UMBC

Senior Ali Loynachan

BALTIMORE – Without a match on Friday for the first time this season, the UMBC volleyball team has its sights set on Sunday when the Retrievers host America East rival Stony Brook at the RAC.  The action is set to begin at 2 p.m. with live streaming of the contest available at umbcretrievers.tv.

This entire week in advance of the Dig Pink match Oct. 19, the volleyball team will be accepting donations as a part of the Side-Out Foundation and Dig Pink campaign.  To help the Retrievers achieve their goal, log-on to the Side-Out Foundation’s website.  

Scouting the Retrievers

On the road last weekend, UMBC (9-13, 2-3 America East) split its two matches against conference foes Hartford and Albany.  On Friday, sophomore Hannah Schmidt (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales) recorded her sixth double-double of the season by registering 16 kills and ten digs as the Retrievers swept Hartford, 3-0.  UMBC outhit Hartford .286-.098 with Schmidt leading the way, hitting at a .400 clip. 

On Sunday, Schmidt was at it again, picking up her team-best seventh double-double, but it was not enough as Albany downed the visiting Retrievers in four sets.  Junior Mallory McIntyre (Winnipeg, Manitoba/St. Mary’s Academy) recorded a career-high 50 assists in the match while equaling Schmidt with a double-double by picking up 11 digs.

Although she did not play against the Great Danes, freshman Sherelle Walker (New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock) continues to lead the Retrievers in hitting.  The two-time America East Rookie of the Week ranks fifth in the conference in kills per set (3.05) and sixth in hitting percentage (.243).  With an increase in playing time, redshirt freshman Krystal Mlemchukwu (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech) has climbed the charts and now sits at eighth in the league with a .232 hitting rate.

After scooping up 37 digs on the road last weekend, junior Ali Goc (Oshawa, Ontario/R.S. McLaughlin) leads the squad with 277 digs this season, good for fifth in the America East.

As a team, UMBC leads the America East in blocking, averaging 2.05 block per set while sitting behind only Hartford in the serving department with a 1.43 service aces per set average.

Scouting the Seawolves

Stony Brook (7-10, 2-2 America East) also split its road trip last weekend, falling to New Hampshire in four sets on Friday before sweeping Providence on Sunday.  The Seawolves travel to Binghamton on Friday to take on the Bearcats before coming to Baltimore.

Freshman Melissa Rigo, the America East leader in kills, recorded a match-high 15 winners against the Friars while junior Evann Slaughter added 11 put-aways.  Hailee Herc led a trio of Seawolves in double figures with 13 digs at Providence and ranks seventh in the league with 3.14 digs per set.

All-Time Series

Stony Brook leads the all-time series with UMBC 11-8 and has won five consecutive meetings – the last three each coming down to a decisive fifth set.  The Retrievers won the first ever meeting between the teams 2-1 at the George Washington Tournament in 1980, but then did not face the Seawolves again until joining the America East in 2003.

Last season, Stony Brook won both contests, each in five sets.  In the first matchup in Baltimore, the visitors took a set lead twice, only to see the Retrievers rally and push the match further.  In the final set, the squads tied seven times before the Seawolves claimed the final two points for a 16-14 win.  Schmidt recorded 12 kills in the loss with Ali Loynachan (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair) was also in double-digits with 11 winners.

In the rematch on Long Island, it was UMBC who took the lead twice, only to see Stony Brook rally, and eventually take the five-set victory.  Iman Kennedy notched 17 kills for the Retrievers while Emily Vandegrift (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) picked up 14 digs with Hallie Carter (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) and Allie Spaay just behind with 13.   

Retriever Stat Pack

Season Highs:

Double-Doubles: