Freshman Ali Loynachan was named to the All-Tournament Team.

BALTIMORE—The UMBC volleyball team’s 2009 season started off in dramatic fashion Saturday as they defeated Long Island in five sets in the morning before falling to Northeastern in five sets in the evening of the Madison Bingaman Memorial Tournament at the RAC Arena.

The Retrievers (1-1) got off to a quick start against the Blackbirds (0-2), winning the first two sets, 25-21 and 25-16 before LIU bounced back and took the 3rd and 4th, 25-20 and 25-22. UMBC fought back to win the fifth and decisive set, 15-9.

UMBC senior Ashley Oscars (Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty) led all hitters with 20 kills, while fellow senior Pam Jarrett (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Pius X) led with 21 digs. Freshman Ali Loynachan (Whitby, Ontario, Canada/Sinclair) added 10 kills and four service aces in her Retriever debut, while sophomores Sarah Joy (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada/Brookfield) and Iman Kennedy (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) hit .462 and .333, respectively.

Other notable performances from the first match were junior Sabrina Hoeks (Olympia, Wash./AG West Black Hills) hitting .318 with 11 kills in her first match since major knee surgery and sophomore Allie Spaay (Kenosha, Wisc./Kenosha Tremper) earned 55 assists, while debutant freshman Brighid Casey (Rockville, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) served an ace to clinch the game in the final set.

In the final match of the day, the Huskies (2-0) took two one-set leads, but the Retrievers would answer each time before Northeastern won the final set to win 25-14, 26-28, 25-13, 23-25, 15-8.

A major bright spot for the Retrievers was the play of Loynachan, who was picked to the All-Tournament team, hit 11 kills with only one error and earned nine digs.

Oscars added a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs and was also named to the All-Tournament team. Her 97 attacks today pushed her into fifth on the all-time career attacks list at UMBC with 3,209.

The Retrievers return to action next weekend when they travel to Long Beach, Calif. to take part in the Long Beach State/UC-Irvine Invitational on Friday and Saturday.