UMBC

BALTIMORE—The UMBC volleyball team finished at 16-15 for the year and 7-5 in conference play, making their first trip to the America East Conference Tournament for the first time ever, since joining the America East Conference in 2003.  The 2006 season was a record breaking one for the Retrievers as they finish the year with a new Single-Season Digs mark by senior Jennifer Wylie as well as 12 new All-Time and Single-Season marks.

America East Tournament

Date                             Opponent                           Final Score                                   

Sat. Nov. 18                  Binghamton (AE Semis)       W, 3-1 (30-32, 30-22, 30-23, 30-24)

Sun. Nov. 19                  Albany (AE Championship)   L, 2-3 (30-27, 30-22, 26-30, 18-30, 12-15)

Dawg Bites

UMBC Finishes at 16-15, 7-5 in America East; Makes First-Ever Trip to Conference Tournament

In head coach Ian Blanchard’s second season, the Retrievers made their first-ever trip to the America East Conference Tournament after achieving a 16-15 overall record, and 7-5 record in the conference regular season, which earned them a No. 3 seed in the postseason.  This is an improvement from Blanchard’s first season in which the team finished 11-18 and 4-8 in the America East.  Newcomers Ashley Oscars and Kira Giles made an immediate impact, with both freshmen ranking in the Top-10 of the America East Charts and Oscars taking home the America East Rookie of the Year accolade.  Sophomores Sarah Ball and Ashley Hargrove, juniors Amanda Willey and Stacey Carroll, and seniors Jennifer Wylie and Jessie Folk also made their mark in the Top-10 America East Charts.

The Retrievers will be losing graduating seniors in Folk, Wylie, Julia Hood, and Andrea Clarke, and junior Amanda Willey, but boast a strong group of returners in Oscars, Ball, Hargrove, and Giles.

Wylie Achieves All-Time Single-Season Digs Mark

Wylie finished the regular season with 534 digs, just three shy of the previous record of 537 heading into the conference tournament.  She recorded 27 digs in the semi-final match against Binghamton and 21 in the title match against Albany to shatter the 16-year old record of 534, amassing a season total of 582 digs.  Wylie recorded 5.15 digs per game, the highest in the America East as well as being ranked in the NCAA Top-30 for digs per game during the first four weeks of the season.  She achieved her highest ranking in the first week, when she was ranked eighth.  Wylie tallied 16, 20-plus dig matches out of a total of 31, with the team match-high of 32 digs coming against Holy Cross on September 16.  Wylie also tied for second on the team with 30 service aces and .27 service aces per game.

UMBC Single Season Digs Chart

      Name                     Year                 Digs

1.   Jennifer Wylie       2006                 582

2.   Tracey Cullins          1990                 537

3.   Joy Figueredo          1990                 516

4.   Judy Jackson          1993                 474

5.   Christine Skala        2005                 466

6.   Tracey Cullins          1989                 441

7.   Kelly O’Brien           1990                 439

8.   Lanae Baker            1996                 425

9.   Kelly O'Brien           1993                 424

10.  Megan McNamara    1996                 418

11.  Megan McNamara    1997                 416

12.  Jen Jewell               1993                 414

20-Dig Game Club

Name                           Digs                    Opponent

Jennifer Wylie                32                        Holy Cross

Jennifer Wylie                31                        Towson

Jennifer Wylie                30                        St. Francis (Pa.)

Jennifer Wylie                27                        Binghamton (AE Tournament)

Jennifer Wylie                25                        Albany

Jennifer Wylie                25                        Delaware

Jennifer Wylie                25                        New Hampshire

Sarah Ball                     23                        Albany (AE Tournament)

Sarah Ball                     23                        Holy Cross

Jennifer Wylie                22                        Georgetown

Jennifer Wylie                21                        Albany (AE Tournament)

Jennifer Wylie                21                        Morgan State

Jennifer Wylie                21                        Colgate

Jennifer Wylie                21                        New Hampshire

Jennifer Wylie                20                        Portland State

Jennifer Wylie                20                        Rider

Jennifer Wylie                20                        Sacred Heart

Jennifer Wylie                20                        Stony Brook

Oscars Named Rookie of the Year; Earns Seven Weekly Awards

One year after teammate Ball was named America East Rookie of the Year and earned seven Rookie of the Week awards, Oscars repeated the exact performance, tying the America East record of weekly awards by a player.  Oscars finished the season with 392 kills and 4.00 kills per game, ranking fourth in the America East, and 435.5 points and 4.44 points per game, ranking sixth in the conference.  She recorded team match highs in kills with 25 against Albany on October 1, and points with 26 against Albany on October 1 and Morgan State on September 23.  Oscars also tallied 1132 attacks during the season, which ranks 10^th on the Single-Season Attacks Chart.

Two other Retrievers were named Rookie of the Week, beginning with Giles, who earned the first award of the season, and Sarah Fillmore who earned the last award of the season.  Giles was also named Setter of the Week twice during the season.  As a team, UMBC garnered eight of the 11 Rookie of the Week awards during the 2006 season.

UMBC’s 2006 America East Weekly Honors

Week                                                     Athlete                                                   Award

Aug. 25-Sept. 3                                    Kira Giles                                              Rookie of the Week

Sept. 4-10                                             Ashley Oscars                                      Rookie of the Week

Sept. 11-17                                           Ashley Oscars                                      Rookie of the Week

Sept. 11-17                                           Kira Giles                                              Setter of the Week

Sept. 18-24                                           Ashley Oscars                                      Rookie of the Week

Sept. 25-Oct 1                                      Ashley Oscars                                      Rookie of the Week

Oct. 2-Oct 8                                           Ashley Oscars                                      Rookie of the Week

Oct. 16-Oct. 22                                     Ashley Oscars                                      Rookie of the Week

Oct. 23-Oct. 29                                     Ashley Oscars                                      Rookie of the Week

Oct. 23-Oct. 29                                     Kira Giles                                              Setter of the Week

Nov. 6-Nov. 12                                      Sarah Fillmore                                     Rookie of the Week

UMBC Single Season Attacks Chart

      Name                     Year                 Attacks

1.   Jocelyn Teoh           2003                 1675

2.   Kelly O’Brien           1991                 1477

3.   Kelly O’Brien           1993                 1397

4.   Megan McNamara    1997                 1344

5.   Lisa Cline                1997                 1215

6.   Sarah Ball             2005                 1169

      Lisa Cline                1998                 1169

8.   Jocelyn Teoh           2004                 1166

9.   Kelly O’Brien           1992                 1141

10.  Ashley Oscars        2006                 1132

Folk Ends Career with Second Highest Career Assisted Blocks Mark

Folk brought her total career assisted blocks up to 245 at the end of the season, placing her second on the All-Time Career Assisted Blocks Chart, behind Kara Welniak with 299.  She also recorded her highest season hitting percentage of .256, which also ranked fifth in the America East, bringing her career hitting percentage up to .211.  Her total blocks mark of 270 ranks fourth on the All-Time Total Blocks Chart while the 115 matches played ranks ninth on the All-Time Career Matches Played Mark. 

UMBC Career Assisted Blocks Chart

      Name                     Assisted Blocks

1.   Kara Welniak           299

2.   Jessie Folk             245

3.   Jen Davis                227

4.   Dana Eberly            191

5.   Jocelyn Teoh           180

6.   Ashley Hargrove    157

7.   Rehena Rentuma     129

8.   Anna Gibbs             124

      Lisa Cline                124

9.   Amanda Willey      114

10.  Sarah Ball             107

UMBC Career Total Blocks Chart

      Name                     Total Blocks

1.   Dana Eberly            426

2.   Rehena Rentuma     365

3.   Kara Welniak           364

4.   Jessie Folk             270

5.   Jennifer Davis          258

6.   Kelly O’Brien           251

7.   Jocelyn Teoh           226

8.   Lisa Cline                208

9.   Loreta Saurusaitis    205

10.  Anna Gibbs             204

UMBC Career Matches Played Chart

      Name                     Matches Played

1.   Dana Eberly            131

      Valerie Mould          131

3.   Megan McNamara    125

4.   Christine Skala        122

      Lanae Baker            122

6.   Sheri Data               121

7.   Lisa Cline                119

8.   Megan Gross           116

9.   Jessie Folk             115

10.  Julia Waclawiak       114

      Jen Jewell               114

Willey Breaks into Single-Season Assisted Blocks Chart, Career Assisted Blocks Chart in Final Season

Willey ended her UMBC career averaging 1.03 blocks per game, which ranked her third in the America East Conference.  She boasted the team match-high of 14 blocks against Maine on October 16, which is the most by a Retriever since at least 1998 and ended the season with 114 career total blocks, which ranks her ninth on the All-Time Career Assisted Blocks Chart.  The season total of 64 assisted blocks also ranks Willey 10^th on the Single-Season Assisted Blocks Chart.

UMBC Single Season Assisted Blocks Chart

      Name                     Year                 AB

1.   Kara Welniak           1999                 93

2.   Kara Welniak           1998                 87

3.   Ashley Hargrove    2005                 82

      Dana Eberly            1995                 82

5.   Jessie Folk             2004                 77

6.   Jessie Folk             2003                 75

      Ashley Hargrove    2006                 75

8.   Dana Eberly            1994                 69

9.   Sarah Ball             2006                 66

10.  Jessie Folk             2005                 64

      Amanda Willey      2006                 64

Ball Breaks Into Career Attacks Chart; Adds New Single-Season Block Assists Mark

Ball brought her career total attacks up to 2203 after this season, making her 10^th on the All-Time Career Attacks chart.  She also added another mark on the Single-Season Assisted Blocks Chart, finishing the season with 66 assisted blocks, ranking ninth on the list and second on the team this year.  Ball also finished second on the team in kills with 3.51 dpg, which was also seventh in the America East, 396 points and 3.50 ppg, which was 10^th in the America East, 330 kills and 2.92 kpg, and 30 service aces and .27 sapg.  She recorded 17 double-doubles in 31 matches and had two 20-plus dig performances in addition to achieving her highest hitting career percentage of .195.

UMBC Career Attacks Chart

      Name                     Total Attacks

1.   Kelly O’Brien           5055

2.   Lisa Cline                4403

3.   Megan McNamara    4188

4.   Jocelyn Teoh           3458

5.   Dana Eberly            3172

6.   Tracey Cullins          2593

7.   Joanne Marshall       2590

8.   Rehena Rentuma     2523

9.   Jennifer Davis          2251

10.  Sarah Ball             2203

Carroll Breaks 1000 Assist Mark in Junior Season

Carroll tallied 441 assists during the season, to bring her career total up to 1041, ranking eighth on the All-Time Career Assists Chart.  She also recorded six double-doubles during the season and a team match-high of 62 assists against Morgan State on September 23.  The mark is the most by a Retriever since Megan Gross recorded 63 on August 20, 2003.  Carroll also broke into the All-Time Career Assists per Game Chart with 8.82 apg in her three years.

UMBC Career Assists Chart

      Name                     Assists

1.   Lanae Baker            4722

2.   Megan Gross           3647

3.   Heather Hollidge      3034

4.   Joy Figueredo          2501

5.   Judy Jackson          2481

6.   Stacey Pirotte         1272

7.   Tracey Cullins          1153

8.   Stacy Carroll          1041

9.   Kira Giles               869

10.  Carla Miala              570

UMBC Career Assists per Game-min of 1000 assists

      Name                     Assists/G

1.   Lanae Baker            10.59

2.   Judy Jackson          10.29

3.   Stacey Pirotte         10.18

4.   Megan Gross           9.16

5.   Stacey Carroll        8.82

6.   Joy Figueredo          8.71

7.   Heather Hollidge      7.94

8.   Tracey Cullins          2.06

Hargrove Moves Up on Career Assisted Blocks Chart, Adds New Single Season Mark

Hargrove tallied 75 assisted blocks this season, which ranks sixth on the Single-Season Assisted Blocks chart and brought her career assisted blocks mark up to 157, good for sixth on the All-Time Career Assisted Blocks Chart.  She also recorded 0.80 bpg, which was second on the team and eighth in the America East, while her 36 service aces and 0.35 service aces per game was first on the team.  Hargrove boasts the team match-high hitting percentage of .640, which she achieved against Holy Cross on September 16.

Giles Breaks into All-Time Career Assists Chart

In her debut season, Giles recorded 869 assists, good for ninth on the All-Time Career Assists Chart and averaged 10.60 apg, which ranked third in the America East.  She also recorded a .273 hitting percentage, the highest on the team among players with at least 100 attacks and ranked third in digs per game with 2.62 in addition to recording eight double-doubles during the season.

Retriever Stat Pak

2006 Double-Doubles

Name                           Total 1                Total 2                      Opponent        

Sarah Ball                     14 Kills                23 Digs                      Albany (AE Tournament)

Sarah Ball                     13 Kills                10 Digs                      Binghamton (AE Tournament)

Sarah Ball                     11 Kills                11 Digs                      New Hampshire

Sarah Ball                     10 Kills                12 Digs                      Maine

Kira Giles                      54 Assists            14 Digs                      Stony Brook

Sarah Ball                     10 Kills                14 Digs                      Albany

Stacey Carroll                46 Assists            12 Digs                      Binghamton

Sarah Ball                     11 Kills                17 Digs                      New Hampshire

Stacey Carroll                54 Assists            10 Digs                      New Hampshire

Sarah Ball                     14 Kills                11 Digs                      Georgetown

Stacey Carroll                54 Assists            10 Digs                      Georgetown

Sarah Ball                     10 Kills                11 Digs                      Maine

Stacey Carroll                41 Assists            13 Digs                      Maine

Sarah Ball                     12 Kills                11 Digs                      St. Francis (Pa.)

Sarah Ball                     11 Kills                10 Digs                      Albany

Stacey Carroll                59 Assists            15 Digs                      Albany

Stacey Carroll                37 Assists            10 Digs                      Hartford

Kira Giles                      54 Assists            13 Digs                      Holy Cross

Sarah Ball                     15 Kills                23 Digs                      Holy Cross

Sarah Ball                     14 Kills                15 Digs                      Sacred Heart

Sarah Ball                     14 Kills                17 Digs                      Loyola (Md.)

Ashley Oscars               16 kills                 11 Digs                      Loyola (Md.)

Kira Giles                      43 Assists            10 Digs                      North Dakota State

Sarah Ball                     19 Kills                18 Digs                      North Dakota State

Kira Giles                      32 Assists            10 Digs                      Portland State
Kira Giles                      35 Assists            11 Digs                      Gonzaga

Kira Giles                      32 Assists            14 Digs                      Delaware

Kira Giles                      39 Assists            16 Digs                      Towson

Sarah Ball                     14 Kills                15 Digs                      La Salle

Sarah Ball                     15 Kills                10 Digs                      Rider

Kira Giles                      43 Assists            17 Digs                      Colgate

Sarah Ball                     17 Kills                13 Digs                      Colgate

UMBC in America East Charts

America East Charts (as of games thru 11-27-06)

Hitting Percentage (Min. of .200/3.0 attacks per game)

      Name                     Mark

5.   Jessie Folk              .256

Kills (per game)

      Name                     Mark

4.   Ashley Oscars         4.00 kpg

Assists (per game)

      Name                     Mark

3.   Kira Giles                10.60 apg

Digs (per game)

Name                           Mark

1.   Jennifer Wylie          5.15 dpg

7.   Sarah Ball               3.51 dpg

Blocks (per game)

      Name                     Mark

3.   Amanda Willey        1.03 bpg

8.   Ashley Hargrove       0.80 bpg

Points (per game)

Name                           Mark

6.   Ashley Oscars         4.44 ppg

10.  Sarah Ball               3.50 ppg