WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hartford volleyball team fell to 0-3 in America East play with a 3-0 loss to visiting UMBC on Friday at the Reich Family Pavilion. Sophomore hitter Sareeta Nethersole led the Hawks with 11 kills, one of just two players in the match to finish in double figures.

After hitting .293 in the first set, the Hawks (6-13, 0-3 America East) had trouble finding that same rhythm for the second and third sets. Hartford finished the opening set with 16 kills and four errors in 41 total attacks. The second set finished with seven Hawks kills, while the compiled nine in the final set. The Retrievers saw their best hitting come in the second set when they finished with 15 kills and two errors in 27 total attacks for a .481 average.

Leading the Hawks hitting was junior Dionna Kirton who finished with a .400 average, connecting on six kills without hitting an error in 15 total swings. Nethersole finished with a.143 average, suffering five errors in 42 total attacks. Sophomore setter Jackie Tamburri finished with 31 assists.

Defensively, the Hawks were led by Kirton who finished with 13 digs, the only Hawk to reach double figures on the defensive side of the net. Tamburri finished second on the team with nine digs. As a team, Hartford finished with five blocks with sophomore Kathryn Gawrych a part of all five, including two of which that were solo blocks.

The Hawks opened up the match taking the first four points in the opening set, the final two of which came on back-to-back kills from Nethersole. UMBC slowly chipped away at that lead, before using a four-point rally to tie the game at nine and take their first lead of the match at 10-9, both points of which came on back-to-back aces from Hannah Schmidt.

UMBC extended that run to an 8-1 scamper, opening up a 14-10 lead that they wouldn't relinquish. After trading the next eight points, the Retrievers used another run, this time spanning five points, to open their lead up to a 23-16 advantage, the largest of the set. Hartford wouldn't go away easily, winning five of the final seven points on kills from Nethersole (three), Kirton and Gawrych before Krystal Mlemchukwu closed out the match with a kill of her own.

The second set started very much in favor of the Retrievers who took the early 4-0 lead including a pair of aces from Robbin Lee to open the set. The Hawks responded by taking the next four points, including two on aces from Jackie Tamburri, to tie the match at four. After trading the next two points, UMBC settled in and ran off eight straight points to open up a 13-5 advantage.

The Retrievers largest lead in the second set came at 22-12, which was made possible by a 3-0 run that included a pair of Hartford errors.

Following the extended break, the Retrievers opened the third set by scoring the first two points. The teams would trade small rallies for much of the match, with the Retrievers opening up as much as a four point advantage on two occasions. The Hawks responded by using a 7-1 run later in the set to tie the set at 20 and take an eventual 21-20 advantage on an ace from Kirton.

After forcing the set into extra points, the Hawk took a 25-24 advantage courtesy of a three point rally that included three straight hitting errors against the Retrievers. UMBC responded by scoring the final two points and taking the match by a 27-25 final in the third set.

The Hawks return to the Reich Family Pavilion on Saturday for a 6:00 p.m. date with the Binghamton Bearcats.