UMBC

Head Coach Ian Blanchard

BALTIMORE – After splitting four matches at the season-opening Battle at the Bay this past weekend, the UMBC volleyball team travels down to Northern Virginia to take on local rival George Mason on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.  This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 2009 when the Patriots defeated the Retrievers, 3-0, in Baltimore.

Scouting the Retrievers

At the season-opening tournament, the Retrievers (2-2) swept cross-town rivals Coppin State and Morgan State, but fell to Towson and St. John’s.  With the win against the Eagles, UMBC remains unbeaten against its Baltimore neighbor, 13-0-1, in the all-time series.

Over the weekend 2011 America East All-Rookie selection sophomore Hannah Schmidt (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales) recorded two double-doubles, including a 12 kill, 11 dig performance against BIG EAST foe St. John’s.  Through four matches, the Retrievers’ outside hitter has recorded 37 kills and a team-high 38 digs.

Both of UMBC’s true freshman were impressive in the tournament as well as setter Paige Miller (Reading, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) and outside hitter Sherelle Walker (New Freedom, Pa./Susquahannock) both played a large role for the Retrievers.  After not getting into the first contest against Towson, Miller did not miss another set, recording 26 and 24 assists against Coppin State and Morgan State, respectively, before notching 40 helpers against St. John’s.  Walker meanwhile was a factor from the start, registering nine kills in the opener against the Tigers.  Then, following a five kill performance against the Eagles, the rookie posted back-to-back double digit kill contests with 10 kills against the Bears and a team season-best 21 against the Red Storm.

Scouting George Mason

George Mason is 0-2 on the young season after getting swept by local rivals Georgetown and American at the D.C. Volleyball Challenge this past weekend.

Junior middle blocker Laura Spencer leads the Patriots with 19 kills and 21 digs on the season and posted a double-double against Georgetown with 10 kills and 10 digs.   Classmate and outside hitter Lana Zonjic is not far behind, however, after tallying 18 kills over the weekend.  Freshman libero Bernetta Moore is tied with Spencer for the team lead in digs with 21

All-Time Series

George Mason leads the all-time series with UMBC, 19-5, and has won the past two meetings.  After playing at least once in 11 of 13 years from 1987-1999, the Retrievers and Patriots did not meet again until 2009 when Mason swept UMBC, 3-0.  Senior Ali Loynachan (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair), the only Retriever to play against the Patriots, notched five kills , three assists and seven digs in the 2009 contest.

Retriever Stat Pack:

Season Highs:

Double-Doubles: