UMBC

Sophomore Kira Giles has recorded a double-double in the last four matches for the Retrievers.

BALTIMORE--The UMBC volleyball team snapped a three-match winning streak as they fell to Binghamton, 3-1 (16-30, 30-28, , on Friday night in Vestal, N.Y. The Retrievers fall to 19-6 and 4-2 in the America East while the Bearcats improve to 12-14 and 4-2 in the conference. The Retrievers, Bearcats, and Great Danes from Albany are currently tied for second place in the conference after Stony Brook notched a 3-0 victory over Hartford on Friday to move to 5-1 in the conference and claim the leading spot.

Attack errors plagued the Retrievers in the match against Binghamton as they recorded just 46 kills on 120 attacks while committing a whopping 42 errors for a hitting percentage of .025 for the match. The Bearcats fared much better, hitting .250 from the floor with just 17 errors, while tallying 56 kills on 156 attacks.

Sophomores Kira Giles (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada/Glenlawn) and Ashley Oscars (Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty) each recorded a double-double for the Retrievers, marking the fourth match in a row Giles has recorded a double-double. The setter put up 27 assists while adding 12 digs, while Oscars totaled 15 kills and 10 digs.

Two Bearcats also tallied double-doubles as Lindsay Mueller put up 42 assists and 12 digs, while Michelle McDonough totaled 12 kills and 11 digs.

The Retrievers never led in the opening set, as the Bearcats recorded a hitting percentage of .412 for the match as compared to the Retrievers' .032 in a game that saw four-point and six-point serving runs by Mueller en route to a 30-16 win by the Bearcats.

The Retriever offense came alive in the second game, however, as UMBC recorded its highest hitting percentage of the match (.250) to edge out the Bearcats 30-28 for their only set win of the match.

Game three was another close battle, as the Bearcats held a 13-9 lead over the Retrievers, before a service error and ensuing three-point run by the Retrievers behind the serve of freshman Sabrina Hoeks (Olympia, Wash./AG West Black Hills) knotted the score at 13 points apiece. The three points by Hoeks also included two service aces, adding to her league-leading average of 0.47 per game.

The Bearcats were too much for the Retrievers to handle however, as the pulled out the 30-20 set win with the final five points served by Julia Vint.

The Retrievers had their worst showing of the night in the fourth and final game, as they committed 16 errors for a -.159 hitting percentage. A six-point run behind the serve fo Ashley Allen and five-point serve behind McDonough after the ensuing sideout gave the Bearcats a 17-5 lead and put the game out of reach for the Retrievers as Binghamton cruised to the 30-14 victory.

The Retrievers will return to the RAC Arena on Sunday to face the Bearcats in the opening match of the second-half of the conference season at 4:00 p.m.