Volleyball Faces No.4 Pitt in NCAA Tournament on Friday Night

The America East champion UMBC Volleyball team kicks-off NCAA Tournament play at No.4 Pitt at 6:30 on Friday night. This is the fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in six seasons for UMBC, and the Retrievers are returning to the Steel City for the third time in four year for the NCAA Tournament, having faced the Panthers in 2021 and facing No.8 USC at Pitt in the 2023 edition. 

UMBC volleyball won its fifth America East Tournament Championship in six seasons on November 22, defeating UAlbany 3-1 inside Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. 

UMBC hit .312 in the offensive slug fest, winning crucial points in a 27-25 second-set victory and a 26-24 fourth-set victory to clinch the title. 

Trailing 24-23 in the fourth set, UMBC won the final three points, getting two kills from Hannah Dobbs and an ace from Hannah Howard to earn the right to lift the trophy.

After 22 kills in the semifinal, Jalynn Brown finished with 24 in the victory, hitting an impressive .327 to pace the offense. She added 11 digs, logging her fourth double-double of the year. Hannah Dobbs added 19 kills and 14 digs for her second consecutive double-double, hitting .333 for the Retrievers. Claudia Llamas (15) and Laura Fuehrer (10) also reached double-digit kills. Fuehrer hit .600 for the match. Brown and Dobbs were both named to the America East All-Tournament Team.

The America East Tournament MVP, Howard, set a new career-high with 32 digs, putting her in a tie for sixth for the most digs in UMBC single-game history. Howard also moved into ninth-place in UMBC single-season history with 446 digs. She added three aces and six assists in the win. 

The two-headed monster of Serin Maden and Izzy Ostvig combined for 58 assists, with Maden (33) tallying her second straight 30-plus assist match. 

UMBC overcame a monster showing from UAlbany’s Shynelle Woroniuk, who hit .386 and finished the match with 24 kills and 11 digs. Maria Olga Siapani handed out 50 assists. 

Saturday’s victory is UMBC’s third victory over UAlbany in the America East Championship match, as the Retrievers defeated the Great Danes in both 2020 and 2021. 

Scouting Pitt:

• The Panthers (26-4, 18-2 ACC) earned a share of the ACC Championship with a sweep over Georgia Tech on Sunday.
• This marks Pitt’s fourth consecutive ACC title and seventh overall
• Olivia Babcock was named the ACC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.Bre Kelley is the first Panther in program history to earn ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
• Babcock, Kelley and Brooke Mosher were named First Team All-ACC, and Blaire Bayless notched Second Team honors.
• Marina Pezelj impressed as a rookie and saw her name on the All-ACC Freshman Team.