UMBC

Mallory McIntyre dished out 59 assists

BALTIMORE – UMBC junior setter Mallory McIntyre (Winnipeg, Manitoba/St. Mary’s Academy) dished out a career-high 59 assists and scooped up 15 digs as the UMBC volleyball team defeated Albany for the first time since 2007, 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21), Friday evening at the RAC Arena.  The win stops a 13-game losing streak to the Great Danes and marks the first victory for the Retrievers since a five-set win at home on Oct. 12, 2007.

“That was a really nice, hard fought win for our team,” said head coach Ian Blanchard.  “I’m incredibly proud of our effort as a team and this shows that when we play as a complete squad we’re hard to beat.”

With her career night, McIntyre posted her fourth double-double of the year, second on the team behind only sophomore Hannah Schmidt (Catonsville, Md./Mount de Sales) who recorded her 11th of the season, Friday night with a match-high 18 kills to go along with ten digs.  Ali Loynchan (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair) also notched a double-double, her second of the year, with 11 kills and 11 digs

Schmidt and Loynachan were just two of the four Retrievers with double-digit kills as freshmen Sherelle Walker (New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock) and Krystal Mlemchukwu (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech) put down 15 winners and 12 winners, respectively.

UMBC (13-14, 6-4 America East) also received an all-around team effort on defense as junior Ali Goc (Oshawa, Ontario) picked up a match-high 17 digs with McIntyre, Loynachan, Schmidt and junior Hallie Carter (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) also in double figures.

For Albany (10-14, 7-2 America East), both Samantha Brostrom (Ellicott City,Md./Centennial) and Traci Vandegrift registered double-doubles.  Brostrom led the Great Danes with 13 kills while picking up 12 digs and Vandegrift notched 12 put-aways and 15 digs.

The opening set was balanced in the early going with the teams tying seven times and neither team able to take a lead greater than one until Albany used a 3-0 spurt to gain a 10-7 advantage.  The Great Danes continued their run after a Loynachan kill to open up a set-high four point lead at 12-8.  UMBC then chipped away, and retook the lead behind strong serving by junior Robbin Lee (Olney, Md./Sherwood) who paced the Retrievers to a five-point run.  After Albany knotted the set at 17-17, the teams could not separate themselves until three-straight UMBC points provided a 23-20 cushion and the hosts held off one last charge to win the set 25-21.

Albany bounced right back in the second set, though, charging out to 4-0 lead.  After the two squads traded points back-and-forth, UMBC responded to a Great Dane 3-0 streak with a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 11-9.  The Retrievers could only cut the lead to one, however, at 17-16, as Albany leveled the match with a 25-21 win in the second set.

Following the break, UMBC broke open a close set by winning ten of 14 points, opening up a 12-7 lead, capped by a Loynachan service ace.  Albany could not win back-to-back points until Viktoriia Stroilo served an ace to bring the visitors back to 20-13.  The Great Danes put together a little rally and cut the lead to five at 23-18, but UMBC closed out the set with two of the next three points for a 25-19 set win.

In the fourth set, UMBC once again built an early lead, this time racing out to a 10-6 lead, and held the lead at four at 11-7.  Albany came back right away, however, winning six of the next seven to take the lead for the first time in the frame at 13-12.  Once again the teams could not pull away from the each other as they exchanged the lead nine times and were knotted on 11 occasions in the frame.  Down 19-18, the Retrievers ran off five consecutive points behind Schmidt’s serving and then Walker closed the win out with her 15th kill.

“This is a great win for our program,” Blanchard said.  “This allows our team to generate even more confidence that we can take into the rest of the season.”

UMBC now closes out its 2012 home schedule on Sunday when the squad hosts Hartford for Senior Day.  The Retrievers and Hawks are schedule to begin play at 2:00 following a ceremony which will honor UMBC’s two seniors, Katie Kelly and Ali Loynachan.

Dawg Bites

-          UMBC is now 3-22 all-time versus Albany and 2-18 in America East play.

-          The Retrievers improve to 2-8 all-time against the Great Danes at the RAC Arena.

-          Goc’s 17 digs brings her to 981 career digs, which leaves her in tenth place all-time in school history.