UMBC

Senior Iman Kennedy

BALTIMORE—The UMBC volleyball team opened its 2011 home schedule in style, sweeping Navy, 25-12, 25-19, 25-16, in front of a raucous crowd at the RAC Tuesday evening. The Retrievers (6-3) hit .378, while holding the Midshipmen (0-7) to a .113 hitting percentage.

After controlling the first set, 25-12, UMBC fell behind in the second, 9-2, before going on a 23-10 run to close out the set. The third set was more like the first, with the Retrievers hitting .406 with 17 kills.

“It was a good all-around effort tonight,” head coach Ian Blanchard said. “We had a fantastic crowd that really made if feel like we had seven players out there. I’m also happy with how we responded when we were pushed in the second set.”

Freshman Hannah Schmidt (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales), who was named America East Rookie of the Week an hour before the first serve, led UMBC with 14 kills against one error with a .542 hitting percentage. Senior Iman Kennedy (Charlotte, N.C./Independence) was superb in the middle, hitting .429 while earning a game-high six blocks.

The Retrievers also played excellent defense, passing 39 digs to Navy’s 24, with sophomores Ali Goc (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada/R.S. McLaughlin) and Hallie Carter (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) leading the way with 15 and 10 digs, respectively.

UMBC served six aces, while holding Navy to zero and had 38 assists to the Midshipmen’s 30.

The Retrievers return to action this weekend when they host the third annual Madison Bingaman Memorial Tournament at the RAC. Friday sees UMBC play Youngstown State at 7 p.m., while Saturday’s action has the Retrievers taking on Fairleigh Dickinson at 1 p.m. and Norfolk State at 7.