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News Release

UMBC Volleyball News and Notes

10/26/2007

Freshman Bridget Scheetz is third on the Retrievers' single-season assisted blocks chart.

The Week Ahead: The UMBC Volleyball team will begin a four-match roadstand on Friday as they travel to Durham, N.H., to face the New Hampshire Wildcats at 7:00 p.m.  The Retrievers will look to snap a two-match losing skid after falling to Binghamton, twice during last week’s competitions.  The Retrievers (19-7, 4-3 America East) and Wildcats (15-7, 4-3 America East) are tied for fourth place in the conference, but UMBC holds a slight edge as they have already notched a victory over the Wildcats this season.  The match between UMBC and New Hampshire will be video-streamed live at http://www.unhwildcats.tv where it can be purchased for $6.95 as a single event.

The Retrievers will continued their road trip after facing the Wildcats when they travel to Orono, Maine on Saturday to take on the Black Bears at 7:00 p.m.

THIS WEEK

Date                             Opponent                                 Time                        

Fri. Oct. 26                    at New Hampshire *                   7:00 p.m.

Sat. Oct. 27                  at Maine *                                 7:00 p.m.

LAST WEEK

Date                             Opponent                                 Result    

Fri. Oct. 19                    at Binghamton                           L, 1-3 (16-30, 30-28, 20-30, 14-30)

Sun. Oct. 21                  Binghamton                               L, 0-3 (27-30, 25-30, 21-30)

-Home games in Bold

Retrievers vs. the Wildcats: The Retrievers have never won a series against the Wildcats since first starting play in 2003, and have split the last three series between the teams.  The Retrievers were victorious, 3-1, over the Wildcats on Sept. 30 as they host New Hampshire in their opening conference weekend.  Freshman Sabrina Hoeks posted the first double-double of her collegiate career in the match with 17 kills and 13 digs, while also adding five assisted blocks and service aces.  Sophomore Kira Giles also recorded a double-double with 49 assists and a team-high 26 digs with four assisted blocks and three aces.  The Retrievers are 4-5 against the Wildcats all-time.

Retrievers vs. the Black Bears: The Retrievers have won the last three meetings against Maine, including notching two victories against the Black Bears in the 2006 season, defeating the Black Bears, 3-1, on Oct. 6 and Nov. 10.  It was the first time since 2003 that the Retrievers were victorious over the Black Bears.  The Retrievers also earned a 3-1 decision over Maine earlier this season, on Sept. 28 as they hosted the Black Bears in their conference-opener.  Two Retrievers recorded double-doubles in the match as sophomore Kira Giles posted 46 assists and 16 digs as well as a solo block and three block assists, and sophomore Ashley Oscars tied a then season-high with 19 kills and also added 17 digs and two block assists.

DAWG BITES

Retrievers in the National Rankings

One week after breaking into the top 25 of the nation for service aces, the UMBC volleyball team has placed an individual in the top 75 of the country.  Freshman Sabrina Hoeks is tied for 73^rd in the country for service aces per game as she is averaging 0.49 sapg.  The Retrievers currently hold the top two spots in the conference for aces per game, with sophomore Pam Jarrett averaging 0.50 and Hoeks with 0.49.

For the second straight week, the Retrievers rank 22^nd in the country in aces per game, as they are averaging 2.21 sapg as a team.

The Retrievers also rank 58^th in digs per game (17.78) and are tied for 49^th in winning percentage (.731).

Scheetz, Johnson Moving Up the Charts

Freshman Bridget Scheetz moved into third on the Retrievers’ all-time single-season assisted blocks chart and broke into the single-season chart for total blocks in a tie for ninth on the chart after posting eight assisted block in the matches against Binghamton last week.  Scheetz now has 85 AB this season and 90 total blocks.  She needs just three blocks to move into sole possession of second on the chart and just one more block to claim sole possession of the ninth spot in total blocks.

Sophomore Tiffany Johnson is also moving her way up the charts as she recorded two assisted blocks last week to bring her season total up to 69, good for a tie for eighth on the single-season assisted blocks chart.

UMBC Volleyball Plagued by Errors, Drops Two to Binghamton

The UMBC volleyball team dropped two straight matches to Binghamton last week as they were defeated 3-1 in Vestal, N.Y. on Friday and were blanked by the Bearcats, 3-0, on Sunday at the RAC Arena.  The loss snapped a 10-match home winning streak for the Retrievers and was their first since Oct. 5, while the last time the Retrievers dropped consecutive matches occurred on Sept. 15 when they fell to No. 21 Dayton and Western Kentucky at the Towson Tournament.

The Retrievers were plagued by errors last week, recording a total of 87 kills on 207 total attacks for the week, while committing 72 errors for a dismal hitting percentage of .049.  The Bearcats recorded just 32 errors and .233 hitting percentage for the same time period.

UMBC Volleyball Sweeps Weekly Awards

The UMBC volleyball team picked up all three weekly conference awards for the week ending Oct. 14 as sophomore Ashley Oscars was named Player of the Week, sophomore Kira Giles earned Setter of the Week and freshman Sabrina Hoeks took Rookie of the Week.

The achievement marked the second time this season each of the athletes have earned their respective accolades.

Oscars led the Retrievers in their matches last week, averaging league-bests in kills (4.86 kpg) and points (5.50 ppg) and also recording 2.29 digs per game.  The sophomore posted her third double-double of the season in the 3-2 win over Albany with a season-high 24 kills, which was just one shy of her career-high, and 11 digs.  Oscars also tallied two assisted blocks and three service aces in the match.

Giles played all nine games last week for the Retrievers, recording double-doubles in both matches.  Giles averaged 12.56 assists per game over those two matches, as well as 3.78 kills per game and 0.67 blocks per game.  In addition, the sophomore tallied a career-high 68 assists in the Retrievers’ win over Albany.  Giles has recorded a double-double in the last three matches and totals 11 for the season.

Hoeks recorded her third career double-double in the win over Albany, putting up 14 kills and 18 digs.  Hoeks tallied a double-double earlier in the week as well, coming just one service ace away from a triple-double as she posted a season-high 20 kills and added 16 digs and nine aces.  For the week, Hoeks averaged 3.78 kills per game, 3.78 digs per game, 5.00 points per game, and 1.00 service aces per game.

The Retrievers have now claimed six weekly conference awards over the course of the 2007 season, as freshman Bridget Scheetz garnered the Rookie of the Week accolade in the first week of the season.

Retrievers Ranked In Top-25 in Nation

The UMBC volleyball team ranks 22^nd in the country in service aces per game, as the Retrievers are averaging 2.24/game.  Much of the Retrievers success is due to the performances of freshman Sabrina Hoeks, who tallied nine service aces in a four-game match against NJIT last week and currently tied for first place in the America East Conference with 0.47 aces per game. The Retrievers also rank 68^th in the nation in blocks per game (2.62), digs per game (17.58), and 29^th in winning percentage (.792).

Retrievers Defeat Albany For First Time Since 2002; Scheetz Moves Up AB Chart

The UMBC volleyball team defeated Albany, 3-2, last Friday night at the RAC Arena for the first time since first facing the Great Danes in 2002 as part of the Navy Tournament.  The Retrievers snapped a nine-match losing streak against the defending champion Great Danes last week and improved to 4-1 in the America East Conference and currently are tied for first place in the league with Stony Brook.  Sophomore Kira Giles tallied a career-high 68 assists in the match and also added 18 digs for her third straight and sixth in the last seven matches with a double-double.  Sophomore Ashley Oscars recorded a season-high, which was just one shy of her career-high, with 24 kills in the win over the Great Danes, as she also tallied a double-double by adding 11 digs.

Freshman Bridget Scheetz added two assisted blocks against Albany to bring her season total to 77, which ties her for fifth place on the all-time assisted blocks in a single-season chart with Jessie Folk.

Giles Records Career-High Double-Double

Sophomore Kira Giles recorded her eighth and ninth double-doubles of the season last week as she put up 32 assists and 11 digs against Georgetown and 26 assists and 10 digs against Hartford.  The nine double-doubles in a season surpasses Giles’ former career mark of eight double-doubles in a season, which she set in her debut season of 2006.  Giles broke a streak of three consecutive matches with double-doubles in the match against Stony Brook, but has recorded a double-double in four of the Retrievers’ last five matches.

Scheetz Claims Sixth Spot on Assisted Blocks Chart

Freshman Bridget Scheetz moved into sixth place on the all-time list for assisted blocks in a single season after she tallied three blocks against Hartford to bring her total to 75 for the season.  Scheetz posted five assisted blocks against Georgetown to claim the seventh spot on the chart with 72 blocks and then moved up yet again after the Hartford match.  Scheetz now stands at 81 total blocks for the season and needs just nine more blocks (solo or assisted) to break into the single-season chart for total blocks.

Retrievers Suffer First Conference Loss, Fall to Stony Brook

The UMBC volleyball team fell to Stony Brook, 3-0, last Friday in their first conference loss and first conference match on the road, but avenged the loss by handing Hartford a 3-0 decision on Saturday to move to 3-1 in the America East.  Earlier in the week, the Retrievers made quick work of Big East conference team Georgetown as the ladies defeated the Hoyas, 3-0, at the RAC Arena in the fourth and final match of their four-match homestand.

Retrievers Earn Fourth Weekly Award; Hoeks Named Rookie of the Week

Freshman Sabrina Hoeks became the fourth Retriever to earn a weekly conference award, as she was named the America East Rookie of the Week for the week ending Sept. 30, the conference announced Monday.

Hoeks recorded her first double-double of her collegiate career in the Retrievers’ 3-1 win over New Hampshire on Sunday, totaling 17 kills and 13 digs.  The rookie also added five block assists and five service aces while committing just one error on 40 attacks (.400 hitting percentage). 

Hoeks finished the week second in the conference in service aces with eight in 11 games. Over the weekend, she averaged 4.00 kills per game, 1.00 aces per game, 3.20 digs per game, and 5.50 points per game while hitting at .327 in both conference matches.

Freshman Bridget Scheetz Breaks Into Single-Season Assisted Blocks Chart

Freshman Bridget Scheetz broke into the UMBC all-time top ten for assisted blocks in a single-season as she added five assisted block against New Hampshire to bring her season total up to 67 assisted blocks.

Scheetz currently ranks ninth on the top ten list and needs just two assisted blocks to claim the eighth spot.  She also has five solo blocks this season for a grand total of 72 blocks and needs 18 more total blocks to break into the single-season chart for total blocks.

Former Retriever Kara Welniak set the record for most assisted blocks in a single-season, when she tallied 93 during the 1999 season.  Rehena Rentuma holds the total blocks record for a single-season with 135 in 1991.

America East Conference Season Underway; Retrievers Share Lead

The Retrievers opened America East Conference play last week after falling to Delaware, 3-0, and defeating St. Francis (Pa.), 3-0, in mid-week games.  The match against the Red Flash started a four-match homestand for the Retrievers, which ends with tonight’s match against Georgetown.

The Retrievers began conference play last weekend with a Friday night match against Maine, where the Retrievers gained a 3-1 victory over the Black Bears and a Sunday match against New Hampshire, where the Retrievers downed the Wildcats, 3-1.  The Retrievers are in a three-way tie for first place in the conference with Albany and Binghamton, both of which started the conference season with two wins.

Retrievers Win Three at Home, Grab Two Weekly Awards

The Retrievers earned three victories at the RAC Arena last week, handing Coppin State a 3-0 decision on Tuesday and notching two wins on Saturday, over Fairleigh Dickinson, 3-0, and Morgan State, 3-1, in a tri-match.

The Retrievers lost the second game of the Morgan State match to the Bears, marking their first set loss since the Towson Tournament on Sept. 15. 

Sophomores Ashley Oscars and Kira Giles were named the America East Conference Player of the Week and Setter of the Week, respectively after putting up season-high performances on the weekend.

Oscars’ 19 kills on 60 attacks, 20.5 points, and 11 digs against Morgan State were all season-highs, with 60 attacks ranking as the second-highest in her career.  She also averaged 4.00 kills per game and 4.69 points per game for the Retrievers’ three matches last week.

Giles tallied a season-high 52 assists and added 15 digs for her fifth double-double of the season, while also recording a season-high three service aces against Morgan State.  Giles also recorded season-highs against Fairleigh Dickinson, posting five kills, a .667 hitting percentage, and 10.0 points against Fairleigh Dickinson. 

Johnson Named to All-Tournament Team; Giles Claims Sixth on All-Time List

Sophomore Tiffany Johnson was named to the All-Tournament team at the Towson Tournament after averaging 1.30 blocks per game during tournament play and the Retrievers had their five-match winning streak snapped on Saturday as they fell to No. 21 Dayton, 3-0. Later in the day, the Retrievers also dropped a 3-1 decision to Western Kentucky to fall to 9-3. 

Sophomore Kira Giles moved into sixth place on the all-time career assists chart after adding 124 assists during last week’s matches to bring her career total to 1,287 moving past Stacey Pirotte’s mark of 1,272 assists.

UMBC Defeats Towson for First Time Since 2000

The Retrievers handed Towson their first loss in the all-time series since 2000, breaking a streak of six consecutive wins for the Tigers with a 3-2 decision and extended the Retrievers’ winning streak to five matches on Friday at the Towson Tournament.  The Retrievers took a two-game lead, but the Tigers won the next two sets to event the match at two points each before UMBC pulled out a 15-13 victory in the fifth set.  Sophomore Kira Giles tallied her fourth double-double of the season with 49 assists and a team-high 22 digs while freshman Bianca Sande came one dig away from recording the first double-double of her collegiate career with 12 kills and nine digs.

Retrievers in the Rankings

Three Retrievers ranked in the top 75 of the country through games 09/09/07, the NCAA reported last week.

Freshman Bridget Scheetz achieved the highest ranking for the Retrievers as she averaged a .392 hitting percentage during the reporting period, which ranks 49^th in the country.

Sophomore Pam Jarrett also cracked into the rankings, averaging 5.08 digs per game, which ties for 66^th in the NCAA and sophomore Kira Giles averaged 11.76 assists per game, good for 74^th in the rankings.

As a team, the Retrievers also came in on the top 75 list, ranking 53^rd in service aces per game (2.12), 25^th in win-loss percentage (.875), and 19^th in digs per game (18.81).

Retrievers Earn First Home Victory of the Season over Howard

After falling, 3-1, to George Washington in their home-opener, the Retrievers blanked Howard, 3-0, on Tuesday to win their first home match of 2007 and their fourth straight.  The Retrievers achieved a complete 180-degree turn from the loss to GW, as they steadily increased their hitting percentage during the match against Howard.  In a match that saw only nine errors from the Retriever side of the court, UMBC posted a hitting percentages of .297, .429, and .435 with just one error in the third set, and recorded a .379 for the match.  Freshman Sabrina Hoeks was the only player to see action in all three sets as she led the Retrievers with nine kills, nine digs, and a .348 hitting percentage.

UMBC Gets Back on Winning Track, Claims Bobcat Invitational Title

After a home-opening loss on Tuesday, the Retrievers bounced back during the weekend tournament to defeat Providence, 3-1, and blank Rider and host Quinnipiac at the Quinnipiac Bobcat Invitational.  Freshman Bridget Scheetz went two-for-two as she was named MVP of the tournament after taking MVP honors at the La Salle Tournament the previous weekend.   

Sophomore Kira Giles tallied 158 assists during the tournament, to bring her career total up to 1,163 assists and claim the seventh spot on the Retrievers’ all-time list.

Retrievers Drop Home-Opener, 3-1, to George Washington

UMBC fell, 3-1, to George Washington in the first home match of the 2007 season and snapped a four-game winning streak to fall to 4-1.  The Retrievers mistakes and ineffectiveness proved to be their bane in the match as each set saw their hitting percentage steadily decline.  They started out hitting .257 as a team in Game 1, in which they defeated the Colonials 30-24, but fell to .182 in Game 2, .119 in Game 3, and .022 in Game 4, totaling 11 attack errors in Game 4 and 31 for the match.

Giles Becomes Ninth Retriever with 1,000 Assists

Sophomore Kira Giles become the ninth Retriever in school history to record over 1,000 assists in a career after UMBC’s opening weekend.  Giles recorded a total of 136 assists in four matches at the La Salle Tournament to bring her career total up to 1,005 assists.  The setter averaged 11.33 assists per game in the tournament, which ranked second in the America East Conference charts at the time.  Giles, who is currently ninth on the Retrievers top 10 all-time career assists chart, needs just 37 assists to move into eighth all-time.  Her teammate, senior Stacey Carroll is currently eighth all-time with 1,041 assists.

Bridget Scheetz Garners First Weekly Conference Award

Freshman Bridget Scheetz was named the America East Conference Rookie of the Week for the week ending Sept. 3.  After the first week of play Scheetz was the conference-leader with 1.67 blocks per game and also ranked in the top 10 for hitting percentage, kills, and points per game.  The St. Louis, Mo., native tallied a team-high 19 assisted blocks during the La Salle Tournament as well as averaging 4.04 points per game, 2.92 kills per game, and hitting .382.

UMBC Blanks Loyola, La Salle, St. Peter’s, Lafayette in Season-Opener

UMBC started the season 4-0 for the first time since 2001, as they downed Loyola, St. Peter’s, Lafayette, and host La Salle at the La Salle Invitational.  The Retrievers put on a dominating performance at the tournament, winning in straight sets for all four games en route to the tournament championship.  Freshman Bridget Scheetz made a big debut for the Retrievers earning tournament MVP honors while sophomore Ashley Oscars was also named to the All-Tournament team.

RETRIEVER STAT PAK

2007 Double-Doubles

Name                           Total 1                         Total 2                         Opponent

Kira Giles                      34 assists                     13 digs                          Loyola

Angela Anderson           11 kills                          12 digs                          Providence

Kira Giles                      51 assists                     12 digs                          Providence

Kira Giles                      35 assists                     10 digs                          Rider

Kira Giles                      49 assists                     22 digs                          Towson

Kira Giles                      52 assists                     15 digs                          Morgan State

Ashley Oscars               19 kills                          11 digs                          Morgan State

Angela Anderson           12 kills                          13 digs                          Morgan State

Stacey Carroll                39 assists                     10 digs                          St. Francis (Pa.)

Kira Giles                      46 assists                     16 digs                          Maine

Ashley Oscars               19 kills                          17 digs                          Maine

Kira Giles                      49 assists                     26 digs                          New Hampshire

Sabrina Hoeks               17 kills                          19 digs                          New Hampshire

Kira Giles                      32 assists                     11 digs                          Georgetown

Kira Giles                      26 assists                     10 digs                          Hartford

Kira Giles                      45 assists                     16 digs                          NJIT

Sabrina Hoeks               20 kills                          16 digs                          NJIT

Kira Giles                      68 assists                     18 digs                          Albany

Ashley Oscars               24 kills                          11 digs                          Albany

Sabrina Hoeks               14 kills                          18 digs                          Albany

Kira Giles                      27 assists                     12 digs                          Binghamton #1

Ashley Oscars               15 kills                          10 digs                          Binghamton #1

Kira Giles                      36 assists                     13 digs                          Binghamton #2

Sabrina Hoeks               10 kills                          13 digs                          Binghamton #2

UMBC in America East Charts (As of 10-24-07)

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

      Name                     Mark

6.   Bridget Scheetz       .291

8.   Tiffany Johnson        .274

Kills (per game)

      Name                     Mark

6.  Ashley Oscars                     3.56 kpg

Assists (per game)

      Name                     Mark

3.                                 Kira Giles                      11.00 apg

Service Aces (per game)

      Name                     Mark

1.   Pam Jarrett             0.50 sapg

2.   Sabrina Hoeks         0.49 sapg

Blocks (per game)

      Name                     Mark

3.                                 Tiffany Johnson              1.24 bpg

4.   Bridget Scheetz       1.08 bpg

Points (per game)

Name                           Mark

7.                                 Ashley Oscars               4.16 ppg

Digs (per game)

Name                           Mark

2.   Pam Jarrett              4.85 dpg

8.   Kira Giles                3.32 dpg

UMBC Career Assists

      Name                                 Assists              Years

1.   Lanae Baker                        4,722                1995-98

2.   Megan Gross                       3,647                2002-05

3.   Heather Hollidge                   3,034                1999-00

4.   Joy Figueredo                      2,501                1990-91

5.   Judy Jackson                       2,481                1993-94

6.   Kira Giles                           1,793                2006-07

7.   Stacey Pirotte                      1,272                1992

8.   Tracey Cullins                      1,153                1988-91

9.   Stacey Carroll                    1,128                2004-07

10. Carla Miala                          570                   1997

UMBC Career Assisted Blocks

      Name                                 AB                    Years

1.   Kara Welniak                       299                   1997-00

2.   Jessie Folk                          245                   2003-06

3.   Jennifer Davis                       227                   1999-03

4.   Dana Eberly                         191                   1993-96

5.   Jocelyn Teoh                       180                   2001-04

6.   Ashley Hargrove                   157                   2005-06

7.   Rehena Rentuma                 129                   1986, 88-91

8.   Anna Gibbs                         124                   1992-95     

9.   Lisa Cline                            124                   1995-98

10. Amanda Willey                     114                   2005-06

      Katrina Carrick                  111                   2004-07

UMBC Single-Season Assisted Blocks

      Name                                 Year                 AB

1.   Kara Welniak                       1999                 93

2.   Kara Welniak                       1998                 87

3.   Bridget Scheetz                 2007                 85

4.   Ashley Hargrove                   2005                 82

      Dana Eberly                        1995                 82

6.   Jessie Folk                          2004                 77

7.   Jessie Folk                          2003                 75

      Ashley Hargrove                   2006                 75

9.   Dana Eberly                         1994                 69

      Tiffany Johnson                 2007                 69

UMBC Single-Season Total Blocks

      Name                                 Year                 TB

1.   Rehena Rentuma                 1991                 135

2.   Dana Eberly                         1994                 117

3.   Dana Eberly                         1995                 112

4.   Kara Welniak                       1999                 106

5.   Kara Welniak                       1998                 105

6.   Rehena Rentuma                 1990                 98

7.   Judy Jackson                       1993                 97

8.   Ashley Hargrove                   2005                 92

9.   Kate Harlow                         1993                 90

      Beth Straley                        1989                 90

      Bridget Scheetz                 2007                 90