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News Release

UMBC Volleyball Picked as Favorite in Preseason Poll

8/20/2007

2006 Rookie of the Year Ashley Oscars and the Retrievers are the preseason favorite to win the 2007 America East Championship.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—The UMBC volleyball team has been picked as the favorite to win the 2007 America East Volleyball Championship following a preseason coaches’ poll, the conference announced Monday. 

The Retrievers bumped Albany out of the top spot for the first time in two years, garnering four first-place votes out of a possible six for a total of 34 points, while Albany received three first-place votes and a total of 30 points.

The University of New Hampshire (23), Binghamton University (22) and Stony Brook University (21) round out the top five spots, while the University of Maine (11) and the University of Hartford (6) complete the poll.

The top four teams in the league will advance to the America East Championship with the winner of the tournament receiving the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The 2006 championship saw a battle between the No. 3 seeded Retrievers and No. 1 Great Danes, with the Great Danes pulling out a nail-biting, 3-2, come from behind victory to take their third consecutive America East crown.

In his third year, head coach Ian Blanchard piloted the Retrievers to their first-ever tournament appearance since joining the America East Conference in 2003 and compiled a 16-15 overall record and 7-5 conference record.

The Retrievers will look for their first America East crown in 2007 as they return 2006 Rookie of the Year, All-Conference First-Team, and All-Rookie selection Ashley Oscars, All-Conference Second-Team and All-Rookie selection Kira Giles, 11 letterwinners, and five newcomers, including Kansas State transfer Tiffany Johnson.

The Retrievers will open the 2007 campaign on Aug. 31 when they face Loyola at 12 p.m. as part of the La Salle Tournament in Philadelphia, Pa.