UMBC

Junior Iman Kennedy

BALTIMORE—The UMBC volleyball team will kick off the 2010 season with the Battle of Baltimore at the RAC Arena on Sept. 3, head coach Ian Blanchard announced today.

The five-team tournament includes local rivals Towson, Loyola, Morgan State and Coppin State with the Retrievers opening the season against Coppin State and Loyola on the 3rd. The action moves to Morgan State on Saturday the 4th, where UMBC will take on the Tigers and the co-host Bears.

The following weekend will be the second annual Madison Bingaman Memorial Tournament, which will feature six teams including Big Ten power Ohio State, Brown, Howard, Sacred Heart and Towson. The Retrievers will play the Buckeyes Friday, the 10th at 7 p.m., while the Tigers will help co-host the tournament on Thursday evening and Friday.

“While I would have liked to have played in a tourney the last weekend in August when the competition season opens, the two tournaments give us a great opportunity to start off on a good foot at home, in front of our home fans and will feature some great matchups,” Blanchard said. “I’m excited that we are playing in the Battle of Baltimore with all of the area teams and look forward to playing in it for years to come.”

“Having a chance to play Ohio State and their coach Geoff Carlston, who is one of the best coaches in the country, in the Maddie Bingaman Tournament will be a great experience for our girls. I also have to thank Towson for co-hosting with there being so many teams in the tournament.”

The weekend of Sept. 17-18, the Retrievers will travel up to South Orange, N.J. for the Seton Hall Invitational, which will feature the 2009 MAC regular-season champion Western Michigan, Northeastern and the host Pirates.

After a couple of non-conference games at Georgetown and Towson, UMBC opens the 2010 America East schedule at home for the first two weekends of October with the first match taking place Oct. 1 against Albany. The Retrievers will be looking to advance to the America East Championships for the third consecutive season and the fourth time in the last five campaigns.

The Retrievers then do not have a home conference match until the final weekend of the season, when they play host to New Hampshire and new America East associate member Providence on Nov. 12 and 14, respectively.

“The conference schedule will be a difficult test for us this season because we have three straight AE weekends on the road with us playing two opponents and our foes only playing one each weekend,” the coach said. “We have a weekend off before traveling to Binghamton and Albany, which should help us get some rest and rejuvenate before the final stretch of the season, plus finishing the season at home should give us a final boost.”

For the third consecutive year, every Retriever home match will be broadcast live via UMBCRetrievers.tv.