BALTIMORE – In captivating comeback fashion, the UMBC Retrievers won their second consecutive America East Volleyball Championship. The regular-season champs became the eighth team in nine seasons to win both the regular season and league title.
Facing a two-set deficit, the tournament’s top seed battled back, winning the final three sets to earn the trophy and conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Volleyball Championship. The Retrievers will discover their draw on the NCAA Selection Show Sunday, Nov. 28 on ESPNU.
UAlbany came out firing, connecting on more hits than UMBC to take the first set 25-22. A big block from a surprise Great Dane Malea Stanton forced Cristina Robertson to call a timeout with the score 15-8 in the second set. The two-seed was up nine points when the Retrievers were able to cut it to 24-18 but could not tie the match.
In the third set, the Retrievers began their run. The home team stormed off to a 10-3 lead, forcing a Great Danes timeout. The Retrievers could not be stalled, taking the set which and rolling into the fourth set with a subsequent 10-3 lead. The Great Danes had a late push but, ultimately, the top seed prevailed to force a fifth set. It marked the fourth consecutive #AEVB championship decided in five sets.
The Great Danes held a 6-5 lead along with some momentum in the final frame, but it was their final lead of the match. The tandem of Beste Ayhan and Mia Bilusic in black and gold recorded the final block to send Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena into a frenzy.
Junior Andjelija Draskovic earned Most Outstanding Player honors, racking up 105 assists in ten combined sets over two matches. Ayhan and Aysia Miller joined Draskovic on the All-Championship Team.
UAlbany’s Malea Stanton earned All-Championship honors behind 89 sets in two matches along with freshman Oren Abutbul. UNH senior Abby Sullivan and Stony Brook grad student Kiani Kerstetter rounded out the team.
UMBC junior Emily Ferketic received the conference’s Elite 18 honor with a 4.0 GPA in physics.
For box scores, highlights and recaps from the entire tournament, visit Championship Central
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