UMBC

Freshman Sabrina Hoeks tallied five services in the 3-0 win over Hartford on Saturday.

HARTFORD, Conn.—The UMBC volleyball team bounced back from their first conference road loss as they downed Hartford, 3-0 (30-25, 30-19, 30-21), on Saturday at the Hartford Sports Center.

The Retrievers (17-5, 3-1 America East) recorded just a .190 hitting percentage, while the Hawks (7-13, 0-3 America East) registered only a .017 from the floor.  The Retrievers committed only half as many errors (15) as the Hawks, who were hampered by 30 attack errors.

For the second straight match, sophomore Tiffany Johnson (Abingdon, Md./Arundel/Kansas State) led the Retrievers, posting a .444 hitting percentage with nine kills on 18 attacks and just one error.  She also added two block assists for UMBC.

Freshman Sabrina Hoeks (Olympia, Wash./AG West Black Hills) was just one kill away from her second double-double as she totaled nine kills and 10 digs while adding five service aces and one assisted block.

Erin Macro led Hartford with 10 kills and a solo block, while recording a .227 hitting percentage.

The Retrievers saw themselves down 4-1 in game one, but after a Hawk error, Hoeks served for four consecutive points, three with aces, to give the Retrievers a 6-4 lead. 

The Hawks battled back, however, in a set that saw four more lead changes and six ties, and gained a 23-22 lead over the Retrievers.  A Hawk error knotted the score at 23 points and Hoeks once again served for four points, one of which was on a service ace, to give the Retrievers a 27-23 lead and the eventual 30-25 game win.

Game two saw nine ties between the teams, before the Retrievers gained a four-point lead on a Hawk service error followed by two points served by sophomore Ashley Oscars (Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty) for a 21-17 advantage.

Sophomore Kira Giles (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada/Glenlawn) served out the final six points for the Retrievers, including two service aces, for the 30-19 win.

The Retrievers opened up a 3-0 lead on the Hawks in the third and final game and never lead en route to the 30-21 match point.

The Retrievers return to the RAC Arena on Wednesday, Oct. 10 to face NJIT at 7:00 p.m. before entertaining Albany at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.