BALTIMORE, Md. – The top seed Retrievers left no doubt on Saturday night, sweeping No. 3 seed Binghamton 3-0 to clinch the program’s fourth consecutive #AEVB Championship and earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
UMBC is just the second #AEVB program in conference history to win four consecutive titles, joining New Hampshire which claimed four straight from 2013-16. The Retrievers will find out their tournament fate during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, Nov. 26.
Most Outstanding Player Mila Ilieva anchored a dominant attack for the Retrievers, which hit .350 overall with 51 kills. Ilieva had nine kills and hit a perfect 1.000 with two total blocks. All-Tournament selections Mia Bilusic and Julija Grubisic Cabo combined for 24 kills. Hannah Howard was dominant defensively with 21 digs in the three-set win.
UMBC jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening set and pushed the advantage to 14-6 on Ilieva kill. Binghamton went on a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to 16-14, but the Retrievers eventually answered back with five straight of their own for a 22-16 lead. They took the set 25-19.
In the second set UMBC used 6-1 run to pull in front 12-6. Binghamton closed the gap to 14-11, but couldn’t get any closer than five as the hosts finished with the 25-16 win.
Binghamton grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third before it was tied up 7-7. A 7-2 UMBC run pushed the Retrievers in front 16-10. They scored five straight for a 21-12 lead and held off the Bearcats to capture the final set 25-18.
Tsvetelina Ilieva had ten kills in defeat for Binghamton and was honored as the #AEVB Elite 18 award winner, for posting the highest GPA of any competitor in Saturday’s match. The senior owns a 3.98 GPA as a Business Administration major.
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