Women's Volleyball

#AEVB Week 1: UMBC Earns Big 12 Victory while New Hampshire Wins Three

BOSTON - UMBC secured an impressive five set victory at West Virginia over the weekend while New Hampshire took care of business at home to start the season undefeated

Need to Know
  • UMBC earned the biggest win of the weekend, beating the Mountaineers in Morgantown. The Retrieves captured the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-13 before falling in sets three and four. The final set was tied 10-10 and 13-13 before two straight points for UMBC secured the victory. The Retrievers also beat UTRGV 3-0 on Saturday.
  • New Hampshire started its season 3-0, edging New Haven 3-2 at home on Friday. The Wildcats then Saint Peter’s 3-0 and beat Providence 3-1 on Saturday.
  • UAlbany failed to earn a victory, but did take a set off Iowa on Saturday and then fall 3-2 to Army on Sunday.
  • This weekend all six programs are on the road. Bryant will match up against Providence while New Hampshire tries to stay perfect at Boston College. UMBC will battle Buffalo and Canisius.

Links
Weekly Award Winners – Sept. 1
Player of the Week
Emma Converse, New Hampshire – Jr., Outside Hitter, San Antonio, Texas
  • Averaged a league-best 3.5 kills per set while hitting .330 with 2.1 digs per set in three victories
  • Hit .381 with 20 kills and seven digs in a 3-1 victory over Providence.
  • This is Converse’s first #AEVB Player of the Week honor.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Hady Pickard, New Hampshire – Jr., Libero, Roswell, Ga.
  • Totaled a league-high 60 digs, averaging 5.0 digs per set with five service aces in a 3-0 week.
  • Recorded 20+ digs twice, including 21 in a 3-1 victory over Providence.
  • This is Pickard’s first #AEVB Defensive Player of the Week honor.
 
Setter of the Week
Isabel Ostvig, UMBC – Jr., Setter, Fredericksburg, Va
  • Averaged a league-high 9.63 assists per set, along with 1.88 digs and 1.13 blocks per set in a 2-0 weekend.
  • Posted 38 assists in a 3-0 sweep of UTRGV and followed up with 39 assists and eight blocks in a 3-2 victory over West Virginia.
  • This is Ostvig’s second career #AEVB Setter of the Week honor.

Rookie of the Week
Alissa Grant, UMBC – Fr., Middle Blocker, Minneola, Fla.
  • Averaged 1.63 kills and 2.0 blocks per set in a 2-0 weekend.
  • Hit .750 with six kills in a sweep and then came through with seven kills and ten total blocks in a 3-2 win over West Virginia.
  • This is Grant’s first #AEVB Rookie of the Week honor

2026 #AEVB Weekly Award Winners
Sept. 1 – 
Player of the Week: Emma Converse, New Hampshire; Setter of the Week: Isabel Ostvig, UMBC; Defensive Player of the Week: Hady Pickard, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Alissa Grant, UMBC; 

Fans will once again be able to watch nearly every #AEVB contest this season with the majority of games airing on ESPN+ and the ESPN app while others will air on AmericaEast.TV. Those games will be available on computers, OTT devices and the America East app, which is available on all IOS and Android devices and can be found by searching ‘America East Conference’ in app stores.
 
Follow the @AmericaEast channels on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date on America East volleyball news all season long and use #AEVB to join the conversation.
 
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