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News Release
Force 3 UMBC Athlete of the Week: Ashley Oscars
9/27/2006
 Freshman Ashley Oscars garners this week's Force 3 Athlete of the Week award. |
Name: Ashley Oscars
Sport/Position: Volleyball/Outside Hitter
Hometown/High School:
Last Week: .407 Attack Percentage, 24 kills, 26.0 points.
Retrievers Last Week: 0-1—Defeated by
Season Record: 6-8
Being named an America East Conference performer of the week is quite an accomplishment, but being named an America East Conference Volleyball Rookie of the Week for the third consecutive week is an incredible feat.
After her third week as AEC Rookie of the Week, freshman outside hitter, Ashley Oscars has been honored with the title of Force 3 UMBC Athlete of the Week.
Oscars, a native of
The 5’9”
Before the
In that match, Oscars recorded a 4-5% error ratio, something almost unheard of in volleyball. Head coach Ian Blanchard said that he normally shoots for a 11 or 12% ratio for his players.
Oscars has been surprising Blanchard since the moment she first visited UMBC. “I found out after [her visit] that she came out to eliminate us [in her college choices],” Balanchard said. “As soon as we met we established an instant bond and strong rapport.”
Blanchard sees Oscars and fellow freshman Kira Giles as the favorites for America East Rookie of the Year, following in the footsteps of sophomore Sarah Ball, last year’s recipient of the award. While individual accolades are important, Blanchard looks more at Oscars’ impact on the team.
“She’s a little dynamo that has a sort of spark or swagger that may turn other people off to her,” Blanchard said. “But I like that competitive nature. This team is very competitive in practice and that attitude shows on the court. She’s the kid whose hands you want the ball in when you need a game winning swing. She’s not afraid to take those big swings and she is developing more confidence all the time.”
According to Blanchard, the team is in a building phase and is fairly young, but with players like Oscars, he hopes to accomplish some great things with the team. “She is a fierce competitor,” he said, “but the most important thing is that she understands philosophically what I want to do with the team. The biggest thing is for her to keep developing and to work on her technique and range of shots. We want to get her to the point where she isn’t off the court for the whole match.”
The Retrievers return to competition this weekend when they kick-off America East Conference play as they travel to