UMBC

Senior Ali Loynachan

BALTIMORE – After winning back-to-back home contests over the span of two weekends, the UMBC volleyball team heads to the Northeast for a weekend of America East action.  On Friday, the Retrievers take on Providence at 7 p.m. and then continue the road swing with a match at New Hampshire on Sunday.

The Retrievers are 1-1 against the Friars and Wildcats this season having met them during a weekend home stand in late September in Baltimore.  UNH took a wild five-set decision on Friday night at the RAC before UMBC salvaged the weekend with a four-set win over Providence on Sunday.

Scouting the Retrievers

UMBC opened the second half of its conference slate with a win over Binghamton last weekend to improve to 11-13 overall and 4-3 in America East play this season.  Senior Katie Kelly (Dimaond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar) and sophomore Hannah Schmidt (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales) each recorded career-highs in kills while junior Mallory McIntyre (Winnipeg, Manitoba/St. Mary’s Academy) dished out a career-high 51 assists in the win.

The Retrievers also received key contributions from junior Emily Vandegrift (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County) who notched 13 winners and classmate Ali Goc (Oshawa, Ontario/R.S. McLaughlin) whose team-best 13 digs moved her into tenth place all-time in UMBC history with 929 career digs.

With her career-high 19 kills against Binghamton, Schmidt took over the team lead in kills for the season (235) and ranks tenth in the conference with a 2.61 kills per set average.  Freshman Krystal Mlemchukwu (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech) has come on strong for the Black and Gold during conference play and is second on the team with 59 kills against America East opponents.

In addition to Goc’s play in the back row, the Retrievers have been steadied by the consistent play of senior Ali Loynachan (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair) and junior Hallie Carter (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison).  Both of the veteran captains recorded double-digit digs for the Retrievers last weekend against the Bearcats while Loynachan showed her versatility by also notching eight kills.  Meanwhile, Goc ranks sixth in the league averaging 3.40 digs per set this year.

Scouting the Friars

Providence fell to 1-24 overall and 0-7 in America East contests after falling to New Hampshire in straight sets last Saturday.  Providence has now lost 20 straight matches this season, recording its last win on Aug. 29 at St. Peter’s.  Colleen McCollum paced the Friars with a team-high 12 kills versus the Wildcats while Cassie Muzzonigro tied for a match-high with 13 digs.

Muzzonigro leads the Friars on defense and ranks fourth in the America East averaging 4.13 digs per set this season.  Earlier this year she broke the school record by registering her 1,600 career dig.

Freshman Jordan Wiesler has taken the reins of the Providence offense and has spread the ball around as four teammates have 100 kills or more.  The rookie sits in sixth the conference with a 8.03 assist per set average.

All-Time Series vs. Providence

UMBC leads the all-time series with Providence 8-2 and has never lost to the Friars in America East play, posting a 5-0 record since 2010.  Providence won the first two meetings in the series, both in straight sets at the 1989 Delaware Tournament, but has not won since.  The Retrievers are 2-0 in Rhode Island after winning a pivotal five-set thriller last year to send them to the America East Championships.

UMBC claimed the first meeting of the season earlier this year in four sets after dropping the opening frame to the Friars.  Freshman Sherelle Walker (New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock) led a trio of Retrievers in double-figures with a match-best 17 kills in the win.

Scouting the Wildcats

UNH snapped a brief two-match losing streak by sweeping Providence on the road last Saturday.  Morgan Thatcher notched a match-best 15 kills while Tori Forrest was also in double figures with ten put-aways.  Forrest recorded the double-double by picking up 12 digs while Jessie Schnepp led the Wildcats with 13 digs.

Thatcher and Forrest have led the UNH offense all season and have combined for 563 kills this season.  Freshman Brenna Buckwalter has been an efficient option for setters Taylor Dunklau and Jansan Falcusan all year and ranks second in the America East with a .261 hitting efficiency.

 All-Time Series vs. New Hampshire

UNH broke the series tie by winning the first meeting of the year and now leads the series with UMBC 10-9.  All 19 of the contest have come in conference play since the Retrievers joined the America East for the 2003 season.  Neither team has swept the season series since UMBC did so in 2008 and the Retrievers will look to keep that streak going in Durham where they are 5-4 all-time.

In the match in Baltimore earlier this season, UMBC twice rallied from a set down to push the match to the limit.  In the fifth set, however, UNH held off a late rally and won the final three points to escape with a win.  Walker once again paced the Retriever offense, recording a career-high 22 kills while Schmidt notched a double-double with 14 kills and 12 digs.

Retriever Stat Pack

Season Highs:

Double-Doubles: