friday evening inside Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
The Retrievers raced out to a 1-0 lead, taking the opening set 25-17 thanks to a monster showing from
Jalynn Brown. The Bearcats bounced back to take sets two and three, 25-16 and 25-22, but UMBC rallied with victories in the fourth and fifth sets to clinch a spot in tomorrow's championship.
Brown and
Hannah Dobbs tallied 22 and 20 kills, respectively, pacing a UMBC offense that hit .274 in the match. Brown reached 20 kills for the third time this season, while Dobbs added 12 digs to register her fifth double-double of the season.
Claudia Llamas and
Helen Frankovich also reached double-digit kills with 13 and 10. It was Llamas' 12th 10-plus-kill effort and Frankovich's third.
The setter duo of
Serin Maden (30) and
Izzy Ostvig (29) combined for 59 of the team's 70 assists. Maden also added 13 digs and recorded her second 30-assist match of the season.
America East Defensive Player of the Year
Hannah Howard led the match with 27 digs, pushing her over 400 digs on the season. Howard's 400-dig season is the second of her career and the 20th in UMBC history. Howard is just the fifth Retriever with a pair of 400-dig seasons.
With three blocks on the night,
Laura Fuehrer moved into eighth place on UMBC's single-season list with 110.
Viktoria Dimitrova paced Binghamton with 17 kills while Merima Smajlovic added 15 kills and 21 digs. Regan Kadel handed out 49 of the team's 55 assists.
Winners of four of the last five America East Tournaments, UMBC advances to the championship match tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. inside the 'Peake. UMBC will face the winner of Bryant and UAlbany.
