CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- The UMBC Retrievers swept the America East volleyball awards for the week ending October 14 thanks to their 2-0 week, including a 3-2 win over defending conference champion, Albany, on Friday night. Sophomore Ashley Oscars (Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty) earned Player of the Week honors, outside hitter Sabrina Hoeks won the Rookie of the Week, and sophomore Kira Giles (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Glenlawn) received the Setter of the Week accolade. Click here for full release.
Oscars led the Retrievers in their two matches last week, averaging league-bests in kills (4.86 kpg) and points (5.50 ppg) in wins over NJIT and Albany. The sophomore also averaged 2.29 digs per game last week. Oscars tallied her third double-double of the year in the 3-2 win over Albany, putting up a season-high 24 kills, only on ekill shy of her career best, and adding 11 digs and two assisted blocks. She also chipped in three service aces. This is the second award of the year for Oscars.
Hoeks averaged 3.78 kills per game and 3.78 digs per game, while playing in all nine of UMBc's games last week. The freshman also averaged 5.00 points per game (third in conference) against NJIT and Albany. Hoeks tallied her third double-double of her career against Albany, putting up 14 kills and 18 digs. Earlier in the week, Hoeks came just one service ace away from a triple-double as she recorded a season-high 20 kills, 16 digs and nine aces against NJIT. Hoeks receives this award for the second time this season.
Giles averaged 12.56 assists per game last week, but also recorded two double-doubles in wins over NJIT and Albany. Giles also averaged 3.78 digs per games and 0.67 blocks per game, while posting a career-high 68 assists in the Retrievers' 3-2 win over the Great Danes. The sophomore setter has recorded a double-double in the last three matches for the Retrievers and totals 11 for the season. This is also her second award of the season from the conference.
Team Notebooks:
Albany (13-7 overall record, 3-2 America East record) dropped its only match of the week, a 3-2 decision at UMBC on Friday... Freshman outside hitter Amanda Cowdrey (Brampton, Ontario/Cardinal Leger) led UAlbany with her 12th double-double of the season, recording a team-high 18 kills and 18 digs... Junior middle blocker Kamisha Kellam (Forestville, Md./Bishop McNamara) finished with 16 kills while Valerie Sourbeer (Valley Center, Calif./Valley Center) and Ashley Crenshaw (Birmingham, Ala./Hoover) added 16 and 11 kills, respectively... Freshman setter Brooke Stanley (Hendersonville, N.C./West Henderson) tallied 61 assists and completed her ninth double-double of the season with 17 digs... Freshman libero Tawny Dahmes (Chaska, Minn./Chaska) led the Great Danes defensively with 28 digs... The Great Danes continue America East Conference play on Monday, Oct. 15 at Binghamton at 7 p.m. at home before visiting crosstown-rival Siena on Sunday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m.
Binghamton (11-13, 3-1 America East) won its only match of the week sweeping Cornell in three games by scores of 30-13, 30-16, and 30-23...The Bearcats have now won five of its last six matches...Freshman Michelle McDonough (Orland Hills, Ill./Andrew) led Binghamton with 10 kills. She also added seven digs and three digs...Senior Jacki Kane (Centennial, Colo./Grandview) was right behind McDonough with nine kills and zero errors in 21 attempts for a match-high attack percentage of .429. Kane is currently fourth on the all-time Bearcat block list with 543 career blocks. She trails Anne Crocus '04 for third on the all-time list by just five blocks...Freshman Lindsey Mueller (West Bend West, Wis./West Bend) posted a double-double, dishing out a match-high 33 assists to go along with 10 digs. Mueller also added three kills and five blocks...Sophomore Dawn Lammert (Sussex, Wis./Arrowhead) chipped in with six kills and a match-high nine blocks...The victory was the Bearcats' first over Cornell since moving to Division I...Binghamton has now won 17 of its last 18 matches at the West Gym... The homestand continues with a pair of conference dates on Monday, October 15 against Albany and Friday, October 19 against Stony Brook.
Hartford (7-15, 0-5 America East) dropped a pair of conference matches at Maine (3-0) and New Hampshire (3-0). The Hawks opened a two-game road trek with Maine, dropping the match by scores of 30-27, 30-24, 30-26. Hartford was led in the match by Erin Macro (Lincoln, R.I./Lincoln) and Maddison Molyneux (Caledon, Ontario/Mayfield Secondary), who finished with a 11 and 10 kills respectively. Molyneux was impressive from the field, hitting .692 for the match. She finished with just one kill in 13 total attacks. Macro finished with a .381 hitting percentage (three errors, 21 total attacks). Against New Hampshire, the Hawks were led by Macro, who finished with 12 kills. Against the Wildcats she finished with a .381 hitting percentage (four errors, 21 total attacks). Lindsay Ford (Carson, Nev./Carson) led the Hawks in assists over both matches with 27 at Maine and 32 at New Hampshire. Sarah Boss (Fremont, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) led the Hawks defensively over the two matches. She finished with a career-high 20 digs to lead all players at Maine and then finished tied for the team lead with five at New Hampshire. Hartford will play three matches this week. They begin at Central Connecticut on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before taking on the Stony Brook Seawolves twice over the weekend, Friday night at home and Sunday afternoon at Stony Brook.
Maine (2-17, 1-5 America East) played two conference home matches this weekend against Hartford and Stony Brook... The win against Hartford was coach Lynn Atherley’s 300th of her career... She started her career with 54 wins with Wisconsin-Parkside and then moved to Edinboro (Pa.) tallying 244 wins in 10 seasons before moving to Maine in 2004... Atherley has a record of 36-61 at Maine... Maine was led in kills in both matches by juniors... Jessica Wolfenden had 14 against Hartford and Brittany Kiehl had nine against Stony Brook... Wolfenden’s kills were a match-high... On Friday night, Maine earned its first win of the America East schedule... Freshman Paige Tortorello tallied a career-high 47 assists... Freshman Emily Root led the Black Bears in digs with 14... In Sunday afternoon’s match against Stony Brook, Maine tallied 18 kills to Stony Brook’s 14 in the first game... But after that, Maine was held in check by the Seawolves... Maine was led in digs by Wolfenden with seven... Tortorello led Maine with 28 assists... The Black Bears next match will be at home... They will host rival New Hampshire on Saturday at 4 p.m.
UMBC (19-5, 4-1 America East) recorded two wins last week as they downed NJIT, 3-1, in a mid-week match and pulled out a 3-2 victory over defending America East Champion Albany on Friday... The Retrievers’ victory over the Great Danes was the first since UMBC has been part of the America East Conference, and only the second in the history of the schools, with the last victory dating back to 2002... The Retrievers swept the America East weekly awards as announced on Monday... In the mid-week match against NJIT, Rookie of the Week Sabrina Hoeks (Olympia, Wash./AG West Black Hills) came just one service ace away from a triple-double, as she tallied a season-high 20 kills, while adding 16 digs and nine service aces... Hoeks averaged 3.78 kills per game, 3.78 digs per game, 1.00 service ace per game and 5.00 points per game last week... In the Retrievers’ win over Albany, Setter of the Week Kira Giles (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada/Glenlawn) recorded a career-high 68 assists, while averaging 12.56 assists per game and 3.78 digs per game for the week... Player of the Week Ashley Oscars (Bakersfield, Calif./Liberty) put up a season-high 24 kills and added 11 digs against Albany for her third double-double of the season and led the Retrievers by averaging 4.86 kills per game, 5.50 points per game, and 2.29 digs per game last week... The Retrievers travel to Vestal, N.Y. on Friday to face Binghamton, before hosting the Bearcats on Sunday at the RAC Arena at 4 p.m.
New Hampshire (14-7, 3-3 America East) went 1-1 on the week dropping a hard-fought 3-2 match to Stony Brook on Friday before capturing a 3-0 sweep of Hartford on Sunday... The Wildcats suffered their first home loss of the season (in six matches) on Friday night... Sophomore Kate Uitti (Pincknet, Mich./Pinckney) finished with 65 assists... Kirsten Bates (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll) had a match-high 23 kills... Emmy Blouin (St. Albert, Alberta/Paul Kane) registered 16 kills and was followed by Jessica Compton (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) and Toni Barnas (Cary Ill./Cary Grove) with 12 each, and Lindsay Fogarty (Pleasanton, Calif./Amador Valley) notched 10... UNH made it 22-straight over Hartford on Sunday with a convincing 3-0 win... Blouin, Barnas and Bates recorded 12, 11 and 10 kills, respectively... New Hampshire hit a .358 mark, compared to Hartford’s .208 in the match... In addition to the hitting trio, Uitti recorded a team-high 37 assists in the match to go along with eight digs for the Wildcats... Uitti’s 37 assists helped her move into second on the all-time assists list with 1,754... The sophomore setter still has a long way to go to surpass all-time assists leader and current Wildcat assistant Stacy Barnett, who had 3,977 assists in her storied career... UNH will travel north to Maine on Saturday in conference action... Back on Oct. 8, the Wildcats captured a 3-1 win over the Black Bears.
Stony Brook (16-7, 4-1 America East) have now won four in a row and 13 of 14. The Seawolves are now 6-1 in five-game matches after the victory over New Hampshire on Friday night. The Seawolves hit a season-best .398 in the victory over Maine on Sunday. Morgan Sweany tallied 13 kills and nine digs on Sunday afternoon, snapping a streak of nine straight matches in which she had recorded a double-double... Senior outside hitter Jackie Ahlers (Stony Point, N.Y./St. John's) tallied 13 kills in the Stony Brook’s 3-0 victory over Maine on Sunday, hitting a season-high .706. She also tallied a match-high 23 kills in the Seawolves 3-2 victory over New Hampshire on Friday... Senior setter Kaitlyn Deutsch (St. Louis, Mo./Southern Miss.) tallied 33 assists in the Seawolves 3-0 victory over Maine, following a 61 assist performance in the Stony Brook’s 3-2 victory over New Hampshire on Friday night.