In the match UMBC and Albany were tied 21 times and changed lead seven times as both teams scored at least 20 points in each set. But neither team had a particularly effective night offensively. UMBC was outhit .181-.140 after totaling 28 errors in the match.

The 2011 Rookie of the Year, Dalton Tolliver, led UMBC with 13 kills while sophomore Emily Vandegrift ended the game with nine kills and nine digs. Senior Allie Spaay saw her career come to an end with her 15th double-double of the season with 30 assists and 13 digs while fellow senior Iman Kennedy had seven kills.

UMBC took a 9-7 lead in the first set but a 5-1 run by Albany reversed things, giving them the two point lead. UMBC was able to tie it with a small 3-1 spurt but the Great Danes scored nine of the next 11 points as the Retrievers fell behind 22-15. A 7-1 run got UMBC back in the middle of things, making it 23-22, but Albany closed the set out for the set victory.

In the second set UMBC was able to pull away out to a 21-16 lead midway through but could not close it out. UMBC nearly tied the match with they were one point away from a set victory when the score was 24-20 but Albany scored the final six-straight points to end the set, giving them all of the momentum.

That momentum proved to be a major deal in the third set. Albany jumped out to a 7-3 lead and never looked back. UMBC did pull within three of their opponents but Albany scored three-straight to take a 15-9 lead. UMBC scored 11 of the next 19 points to get it back to 23-20 but Albany finished the match with two more points.

UMBC finishes the 2012 season with a 16-12 record.

Iman Kennedy recorded a career-high 20 kills as the Retrievers clinched a spot in their third-straight conference tournament.

Needing a victory in the final regular season games of their career Iman Kennedy and Allie Spaay set career-highs to lead the Retrievers to a five-set victory over Providence to clinch a spot in the America East conference tournament. Kennedy led UMBC with a career-high 21 kills while Spaay had a career-high 67 assists to go with 10 digs for her 14th double-double of the season, topping her three-year total of 13 from 2008-2010.

UMBC fell behind early and trailed early in the fourth-set while the team was already down 2-1, but the team rallied back, won the final two sets, and clinched the fourth-seed in the conference tournament next weekend at Albany.

The Retrievers fell behind 9-4 in the first set but battled back and eventually took a one point lead to go up 21-20 but the Friars responded with three-straight points to take a 23-21 lead. UMBC was able to tie the match and swapped points with Providence again to make it 24-24 but the Friars recorded the final two points in the extended set for the 26-24 lead.

Providence took the first point in the second set, as they did in the first four, but UMBC responded much faster this time, going on a 16-7 run after it. Providence did cut UMBC’s lead to four on three difference occasions, at 21-17, 22-18, and 23-19, but UMBC picked up the last two points to even the sets at one a piece.

UMBC started well in the third set at well, taking an 8-5 lead but Providence went outscored the Retrievers 13-7 to take a 19-15 lead. Ali Loynachan was able to spark a four-point run that ended with back-to-back kills by Hannah Schmidt to tie the set at 19. Then, UMBC battled to get a 25-24 lead but three-straight kills for the Friars handed them the extended third set.

That’s when UMBC just clicked. After Providence scored the first point UMBC went on a 10-3 run and never looked back. When Providence got within four at 13-9, UMBC went on a three-point run. When Providence got within three at 16-13, UMBC went on a 5-1 run, and when Providence made it 23-20, UMBC closed it out for the 25-20 set victory.

They carried it on from there too, dominating the fifth set, allowing Providence only four points before scoring the final six to pick up the 15-4 victory, giving them their fourth-straight victory, improving their record to 16-11 overall and 6-6 in conference play, enough for a berth in the post season tournament.

Helping the seniors, freshmen Dalton Tolliver and Schmidt recorded 18 and 13 kills, respectively while sophomore Emily Vandegrift had 18 kills. Fellow sophomores Ali Gov and Hallie Carter led UMBC with 19 and 17 digs, respectively. Loynachan had seven kills and nine digs as well as the Retrievers outhit the Friar .330 – .255 and outdug them 68-66.

UMBC will play host Albany in the first round of the conference tournament on November 18.

Iman Kennedy led UMBC with six blocks and had 12 kills in her final match at UMBC.

In their final game at the RAC arena Iman Kennedy and Allie Spaay helped led the Retrievers to a 3-1 victory over Hartford, keeping the team very much alive for the America East tournament. Spaay recorded her 13th double-double of the season with 48 assists and 13 digs while Kennedy led the team with six blocks with 12 kills.

The home rematch against the Hartford Hawks started off far too familiar as the scores of the first three sets were exactly the same as they were in Hartford. UMBC won the first set 25-18, lost the second set 25-17, but came back to regain the lead 25-19. Making things most odd, the fourth set also has the same 25-23 score but this time the Retrievers got the victory, picking up their third-straight victory to improve their conference record to 5-6, moving them into sole possession of fourth-place in the conference standings.

“That’s probably the biggest gut check we’ve had so far this season,” head coach Ian Blanchard said. “We had to win that match in order to give ourselves a chance to stay in contention for the playoffs. We did a good job of taking care of business. Tonight I thought we did a good job maintaining our composure down the stretch against the most crucial part of the match. I’m very proud of the effort. They fought very hard tonight and gave a heck of an effort today and were awarded with a win.”

UMBC got off to a nice start in the match, picking up the first four points in the first set. UMBC eventually built up an 11-7 lead before Hartford called a time out. Out of the stoppage the Hawks went on a 5-3 run, forcing Blanchard to call a time out, which resulted in an 11-6 run for the first set victory.

Freshman Dalton Tolliver, who led UMBC with 17 kills in the match, and Ali Loynachan, who finished with 11 kills, each had five in the first set. Spaay nearly had a double-double with 13 assists and six digs in the first set.

Hartford got revenge in the second set, barely allowing UMBC to get any momentum for getting much of a lead on the rare occasion they had one, but the Retrievers scored 15 of the first 24 points in the third set before they went on to take the 2-1 lead.

UMBC was caught in a very close fourth set but Kennedy had five kills while Spaay had 13 assists to pace the Retrievers to the final set victory.

“I don’t think I’ve ever won a senior day match. I think that’s my first win in seven years,” Blanchard said. “There are a lot of emotions going on but I thought Allie and Iman did a good job of staying level headed.”

UMBC outhit Hartford .222 – .156, outdug them 94-89, and outblocked them 11-8. Loynchan joined Spaay with a double-double after recording a team-high 24 digs with 11 kills while Ali Goc had 20 digs in the match as the libero.

But as much as UMBC needed a victory and as much of a team-effort they had for the victory, the day belonged to Kennedy and Spaay, who were both honored before the match in a senior ceremony.

“I didn’t think it was coming until it happened,” Spaay said. “I wasn’t prepared for how emotional it was going to be. It was hard because it’s an emotional beginning and then you have to play and it’s emotional at the end. It’s sad but it’s bittersweet that it’s my last home game.”

Kennedy, who like Spaay is not a native of Maryland, added: “It means a lot because my family doesn’t get a lot of chances to see me play and it’s really good when it’s on a night that the team played well and we got a win. It feels really good.”

UMBC’s final game of the regular season will take place next Sunday at 1:00 p.m. when they travel to Providence. A win will guarantee the Retrievers a spot in the conference tournament as they hold tie breakers over both New Hampshire and Binghamton.

Ali Loynachan had eight kills in the matcch and led UMBC with 11 digs.

It was about as big of a win as they could come when the women’s soccer team beat the second-ranked New Hampshire Wildcats in three sets to improve to 4-6, keeping them very alive for a spot in the America East tournament.

UMBC beat New Hampshire 26-24, 25-19, 25-20 as they outhit them .398 0 .241 and outblocked then, 5-2.

Freshman Dalton Tolliver led UMBC with 13 kills while hitting a team-best .611. Senior Iman Kennedy and junior Ali Loynachan both had eight kills in the match. Kennedy hit .571 and led the team with four blocks while Loynachan hit .400 and led the team with 11 digs. Senior Allie Spaay had 34 of the team’s 39 kills.

The Retrievers outhit New Hampshire .343 – .273 in the first set. UMBC got off to a rough start, falling down behind 9-4 but a 12-5 run gave the Retrievers a 16-14 lead. From that point on the lead changed two more times and there were eight ties.

In the second set UMBC dominated the Wildcats, outhitting them .571 – .200 in their six-point set victory. Once again though, UNH took a big early lead, 7-2, but UMBC came back and battled back to take a 13-12 lead before losing it out with 12 of the last 19 point.

UMBC outhit UNH again in the third set, .280 – .241, but this time they didn’t have to come from far behind to get it. UMBC jumped out to a 5-3 lead and built it into a 15-10 lead after a 5-1 point run. New Hampshire’s coach called a time out to get the wildcats back on track and they scored four-straight points but UMBC did not give up the lead as they picked up their fourth conference victory of the season.

Emily Vandegrift led the Retrievers in both kills and digs as UMBC picked up a key conference victory over Binghamton.

Allie Spaay recorded her 13th double-double of the season while Emily Vandegrift also had a double-double as the volleyball team picked up a key conference victory on the road as they topped Binghamton, 3-1.

Spaay finished the four-set match with 42 assists and 11 digs while Vandegrift led the Retrievers with 14 kills to go with a team-high 12 digs.

As a team UMBC still has yet to break out offensively in conference play as they hit only .201 but they did have two sets where they hit over .260. But despite barely outhitting Binghamton, who hit .199 in the match, and getting outdug, 65-55, UMBC found a way to win, largely in part to their effort at the net where they recorded 12 blocks.

Dalton Tolliver led the Retrievers with seven digs while seniors Spaay and Kennedy had five and four respectively in the match. Tolliver and Kennedy each had 11 kills.

UMBC was locked into a close battle with the Bearcats in the first set, where UMBC hit .267. The two teams exchanged the lead three times and tied each other seven times, as later at 16-16 when Julie Chambers got a kill for the Bearcats. They UMBC went on a 6-2 run to take a 21-17 lead. Binghamton was able to get within on points but UMBC closed the set with four of the last five points for the 25-21 set victory.

The second set was very close, but one to forget for the Retrievers as they were outhit .400 – .053. Unable to overcome that disparity in hitting efficiency, UMBC dropped the second set 25-21 as Binghamton knotted up the score.

While UMBC was outhit for a third-straight set, .170 – .156, UMBC squeezed out a third-set win, 25-22, after scoring five of the last seven points. UMBC got off to a great start in the set by getting out to a 6-2 lead, then, after their lead got cut to two at 9-7, UMBC when ton a 7-3 run to take a 16-10 lead. Then Binghamton went on a big 10-4 run to tie the game at 20 but three Bearcats errors helped give UMBC the victory.

Binghamton’s late third-set errors carried over into what would be the final set of the match. UMBC outhit Binghamton .385 – .000 in the final set. UMBC took the first two points of the set, one of which was off a Binghamton attack error, and extended it to a 12-6 lead before Binghamton scored three-straight points but a well-timed timeout lead to seven-straight points for UMBC as they took a 19-9 lead. Binghamton did go on a 4-1 run after a timeout of their own to get the score back to 20-13, but UMBC scored five of the final six points for the 25-14 fourth-set victory.

UMBC improved to 3-6 in conference play, keeping their hopes of a post season berth alive and well as they moved up to fifth place in the standings, one spot behind Hartford, which would right now be the fourth-seed in the America East tournament. Hartford is one of three teams left on the schedule for UMBC along with second ranked New Hampshire and Providence.

Photo: UMBC Athletic Communications

In a week where no Retriever team won or looked particularly good in their games or matches, volleyball senior Iman Kennedy stood out with an incredibly good match at Stony Brook. Kennedy recorded a career-high 17 kills while leading all hitters with a .406 hitting percentage. She also had a team-high five assisted blocks. UMBC’s volleyball team struggled against Stony Brook in a five set loss after recording 54 errors but only four were from Kennedy, the second fewest by any Retriever that played in all five sets.

Senior Allie Spaay recorded her 11th double-double of the season.

Senior middle blocker Iman Kennedy had a team-high 17 kills and led the hitters with a .406 hitting percentage while Allie Spaay recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 47 assists and 13 digs to go with a team-high three aces but the UMBC volleyball team dropped their fifth conference game as they lost a incredibly competitive five-set match on the road to Stony Brook, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 21-25, 13-15. UMBC fell to 2-5 in conference play.

In a match with 20 ties, seven lead changes, and no set decided by more than four points, neither team was capable of breaking away from each other and though UMBC suffered another poor hitting night, hitting only .172, the Seawolves hit worse at .146. But even though UMBC outhit Stony Brook, they were outdug 67-61, outblocked 11-8, and committed 54 errors, a number nearly impossible to overcome even when your opponent has 49.

Things started out fairly well for the Retrievers as they outhit Stony Brook .205-.026 to take the first set of the match. Then, even though UMBC lost a close second match, they raised their hitting percentage in the second set to .259, which matched Stony Brook’s efficiency, and while UMBC had their hitting percentage drop down to .073 in the third set, they escaped with a victory after holding Stony Brook to hitting (-.025), taking the 2-1 lead.

Then Stony Brook caught fire. In the fourth set Stony Brook hit .324 to know the match up at 2-2 and continued their run by hitting .294 in the third set, but better than UMBC’s .143 hitting percentage. The final two sets were the only ones that UMBC was outhit as they also had more errors in each.

Iman Kennedy has 11 kills with a team-high four blocks against Providence while hitting .476.

Three-straight conference losses has the UMBC volleyball team slipping farther and farther down the standings in the America East but a dominating three-set victory against Providence snapped that streak and will be something the squad will be hoping can spark a major run late in the season.

“Winning like that, winning big, not even just getting the ‘W’ but by a large lead, it will give confidence to our younger players knowing we can play like that,” senior Iman Kennedy said.

Kennedy missed a few games with injuries but has been slowly coming back the last few games. Against Providence she looked like she was back to near full health as she smacked in 11 kills and led the Retrievers with four blocks while hitting .476.

In the third set Providence was attempting a late come back but a spectacular set by Allie Spaay drew both of Providence’s blockers away from Kennedy, and she took advantage of it with a show-stopping hit right to the center of the court, sparking the Retrievers final late run to clinch the 25-15, 25-15, 25-20 victory.

UMBC has been struggling to hit the ball with great effectiveness lately but against Providence they hit .350 and were successful on 80 percent of their attacks in the first set.

“This is the same team that beat UC Riverside and UC Riverside beat Long Beach State and this is the same team that bear William & Mary and URI [Rhode Island] so I have complete confidence in their ability to play well,” head coach Ian Blanchard said. “We’ve just had a couple of things that haven’t really gone our way and we’re going to keep battling.”

UMBC beat Providence in every facet of the game. They outhit the Fiars .350 – .109, outdug them 44-39, outblocked them 7-3, and had only 19 errors to Providence’s 31.

“At this point we have all the toold, we know the mechanics, we know the system, it’s just about having confidence and staying focused the entire match,” Kennedy said. “That’s what was emphasized tonight.”

Freshman Dalton Tolliver lead the Retrievers with 12 kills in the match and hit a team-high .647, making another very strong case to be named the conference’s Rookie of the Week yet again this season.

“Dalton is maturing as a player,” Blanchard said. “Every single time she goes out there she gets a little bit better and learns a little bit more, tonight she did a few things difference that she hasn’t done previous in the season, thing we talked about in practice, and she put them to good use today and I couldn’t be happier for her.”

UMBC improved to 2-4 in conference play and have plenty of time left to make a return near the top of the standings with six games left on the schedule.

Iman Kennedy recored eight kills in her return to the court.

A season that started with such high hopes is starting to go into panic mode as the UMBC volleyball team dropped their third-straight conference game, falling to 1-4 in conference play.

Freshman Dalton Tolliver was the long Retriever to reach double figures in kills with 11 as she led all hitters with at least five attempts with a 31.8 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, senior Allie Spaay recorded her sixth-straight double-double with 20 assists and 13 digs in the four-set match.

Once again, UMBC struggled to hit the ball as they were successful on only 15 percent of their attacks. That lack of success hitting the ball led to a four-set loss, 22-25, 13-25, 25-17, 22-25.

UMBC was out-hit .167 – .070 in the fest set before the Wildcats caught fire in the second set as they outhit the Retrievers .472 – .081.

They were capable of turning things around in the third set as the Wildcats hit .000 but still, UMBC was only able to hit .237 in their lone set victory. UMBC outhit New Hampshire again in the fourth set, .229 – .190 but they could not extend the match to a fifth-set.

Senior middle blocker Iman Kennedy returned to the court after missing a few games with an injury and recorded eight kills while junior hitter Ali Loynachan had seven kills and tied for the team lead with 17 digs, matching Hallie Carter’s total. Ali Goc had 13 digs in the match.

While UMBC has been struggling in conference play they still have plenty of time to turn things around with seven conference matches remaining on their schedule.

Sophomore Hallie Carter has done just as good of a job digging the ball as killing the ball.

For the third time this season sophomore outside hitter Hallie Carter ended a game with a double-double. With 13 kill and 15 digs Carter lead the Retrievers past Youngstown State in a close four-set match as they improved to 7-3 on the season.

Carter slammed down six kills in the first set to edge the Retrievers past Youngstown State 25-23, while the team outhit them .276-.205 but the squad hit only .091 in the second set as they fell, 25-23. Senor middle blocker Iman Kennedy also dominated the first set with five of her nine kills.

Then Ali Loynachan, who led UMBC with a .421 hitting percentage, and Hannah Schmidt got going. Carter had three kills in the third set but Loynachan broke lose with five while Schmidt had four, leading UMBC to a 25-22 victory off .382 hitting.

While the first three sets were decided by only seven points the fifth set was much smoother for the Retrievers as they ran away with the 25-17 victory. After a four-point runs by Youngstown State to tie the set at 10, UMBC went on a 12-3 run, putting them only three points away from the match victory. UMBC had to fight for those three points bu on the back of Schmidt, who recorded six kills in the final set, the Retrievers closed it out for the victory.

UMBC outhit Youngstown State .243-.100 in the fourth set.

Senior setter Allie Spaay assisted 45 of the team’s 53 kills while pitching in seven digs and five blocks.

The Retrievers outblocked their opponent 12-9 in the match. Freshman Dalton Tolliver, who had five kills in the match, lead UMBC with seven assisted blocks and one solo. Sophomore Ali Goc lead UMBC with 18 digs in the match.

UMBC’s match was their first in the Madison Bingaman Memorial Tournament and they will continue it tomorrow when they face Fairleigh Dickerson at 1 p.m. and Norfolk State at 7 p.m.