UMBC

Sophomore Sabrina Hoeks was one kill short of a double-double Friday against New Hampshire.

BALTIMORE, Md.—The UMBC volleyball team defeated New Hampshire, 3-0, to open its 2008 America East Conference season Friday night at the RAC. The win improved  the Retrievers to 11-6 (1-0 AEC), while the Wildcats dropped to 3-14 (0-1).

“UNH always plays us tough,” said head coach Ian Blanchard, “so it’s always good to get a win and we had a lot of support from the crowd tonight.”

Sophomore Bridget Scheetz (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline Academy) had a game-high 13 kills with five service aces to lead the Retrievers to the 25-23, 25-12, 25-23 win, while junior Ashley Oscars (Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty) added 11 kills against only three errors.

UMBC hit .367 in the second set and hit 13 kills against only two errors, while holding the Wildcats to a .000 hitting percentage.

“I thought we did a good job controlling the serve and the pass game tonight,” said Blanchard. The Retrievers held a sideout percentage over 70% in all three sets, while holding the Wildcats to under 66% in every set. “We worked really hard on our serve in practice,” said Blanchard, “and I think it made the difference in match tonight.”

Sophomore Sabrina Hoeks (Olympia, Washington/AG West Black Hills) also had an outstanding game and was one kill away from a double-double, notching 10 digs, nine kills and three service aces.

The Retrievers return to action Sunday at 1 p.m. when they play host to Maine at the RAC.