THE BASICS:

RESULT: UMBC 3, Hartford 2 (25-20, 25-21, 24-26, 20-25, 15-11)
LOCATION: Hartford Volleyball Gym (West Hartford, Conn.)
RECORDS: Hartford (4-14, 1-4 America East), UMBC (12-5, 3-2)

THE LEAD:
Katy Henchy (14 kills) and Paulina Modestow (13) delivered strong offensive performances, but the Hartford volleyball team's comeback effort came up short in a 3-2 defeat at the hands of UMBC. Trailing 2-0, the Hawks forced a deciding fifth set, but the Retrievers steadied and earned the victory.
 
Zoya Trendafilova (17) led four Retrievers with double-digit kills, while Claudia Lopez doled out 59 assists in the victory. Kristin Watson led all players with 24 digs for UMBC.
 
Freshman Jenna Bridges had another standout performance with nine kills and a match-high eight blocks, while Jordyn Kachmar (19) was joined in double-digit digs by Astrid Mangual (11) and Megan Scherer (10). Mangual also delivered 44 assists in the defeat.

SET-BY-SET
• UMBC took an early lead in a back-and-forth start to the first set at 9-7, but then the Hawks went on a furious run, with three-straight kills part of a run of five in a row that put Hartford up 12-9. The teams stayed even to a 17-14 Hawks lead, but the Retrievers rallied with Ashley Ramos at the serve to deliver five consecutive to take a 19-17 edge. The teams traded points to 21-19, but UMBC ran off three straight and later finished off the set, 25-20.
• The second set was even tighter than the first, with seven ties in the first 10 points en route to a 10-10 deadlock. UMBC then rolled off four in a row, and eventually pushed the lead to 20-14. Hartford rallied to cut it to 23-20 on a Henchy kill, but the Retrievers were able to stave off the effort for a 25-21 victory.
• After an early back-and-forth, Hartford gained the first edge in the third, with two Henchy kills and a third by Bridges to take an 8-6 advantage. The two teams went blow-for-blow to a 16-13 score, but the Retrievers went on a run to gain a 17-16 lead. Hartford came right back and regained the edge at 21-20 after a Modestow kill, but UMBC delivered another strong run, gaining a 23-21 advantage. Hartford battled back to tie it at 23, then the teams traded points to a 24-all score. Bridges then stepped up and finished things off for Hartford, delivering a solo block and a monstrous kill to give the Hawks a 26-24 victory.
• UMBC opened the fourth with a 3-2 lead, but the Hawks came soaring back, delivering 10 of the next 11 tallies, including back-to-back Bridges kills, to take a 12-4 advantage. Undaunted, the Retrievers slowly chipped away at the Hartford lead, cutting it to 18-14 and forcing a Hartford timeout. A Henchy kill snapped the momentum, and the teams went back-and-forth to a 20-17 score. But Hartford rallied for three straight, the last on a block by Bridges and Modestow, and went on to a 25-20 win to force the fifth.
• The Hawks took a 2-1 lead early in the fifth, but a UMBC rally put the visitors ahead by a 5-2 score. From there, the teams traded blows to a 9-5 Retrievers lead, but Hartford responded with three straight, culminating with a Megan Scherer ace to make it 9-8. The Retrievers delivered the final blow, though, rolling off four-straight points and holding on for a 15-11 triumph in the fifth.

UP NEXT:
Hartford will take on Stony Brook on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the Hartford Volleyball Gym in the second game of Hawktober Weekend. Admission to all Hartford home matches is free for all spectators.