UMBC

Christine Skala tallied 26 digs on Tuesday night for UMBC.

Baltimore, Md. – The UMBC Volleyball team (6-9) dropped a 3-1 (26-30, 30-24, 30-27, 30-22) decision to George Washington (5-9) on Tuesday night at UMBC RAC Arena.  George Washington faltered in the first set after leading 19-12 but failed to squander anymore leads by capturing the final three sets and recording a .342 team hitting percentage.    

UMBC captured the first set 30-26 after trailing 19-12 at one point in the set.  Sarah Ball (Winnipeg, Canada/Sisler) and Christine Skala (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale South) led UMBC to seven of eight points as UMBC tallied three points with Ball serving and four with Skala.  The Retrievers tied the match at 21-21 and finally took the lead at 24-23 on an attack error by the Colonials.  Britney Hodson (Glastonbury, Conn./South Glastonbury) finished off the set with a cross-court kill. 

The Colonials responded behind Lindsey Vernand in set two with six kills on nine attacks as GW tallied a .303 hitting percentage in the set compared to a .132 by the Retrievers.

The Colonials as team tallied 21 kills in the third set, six by Vernand and six by Shannon Parks as Kaimana Lee handed out 17 assists.   The Colonials in set four came from an early 7-1 deficit to tie the match at 11 and cruise the 30-22 set four win. 

Leading the way for UMBC was Ball with 16 kills and Skala with 26 digs.  Stacey Carroll (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) tallied 41 assists while Jessie Folk (S. Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) hit .474 with 11 kills, two errors on 19 attacks.  Freshman Ashley Hargrove (Covington, Wash./Kentwood) finished with 10 kills, three service aces and three assisted blocks.    

Five Colonials hit double-digits with Juliene McLaughlin finishing with 18 kills.  Lee tallied 56 assists in the match for GW. 

UMBC opens conference play this Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. in UMBC RAC Arena against Binghamton.